THE OAK RIDGES MORAINE

A QUESTION OF BALANCE
The battle of the century is unfolding on that bump of land you gently pass over on the way to the cottage - the Oak Ridges Moraine.

Just last week the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing announced new legislation that freezes all development on the Moraine – an area encompassing many thousands of acres from Richmond Hill to Uxbridge.

As part of the Province’s “Smart Growth” strategy, the new Oak Ridges Moraine Protection Act, for a period of six months, stops the following:

• Municipalities from adopting or approving official plans, amendments, zoning by laws or plans of sub divisions on the Moraine
• Anyone from applying for an official plan or by law amendment or plan of subdivision
• Stays all development applications before the Ontario Municipal Board and prevents the OMB from issuing orders with respect to any application for development

It doesn’t get much more draconian than this! It’s one thing to put on hold future development in order to review and substantiate a new policy direction – it is quite another to freeze development already approved.

You may be, dear reader, the most ardent environmentalist but even you may be hard pressed to support a bill that threatens the livelihood of thousands of working families in housing developments already approved through an exhaustive planning process.

A long-term action plan to protect the Moraine will be developed over the next six months through consultation and roundtable discussions with environmental groups, developers, municipalities, resource interests and members of the public. Contact your local MPP to get times, dates and rules for participation.
The battle royal for the Moraine is a question of balance. There will always be the extremes – eco-terrorists who will demand an end to any further development on the Moraine and developers ready to pave it over. Neither position is appropriate.
The current planning process has always been a function of balance. The development industry acknowledges that the Moraine is a prominent landform with unique environmental characteristics. In fact the industry has embraced an “Environment First” planning principle since the landmark OMB decision (OPA 129) of 1995.

The issue in 2001 is a response to growth management. The GTA has been experiencing an unprecedented economic boom – net new employment and population growth has exceeded 75,000 per year for the past five years – these new families must live and work somewhere. New home sales last year topped 40,000 units producing over 100,000 man-years of employment in the construction industry.

As development moved north along the transportation corridors of the 404 and 400 highways it inevitably hit the bump – the Oak Ridges Moraine.

You will hear a lot in the coming months about hydrogeologic overviews and assessments. This means water. The Moraine is about water and protecting the headwaters of significant watersheds and their related underground aquifers.
Historically, the existing Planning Act and process has been able to balance these very real and important environmental concerns with appropriate levels of growth.
Let’s hope that this balance can continue to be achieved not only for those currently living on the Moraine but also for their children in the future.

The next six months will provide a fascinating case study between opposing forces of environmental protection and growth management. No matter which side of this issue you may be on, get informed and get involved.

Keep Positive!
PMA Brethour Group
Andrew Brethour
Marketing & Sales Consultant to the New Home Industry
andrewb@pmabrethour.com