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Halton threatens to slow growth
JAMES RUSK
One of the fastest-growing areas in the GTA is about to tell the provincial government that it will slow development unless the province finds a way to help local government pay for it.
Halton Region Council is poised to unanimously pass a resolution at its meeting this Wednesday that without significant changes in provincial policy it cannot meet the population targets set out in the province's Places to Grow plan, Gary Carr, the regional chairman, said.
Mr. Carr and the mayors of the four lower-tier municipalities in the region -- Burlington, Oakville, Milton and Halton Hills -- also plan to stage a news conference at Queen's Park to press their demands on the provincial government.
Financing urban growth is now a hot issue in the region, Mr. Carr said.
"It is resonating. . . . In the Burlington [provincial] by-election, the funding for the hospital was the No. 1 issue, " he said.
The region's politicians are moving hard and fast on the issue for two main reasons.
One is a change in style brought about by the election two former MPPs -- Mr. Carr as regional chair and Cam Jackson as Burlington mayor -- to top municipal posts last November.
Unlike previous local leaders in Halton who, with their officials, negotiated with the province out of camera range, the instinct of the newcomers is to scream to the media first and talk business with the province later, said one local official who asked not to be named because he deals with the region.
The other is timing.
With a provincial budget March 22 and a provincial election Oct. 10, the politicians want to put the issue firmly on the political agenda.
"We think that, when it gets on the radar screen for an election, it really does help it as well. That is what we are hopeful of," Mr. Carr said.
What has caught the attention of the Halton regional politicians is the population forecast contained in Places to Grow, a 25-year growth management plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe area, that was made public last June.
The plan forecasts that Halton will have a population of 780,000 by 2031, which represents 67-per-cent growth from its estimated population of 468,000 this year.
Mr. Jackson said the reaction to the provincial plan varies with the circumstance of the municipality.
For instance, Burlington will be built out to its development limits in five years and forced to intensify development in the central parts of the city -- a pattern that concerns residents.
But apart from the impact growth would have on each municipality, the issue is money.
The region estimates that the cost of the new infrastructure to accommodate this growth, which the region says is "required" by the province, is $8.6-billion, of which local governments will have to come up with $4.8-billion.
It estimates that apart from schools and hospitals, which are a provincial responsibility, development will, for instance, require 2,000 kilometres of major municipal roadways, 25 community centres, 22 fire halls and eight libraries.
Amy Tang, spokeswoman for David Caplan, Minister of Public Infrastructure Renewal, said the Halton politicians have misinterpreted Places to Grow.
The plan neither requires municipalities to reach target populations, nor dictates where growth must take place, she said.
"This is not a requirement. These are projected numbers to allow us to plan," Ms. Tang said.
With population growth shifting to the west as Peel Region rapidly fills its undeveloped space, growth in municipalities like Milton was accelerating even before the provincial plan was published, she said.
She added that the province finds it hard to respond to the detailed forecast of growth's impact on the region.
"The rationale for the numbers they've presented hasn't been presented formally to us. I'd be interested to see how they came up with them. Until we see that, it is hard for us to comment specifically on those," Ms. Tang said.
Whatever the numbers, without changes in the way municipalities are financed, the region can neither afford the capital costs, nor pay the increased operating bills that growth will bring to local government, Mr. Carr said.
He said the region would like to see Queen's Park change the rules so that local government could increase the development charges that builders pay on new development, and also reduce the burden of social service costs on local government.
Halton threatens to slow growth
JAMES RUSK
One of the fastest-growing areas in the GTA is about to tell the provincial government that it will slow development unless the province finds a way to help local government pay for it.
Halton Region Council is poised to unanimously pass a resolution at its meeting this Wednesday that without significant changes in provincial policy it cannot meet the population targets set out in the province's Places to Grow plan, Gary Carr, the regional chairman, said.
Mr. Carr and the mayors of the four lower-tier municipalities in the region -- Burlington, Oakville, Milton and Halton Hills -- also plan to stage a news conference at Queen's Park to press their demands on the provincial government.
Financing urban growth is now a hot issue in the region, Mr. Carr said.
"It is resonating. . . . In the Burlington [provincial] by-election, the funding for the hospital was the No. 1 issue, " he said.
The region's politicians are moving hard and fast on the issue for two main reasons.
One is a change in style brought about by the election two former MPPs -- Mr. Carr as regional chair and Cam Jackson as Burlington mayor -- to top municipal posts last November.
Unlike previous local leaders in Halton who, with their officials, negotiated with the province out of camera range, the instinct of the newcomers is to scream to the media first and talk business with the province later, said one local official who asked not to be named because he deals with the region.
The other is timing.
With a provincial budget March 22 and a provincial election Oct. 10, the politicians want to put the issue firmly on the political agenda.
"We think that, when it gets on the radar screen for an election, it really does help it as well. That is what we are hopeful of," Mr. Carr said.
What has caught the attention of the Halton regional politicians is the population forecast contained in Places to Grow, a 25-year growth management plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe area, that was made public last June.
The plan forecasts that Halton will have a population of 780,000 by 2031, which represents 67-per-cent growth from its estimated population of 468,000 this year.
Mr. Jackson said the reaction to the provincial plan varies with the circumstance of the municipality.
For instance, Burlington will be built out to its development limits in five years and forced to intensify development in the central parts of the city -- a pattern that concerns residents.
But apart from the impact growth would have on each municipality, the issue is money.
The region estimates that the cost of the new infrastructure to accommodate this growth, which the region says is "required" by the province, is $8.6-billion, of which local governments will have to come up with $4.8-billion.
It estimates that apart from schools and hospitals, which are a provincial responsibility, development will, for instance, require 2,000 kilometres of major municipal roadways, 25 community centres, 22 fire halls and eight libraries.
Amy Tang, spokeswoman for David Caplan, Minister of Public Infrastructure Renewal, said the Halton politicians have misinterpreted Places to Grow.
The plan neither requires municipalities to reach target populations, nor dictates where growth must take place, she said.
"This is not a requirement. These are projected numbers to allow us to plan," Ms. Tang said.
With population growth shifting to the west as Peel Region rapidly fills its undeveloped space, growth in municipalities like Milton was accelerating even before the provincial plan was published, she said.
She added that the province finds it hard to respond to the detailed forecast of growth's impact on the region.
"The rationale for the numbers they've presented hasn't been presented formally to us. I'd be interested to see how they came up with them. Until we see that, it is hard for us to comment specifically on those," Ms. Tang said.
Whatever the numbers, without changes in the way municipalities are financed, the region can neither afford the capital costs, nor pay the increased operating bills that growth will bring to local government, Mr. Carr said.
He said the region would like to see Queen's Park change the rules so that local government could increase the development charges that builders pay on new development, and also reduce the burden of social service costs on local government.