Greenbelt Plan contradicts city practices
August 11, 2006

The ongoing conflict between city officials and provincial anti-sprawl legislation was expressed again this week in a report by planning staff to council on "problems" with the McGuinty government's Greenbelt Plan - especially challenges to current city practices regarding the protection of agricultural land and natural areas.

The provincial government introduced the Greenbelt idea in December 2003 and approved it in February 2005 after province-wide consultation that included a task force headed by Burlington Mayor Rob MacIsaac. Hamilton city council unsuccessfully argued that the Greenbelt boundaries should be deferred until Hamilton finished its GRIDS (Growth Related Integrated Development Strategy) process. GRIDS was finalized in May of 2006.

In a report to council this week, planning staff are now pointing to "boundary issues and problems related to conformity and implementation of the Plan". The report notes several instances where provincial definitions and rules are more protective of ecological features than Hamilton has been.

One relates to the mapping of stream valleys and wetlands in Glanbrook that are being protected by the Greenbelt. Staff note "there is concern the mapping of these areas is too broad and has encompassed some lands that are neither ecologically or environmentally significant."

More specifically, they say "Greenbelt policies now protect a wider range of natural features and ecological functions regardless of scale, as well as the connections (or linkages) between them. This approach targets key natural heritage and key hydrologic features by connecting them within a 'Natural Heritage System'."

Planners with the former regional government of Hamilton-Wentworth endorsed this linkages approach in a 1994 study titled "Towards a Regional Greenlands System". The study responded to Vision 2020's call "to develop a system of interconnected protected natural areas", but was not implemented.

A second problem identified in this week's report says "the Greenbelt Plan requires traditional municipal Environmental Impact Statements (EIS) to be prepared and reviewed by staff and ESAIG for more situations than previous City policies required", and its policies "require EIS reports for a wider variety of natural features (all wetlands, seepage areas and springs, habitat of special concern species)."

A third issue is the requirement for wider buffer zones along streams and around other significant ecological areas. The new provincial rules require "a 30 metre vegetation protection zone from any key natural heritage or hydrologic feature", a buffer size that is endorsed by Environment Canada.

Agricultural areas around Winona continue to be a particular point of friction. The city attempted to expand the urban boundary there in 2003 just before the Greenbelt was announced. The expansion was appealed to the Ontario Municipal Board by the provincial Ministry of Agriculture and Food (OMAF).

A recent settlement allows urbanization of some of these rural lands, but blocks others. The staff report questions this result, arguing that the protected lands "include many small non-farm properties unrelated to the agricultural operations that were the focus of the Province".

Part of the conflict arises from differing definitions of what constitutes fruitbelt lands. The city's definition includes only areas growing peaches, cherries, plums and vinifera grapes. The provincial definition includes "hardier fruits, grapes and hybrids (e.g., labrusca and table grapes) that can grow in a wider climatic region further from the lake" extending protected fruitbelt lands as far south as Mud Street, much to the chagrin of some councillors.

The city's planners say they conducted their Local Evaluation of Agricultural Reserve (LEAR) study to decide what should be protected "with the assistance of OMAF", but then OMAF "did not endorse the City's LEAR Specialty Crop Area since it was smaller than that proposed under the Greenbelt Plan."

The full planning staff report is available at http://www.myhamilton.ca/NR/rdonlyres/69BC797A-3A41-40A6-9AB1-
5161E94D19C5/0/Aug08PED06225.pdf.