Repeal Bill 23! Approve Waterloo Region's Official Plan!

Doug Ford is threatening to override our sustainable Regional Official Plan, potentially forcing expensive suburban sprawl into our countryside. His housing scheme will destroy our local farms, be unaffordable to most, and will significantly increase our taxes to subsidize developers.

Waterloo Region's cities and townships have collaborated for the last two years to update our Regional Official Plan. Staff worked closely with community groups, First Nations, and provincial staff to make a growth plan that everyone can get behind.

Waterloo Region’s plan includes policies for building sustinable 15-minute communities, including the “missing middle” housing that we so desperately need, without trampling the environment or protections for renters!

If the Province was serious about building new homes, it should approve our plan, not throw it out the window.

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Dear [Name],

Waterloo Region's Official Plan Amendment No. 6 was approved by Regional Council in August, and it plans to accommodate 125,000 homes by 2031. Bill 23's target for Waterloo Region is only 70,000. We are clearly already pulling our weight as a region when it comes to welcoming new neighbours.

We know that forcing urban area expansions won’t help solve our housing crisis. In Waterloo Region, developers are sitting on land for 19,000 homes that has been fully approved and are ready for housing, but no construction has begun. Local planning policy is not to blame for holding up new home construction.

Ontario's Bill 23 claims to be about “More Homes Built Faster”. But it throws Waterloo Region's Official Plan into limbo, which our 3 cities and 4 townships have been collaborating on together over the last two years. The Official Plan Amendment, including the Countryside Line, 15-minute communities, and policies endorsed by First Nations, must be respected and approved by the province. Waterloo Region has successfully directed smart growth around major transit stations while supporting our agricultural economy.

I agree that we need to build more homes and welcome more neighbours. We can do that by allowing duplexes, triplexes, townhomes, and low-rise apartments to spur “gentle density“ across the entire Region. Our Official Plan lists these housing types as “neighbourhood missing middle“ and Regional staff had recommended that the Province revise Bill 23 to permit “missing middle” housing as-of-right on a residential lot. If the Province is serious about encouraging new homes, it should allow these housing forms everywhere rather than follwoing through with the flawed policies of Bill 23.

Therefore, I urge the Province to take the following actions:

- Reinstate the Regional Municipality of Waterloo's planning authority.

- Approve the Regional Official Plan Amendment (ROPA 6) passed by Region of Waterloo council in August 2022.

- Repeal Bill 23 in its entirety, and replace it with a plan for housing that respects municipalities, renters, and the environment.

- Require municipalities to permit as-of-right “neighbourhood missing middle“ housing forms.

If the Province truly wants to build more homes faster, it should be using Waterloo's Regional Official Plan as an example, not removing its planning authority.

Thank you for your consideration of this urgent matter.

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Repeal Bill 23! Approve Waterloo Region's Official Plan!

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