FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
May 10, 2016
SIMCOE- Haldimand-Norfolk MPP Toby Barrett is encouraging Haldimand and Brant residents to have their say in proposals to the growth plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe, which includes the two counties.
The review is part of a more encompassing review that includes the Greenbelt Plan, the Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Plan and the Niagara Escarpment Plan. The proposals would:
* Protect clean water by adding the lands within 21 major urban river valleys to the Greenbelt, along with seven coastal wetlands, and establish a process for further expanding the Greenbelt to protect key water features
* Require zoning along transit corridors to provide adequate density to support transit
* Establish Greenbelt-level protections for natural heritage systems – such as wetlands, woodlands and rivers – beyond the Greenbelt, with the provincial government taking a lead in mapping those areas
* Support agricultural viability and preserve farmland by setting strict requirements for the expansion of urban areas and allowing more flexibility for agricultural use in the Greenbelt
* Require municipalities in the Greater Golden Horseshoe to integrate climate change policies into municipal official plans and to conduct climate change vulnerability risk assessments when they are planning or replacing infrastructure.
Feedback on the plan will be accepted until Sept. 30 through the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing web site at: http://www.mah.gov.on.ca/Page14851.aspx
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For more information, contact MPP Toby Barrett at 519-428-0446 or toby.barrett@pc.ola.org