Whereas the More Homes Built Faster Act, Bill 23, lacks language which guarantees that truly affordable housing to address the most vulnerable will be built within existing urban boundaries where there are plenty of development opportunities, and instead would negatively impact communities by allowing expensive sprawling development and windfall profits within environmentally protected areas and by transferring increased costs from private developers to taxpayers;
Whereas Bill 23 policies threaten to seriously reduce protection of the number and extent of significant wetlands, and also the mandate of Conservation Authorities to manage watersheds, provide natural heritage and pollution information and advice to municipalities, and conserve natural resources for economic, social and environmental benefits;
Whereas Bill 23 includes cuts to provisions for green building standards, heritage protection, rental replacement standards, inclusionary zoning, and citizens’ rights to information, public meetings, and participation in appeals of planning decisions;
Whereas the Bill’s accelerated review timelines, Ontario Land Tribunal cost awards, and the loss of parkland dedication, development charges and community benefits, which are ordinarily levied on homebuilders to help pay for infrastructure and services, would result in significant revenue loss and increased staffing costs all around for municipalities while they are attending to the unprecedented crises of the unhoused, rising inflation, climate change, biodiversity loss, and a time of increasing financial instability.
Therefore be it resolved:
That in solidarity with the Association of Ontario Municipalities and the City of Kawartha Lakes, that Peterborough City Council stand in opposition to Bill 23, and that Council demand a repeal of Bill 23 due to the lack of an adequate timeframe to allow for fulsome and collaborative consultation with the City, the Association of Municipalities of Ontario, First Nations, Conservation Ontario and other community organizations;
That City staff work with local conservation authorities and others to identify impacts in the City and watershed and provide formal commentary on Bill 23 and associated changes as opportunities arise; and,
That a copy of this resolution be forwarded to the Honourable Doug Ford, Premier of Ontario, the Honourable Steve Clark, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, the Honourable Parm Gill, Minister of Red Tape Reduction, the Honourable David Piccini, Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks, the Honourable Graydon Smith, Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry, the Honourable Laurie Scott, Chair of the Legislative Committee on Heritage, Infrastructure and Cultural Policy, MPP Dave Smith, Mike Schreiner, Leader of the Ontario Green Party and MPP Guelph, John Fraser, Interim Leader of the Ontario Liberal Party and MPP Ottawa South, Peter Tabuns, Interim Leader Ontario NDP Party and MPP Toronto-Danforth, Association of Municipalities of Ontario, Rural Ontario Municipal Association, Ontario Big City Mayors Caucus, Federation of Canadian Municipalities, County of Peterborough and its Townships, the City of Kawartha Lakes, and neighbouring counties and townships.