OMB approves Peel's urban boundary amendment

Peel Regional council's decision to adopt Regional Official Plan Amendment (ROPA) 15 that expands the Region's urban boundary to include northwest Brampton has been approved by the Ontario Municipal Board.

Council first adopted ROPA 15 in June 2005 to expand the Region's urban boundary in Northwest Brampton to include an additional 6,000 acres of land and extend the planning horizon of Brampton and Mississauga from 2021 to 2031. However, appeals to Council's decision were received from various stakeholders. Over the past year, Regional and City of Brampton staff revised policies that modify ROPA 15 to address the appeals, including a provincial request to protect shale resources.

As a result, the amendment provides that:

* Northwest Brampton be divided along Mississauga Road.

* And lands to the east (about 1,800 acres) may be developed subject to provincial, regional and city policies and to normal planning approvals. The Places to Grow growth plan applies to all further planning work to be done in northwest Brampton.

* And land to the west cannot be developed for a minimum of 10 years.

* After 10 years, the Province of Ontario, Region of Peel and City of Brampton will conduct a study that determines if it is in the public interest to continue shale protection or to allow urban development west of Mississauga Road. Following this decision, a ROPA will be required before development can proceed.

"The high growth rate in Peel has depleted the Region's urban land supply and we will not be able to accommodate long-term growth forecasts," said Peel's planning commissioner Nick Tunnacliffe. "The OMB's decision to allow Peel to adopt ROPA 15 will allow us to effectively plan for and accommodate a forecast population of 1.51 million people in Peel by 2031."

ROPA 15 also includes objectives and policies that ensure the development of Northwest Brampton is based on sound growth management principles, which include the protection of environmental features of provincial and regional significance; the opportunity to provide significant transit service and develop transitsupportive land use and densities serviced by the Mount Pleasant GO Station; the provision of major infrastructure while minimizing the fiscal impact on Peel; and the protection of significant shale resources in advance of development.

"Peel is one of the fastest growing municipalities in Ontario, and we work diligently to identify opportunities that maintain Peel's high quality of life," says Brampton Mayor Susan Fennell, chair of the Region's planning committee. "The urban designation of northwest Brampton now protects the area against incompatible land uses and gives us the ability to apply the toughest growth management strategy to any future development."

For more information on ROPA 15, visit peelregion.ca/planning.