Here is a copy of a response sent to resident who took the time to send me an email asking about my position on Milton and Halton’s growth strategy. There is an upcoming council workshop on February 9th, which was the original date of the vote but there were a number of councillors not sure or unclear about the direction being outlined, so this will be another opportunity for councillors to get a grasp of where we need to go.
Thanks for sending me your submission to the Halton Hills council and thank you for your submission to our council meeting as well. Despite what some might think, I do read everything that’s sent to me.
You mention in your email that examples abound NOT to expand the urban boundary and I feel that there are many examples of why it should be expanded. A lot has to do with economic development and dealing with the doubling of Halton’s population that is forecasted by the province. I’ll outline in this email some of my issues and thoughts without getting into what I feel is an incorrect and misleading narrative that Stop Sprawl Halton and some of my regional counterparts are using about paving over farmland and taking food off our tables. Its been outlined that the land included in the proposed urban boundary expansion is not food for consumption but cattle corn, soy beans etc that don’t make it to Halton or even southern Ontario’s plates. Food that does make it to our tables locally are farmed in areas that are protected by the Greenbelt etc and are NOT included in the expansion plans. But for now I’ll hit on some of my high points.
Lots of discussion is happening around the missing middle or gentle density as its now known as for development to accommodate the residential needs and if you look at many of our current master plans for future development, that’s exactly what we are trying to promote. The province directs the growth via the Provincial Growth Plan and requires all official plan submissions from municipalities to comply with that growth plan. Its not a suggestion or a what do you think request from the province…its mandated. We might not like the current government, or agree with their plan or the fact were planning out to 2051…its something that we need to do.
Our staff during this 2 year plus long process and the numerous PIC’s that have been held over that time has given a lot of people, including property owners, developers, residents and activists the opportunity to comment and provide input in this plan. Would we like more time? Yes. A unanimous request from Halton Region council (myself included) asked the province for more time given the pandemic, and other concerns and we were met with a curt no and the deadline of June 2020 stays. Those are the rules we have to abide by or else the province will step in with a made in Queens Park solution as opposed to made in Milton / Halton solution. I prefer the latter in that case.
By having NO expansion to the urban boundary leaves the municipality with less space to distribute both residential and non residential growth. I’ve said for a very long time that we need a variety of housing options to meet the needs of the market and incoming growth. Multi generational homes of 6-8 or even 10 people are becoming a reality here in Halton and specifically in Milton. I see that every day as I go visit residents, door knock and hear their concerns. There is and quite frankly always will be a market for single family dwellings and with the Halton Balanced Growth plan Milton put forward to the region, it covers all kinds of housing options from single family homes, mid to high rise apartments (rental and condo) as well as the missing middle, gentle density of the 4-6 storey development, stacked town homes etc.
Our town and region staff reports have said we do NOT have enough land in the current urban boundary which requires us to make these changes. Milton over this time as compromised and removed portions of land that we first had initially asked to be included through Milton’s Halton Balanced Growth approach.
By removing additional lands needed, combined with provincial growth targets for 2051 and beyond to accommodate the over 1.1 million people that will call Halton home, will require further intensification of lands which means more high rises all over Halton. Burlington has stated their case that they do not want high rises in the downtown core and have fought the Ontario Land Tribunal (and lost in most cases) for high rise development. With less land in Halton to spread out the growth, the missing middle development everyone is asking for, will require additional high rise intensification all over Halton, and this has been stated very clearly by our regional and town staff.
To use an analogy of Lego for building, the province is telling us how much we have to grow (and giving us the Lego pieces) Half of Halton is protected by the Greenbelt and Natural Heritage Systems and most of the farms that do provide food that comes to our table is already protected and not going to be touched. By removing more space to place these Lego pieces of growth, means more will have to be stacked on top of each other making it necessary to place these developments within current developed areas causing congestion, traffic and at the expense of park lands and community centres etc. This isn’t sustainable growth, its not planned growth, its reactionary growth and THAT is what leads to sprawl.
This doesn’t include the requirement for much needed economic development growth and job opportunities for Halton’s current and future residents. If no urban boundary expansion is approved, we in Milton will be limited as to where much needed jobs are going to go. With the university and college campuses coming to Milton there will be an increased need for job growth as business follows education. If there is nowhere for jobs to come, they will move elsewhere, further ensuring residents of Milton and Halton having to commute to get those jobs. More commuting, more cars, more congestion, more traffic and no one wants that.
Milton has spent the last 10 years working on a vision for this community, working, living, playing and learning in the same community build with walkable and sustainable developments, lessening the requirements for cars and more emphasis on public transit and active transportation. By reducing the amount of space allocated for jobs and economic development it will ENSURE that our town becomes the warehousing and logistics capital of the world, surrounded even further by truck traffic congestion and trains. That’s not what this community wants. We want jobs and a supportive economy for high tech, innovation, green growth and planetary health job that require a variety of styles and designs that will support the missing middle, gentle density growth for the future.
By having more housing styles ranging from single family homes, low and mid rise development and low to mid rise condo/rental properties ensure the options for Milton’s youth, who seem to have been forgotten here. More affordable housing options will give them the opportunity to stay in Milton instead of commute and move OUT of Milton. We want to keep innovation and job creation HERE in Milton and not in neighbouring communities. Milton has been called a bedroom community and we’re doing as much as we can to reverse that direction and make/grow/develop a complete community. That has been my goal ever since being elected to council 12 years ago.
I have talked to many of the residents in Milton and especially in my ward that I represent and they want the ability for Milton to grow, create jobs for them and their children, provide them with access to quality post secondary education and opportunities to innovate, and grow within their community.
I hope that I’ve been able to clarify my position that expansion of the urban boundary is necessary and you’ll understand why I will be supporting the position that a majority of Milton council endorsed last week at our council.
As you are hopefully aware the February 9th council meeting has been changed to a workshop for council to discuss this more and a vote on it will be at a time later to be determined.
I’m still available for a phone call if you like at a time convenient for you either this week or next.
Thanks again for your comments and concerns and I look forward to speaking with you.
Have a great day. – Mike