Brampton waiting to be ‘made whole’ following sweeping changes from PC housing legislation; Springbrook residents fighting development in historic hamlet 

Peel Democracy Watch is The Pointer’s weekly feature aimed at increasing the public’s awareness and political involvement in the Region of Peel by highlighting key agenda items, motions and decisions. 

Brampton City Council 

Date: May 3 - 9:30 a.m. | Delegate | Full agenda | Watch live 

Bill 97 could put further financial stress on municipalities

Brampton City Councillors will be reviewing a staff report detailing their comments on Bill 97, the Helping Homebuyers, Protecting Tenants Act, which is being used to support the PC government’s goal of building 1.5 million new homes by 2031—roughly three times more than the historic rate. To accomplish this goal, Bill 97 is completely changing the foundational principles of urban planning municipalities have relied on for decades. The Bill repeals the previous Growth Plan, eliminates specified intensification targets, removes the concept of a built up boundary and municipal comprehensive reviews and alters the concept of employment lands. The City of Brampton is worried municipal taxpayers will be on the hook for the administrative and infrastructure costs that will come as result of this new development. 

“The impacts of the accumulated administrative, legislative and funding changes coming from Bill 108, Bill 109, Bill 23 and now Bill 97 should be considered and municipalities must be made whole,” the report states. 

Read the full report here. 

Past reporting:

• Experts say PCs’ proposed Bill 97 is a sprawl inducing ‘full frontal assault’ on Ontario agriculture

Additional units allowed under Bill 23

To comply with Bill 23, all municipalities in Ontario are required to implement policies allowing the use of a third additional residential unit within a detached, semi-detached or townhouse dwelling. The City of Brampton’s current Official Plan and zoning bylaw do not permit this.  The purpose of Wednesday's report is to have councillors approve the administrative change.

The addition of further residential units could exacerbate Brampton’s ongoing issue with illegal secondary suites, a problem that poses a significant safety issue and financial burden for the municipality.  

Read the full report here.

Past reporting:

• Brampton housing crisis creates overwhelming number of secondary suite applications; firm hired to help

• Fire from neighbour’s secondary suite almost sets city activist’s home ablaze 

Residents oppose Springbrook neighbourhood changes

Residents of Springbrook are pushing back against a recommendation from Brampton staff to develop a parcel of land that was previously removed from future growth plans in 2020. 

With municplaities looking for opportunities to intensify in the wake of the PC government’s Bill 23, the City is eyeing increased height and density on the lands fronting Queen Street West and within the Springbrook Tertiary Plan Area.

Residents say the proposal is incompatible with the existing neighbourhood, and accuse staff staff of showing a disregard for smart urban planning principles that focus on walkability and access to transit. Residents are also concerned about overcrowding at local schools which could be made worse by further development in the area. 

Click here to view the full report. 

Past reporting: 

• Can Brampton break its addiction to sprawl before the 2040 Vision deadline?

• Going under the microscope, could the 2040 Vision become Brampton 2060?

Administration and Finance Committee

Date: May 2 - 7:00 p.m. | Delegate | Full agenda | Watch live 

A look at the board’s aging facilities 

Trustees for the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board (DPCDSB) will be reviewing an update to the board’s Long-Term Facilities Master Plan (LTFMP) at its monthly administration and finance committee meeting Tuesday evening. 

The update is intended to provide an overview of the current and projected state of school facilities that will be incorporated into the final master plan document. Updates include strategies to support the board’s long-term accommodation plan “to ensure that DPCDSB school facilities are well-positioned to support student achievement and well-being for the coming years.”

Currently, schools across the board range in age from four years old to approximately 70 years old. Over 70 percent of the current school inventory (106 schools) were constructed in the past 40 years, with the largest grouping of these schools (46) being constructed between 1996 and 2005.

Read the full report here. 

Past reporting:

• Declining enrolment could hurt Peel school boards already weakened by decades of underfunding 

Email: [email protected] 

Twitter: @mcpaigepeacock 

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