Regional growth plans could impact agricultural land, say delegations

By Nigel Gordijk  Saturday, November 13, 2021

Wilmot residents urge the Region of Waterloo to plan for more intensification and better protection of farm land in its Official Plan

Wilmot residents delegated at the Region of Waterloo meeting and urged council to protect farm land. “Only five per cent of Ontario’s landmass is suitable for agriculture,” said New Dundee’s Mark Reusser. (Photo: Nigel Gordijk)

Region of Waterloo council asked its staff to come up with new alternatives for growth after a preliminary update of the Regional Official Plan (ROP), which was presented at a Nov. 9 meeting.

The update described three scenarios for development and growth, but council thought none of them recommended enough intensity or countryside protection.

At the beginning of the meeting, commissioner of planning Rod Regier said, “This assessment will ensure that the region has enough land to accommodate its forecasted growth over the next 30 years while advancing several important strategic objectives, such as taking action on climate change, creating a more compact, transit supportive and world class community for all residents.”

Principal planner John Lubczynski said, “Staff will continue working with our local area municipalities, and we’ll be initiating additional engagement opportunities with the public and Indigenous communities.”

The region’s population is expected to reach 923,000 people over the next 30 years, with the workforce growing to 470,000 employees. “They’ll translate into about 126,000 new households, and several 100,000 square feet of new office, commercial and industrial floor space that will all need to be accommodated,” said Lubczynski.

He explained that the Region’s land needs assessment methodology is set out by the province, with the goal of providing “a balanced supply of land that considers market demand, avoids land shortages, and addresses other provincial policy objectives.”

The three growth scenarios took into account progressively denser development assumptions. Regional planners recommended the second option, with 60 per cent of new growth in built-up areas and 227 hectares of expansion into the countryside.

Brenna MacKinnon, manager of development planning, described Scenario 2 as “ambitious but realistic” because it addresses “many serious social, economic, environmental and climate change issues that require not only immediate attention, but immediate, consistent and focused action in the coming years.”

Woolwich mayor and regional councillor Sandy Shantz asked if any consideration had been given to the need for agricultural land. MacKinnon replied that the Region was sensitive to the impact on farming, and that staff had heard from the agricultural community.

First out of the 22 delegations was by David Falletta, partner with Bousfields, a planning firm that has been retained by Cachet Development for a project on Waterloo Street in New Hamburg. He said the land needs assessment is an important step that will establish where growth will be allocated amongst the municipalities, based on the provincial methodology. He praised Regional staff for their work on the plan, but he felt that making a recommendation before the assessment had been completed was premature.

Pierre Chauvin, partner at MHBC Planning, agreed. “Effectively, what staff are doing by establishing its growth scenario before completing the land needs assessment is inappropriate,” he said.

One of MHBC’s clients is Stroma Developments, which owns over 100 hectares of land in Baden. “In response to the Region’s growth scenario report and draft evaluation criteria back in June of this year, Township staff have identified our client’s lands as the highest priority for urban expansion,” said Chauvin.

Sunfish Lake resident Kevin Thomason co-founded public engagement group Smart Growth Waterloo Region 10 years ago.

“We have been surprised by how different this ROP has been, with almost no media coverage, little community engagement, and almost no public consultation to date,” he told council, contrasting it to Hamilton’s open house meetings and events. “Their ROP has been front page news since January, engaging tens of thousands of citizens.”

“All of the proposed intensification rates are too low, and the recommended 60 per cent 30-year target is well below the 70 per cent intensification rate that we’ve already been achieving the past three years,” he said.

Thomason expressed concerns that the recommendation would allow for the destruction of more than 2,500 acres of local farmland, which is increasingly needed for local food and groundwater recharge.

He urged the Region to come up with a fourth scenario that has intensification rates of 70 to 80 per cent, and he criticized the province for removing the ability to appeal any aspect of the plan for 30 years.

Dorothy Wilson is a member of the Nith Valley EcoBoosters’ communication team, and she reminded council that in Oct. 2019 it voted unanimously to declare a climate emergency.

“Just last spring, all municipalities in Waterloo Region, including the Regional council, endorsed a community greenhouse gas emission target of 80 per cent.”

Wilson said that staff’s three scenarios all lacked urgency, and a more dramatic recommendation is needed.

“It’s hard to see into the future, but if a plan is adopted that has less intensification than we already have been experiencing and destroys more farmland, there will be little chance of reaching the reduced emission targets to which Regional Council has committed.”

New Dundee farmer Mark Reusser, vice president of the Waterloo Federation of Agriculture, pointed out that Ontario loses 175 acres of farmland every day, or approximately 64,000 acres annually.

“Only five per cent of Ontario’s landmass is suitable for agriculture,” he said. “We don’t need to destroy more farmland; we need to better use the land that is already urbanized.”

Petersburg’s Stephanie Goertz volunteers for several local environmental causes. While representing 50by30WR last month, she met with councillors and mayors across the region to discuss their commitment to a 50 per cent emissions reduction by 2030.

“Each person we spoke with was concerned about climate change,” she said during her presentation. “They also identified the need to intensify and expressed concern about protecting agricultural land.”

As part of Let’s Tree Wilmot, Goertz has researched development applications across the region’s townships. “I’m amazed at how many applications currently are open, and how many want to rezone agricultural or green space to commercial and residential.”

“We have a beautiful countryside, but we don’t realize that many areas have already been lost. No matter what scenario is picked, expect more land to be lost as applications keep flowing.”