Urgent Action - Waterloo Region Official Plan

Please read the following message. If you support it please email it to mcolleen@region.waterloo.on.ca before January 31. Please tell your friends!The Region's Official

Plan (ROP) is an important local planning document. It will govern development in this Region of the Grand River Watershed until 2029. It will directly impact the quality of life of current and future generations. The core values expressed in the draft ROP need to protect sensitive source water (surface and subsurface) areas, natural heritage areas, threatened species habitats, and agricultural lands. A new Official Plan is needed to combat urban sprawl resulting from bad planning throughout the Region (i.e. Hidden Valley, Doon South, Strasburg Creek, Wards Pond, Forbes Wetlands, the northwest corner of Waterloo, and the West Montrose Kissing Bridge) to ensure sustainable development. Waterlooians.ca supports initiatives in the draft plan that preserve the Waterloo Moraine, local groundwater recharge areas, natural heritage areas, threatened species habitats, and agricultural lands. The Region's Environmentally Sensitive Landscape (ESL) designations and the protected country side line concept attempt to address these matters. Waterlooians.ca strongly encourages the Region to include the McNally lands in Waterloo in the ESL as it has recently been rezoned Green 1. Furthermore, Waterlooians.ca still believes that a Provincial Greenbelt appears to be a better policy instrument than ESLs as it provides greater protection from aggregate extraction. In order to address forced population growth Waterlooians.ca supports greater intensification of build up areas and urban cores. Please note that Waterlooians.ca objects, at this time, to the forced provincial and federal growth as data regarding the carrying capacity of the Grand River do not appear to support the growth (State of the Resource Report for the Grand River 2005). Waterlooians.ca is encouraging the Region of Waterloo to complete the process regarding the new official plan update on our own time and not to be beholden to the Provincial time line. Furthermore, we encourage the Region to not be beholden to the forced Provincial growth targets.Unfortunately the draft plan does not appear to go far enough in ensuring resource security for future generations of Waterlooians. It continues to promote urban sprawl, in the form of greenfield development, throughout the entire Region, both urban areas and rural. To review some current planning problems in Waterloo Region please review the educational videos at: http://ca.youtube.com/user/GeneralPeaceIn order to protect future generations Waterlooians.ca is calling upon the Region of Waterloo to amend their draft official plan by:- include the entire McNally Lands in the ESL as per the wishes of the late Doug McNally- removing the Lake Erie Pipeline concept from the Long Term Water Supply Strategy- focus the majority of new growth in existing build up areas and cores- drastically reducing the amount of urban sprawl greenfield development in rural and urban areas- not supporting any urban reserve concepts past 2029 and reducing the size of greenfield urban reserves to 2029 - focus on brownfield remediation and address the legacy of industrial pollutionThese suggestions will strengthen the draft ROP in order to protect sensitive source water (surface and subsurface) areas, natural heritage areas, threatened species habitats, and agricultural lands for future generations.Save it, don't pave it, the Waterloo Moraine!!Respectfully yours,