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Growth management

Reviewed and updated the the policies in the Regional Official Plan that manage how and where Peel grows.

The Growth Management focus area was guided by an exercise to determine where and how new population and employment growth will be accommodated in an integrative manner that promotes healthy, complete, and livable communities. The key outcomes of the focus area were to:

In August, 2020, the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing released Amendment #1 and Land Needs Methodology to A Place to Grow – Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe, 2019, which included draft population and employment forecasts to 2051. These changes were intended to provide municipalities with more flexibility to respond to demographic, employment, market demand, and housing affordability trends in the Greater Golden Horseshoe (GGH).

Other information

The Region finalized the Peel 2051 Land Needs Assessment (LNA) to determine the amount of land required to accommodate future population and employment growth to the year 2051 in accordance with the requirements of the Provincially mandated methodology. Further to the technical results of the LNA, additional analysis has been undertaken informed by stakeholder input and strategic policy directions. An overview of these matters and the impact on the technical results are outlined in a covering memo to the LNA.

Peel 2051 Land Needs Assessment Report (report and appendices)

In the Growth Plan, 2020, Regional municipalities have a strengthened role in protecting and planning for employment areas. The Employment Planning Implementation Report summarizes the employment planning policy context in Peel, trends and challenges in achieving employment/job growth, management of the existing and new greenfield employment land base, technical analysis prepared (including employment conversions), and the proposed employment-related policies and mapping in the Regional Official Plan.

The Employment Planning Implementation Report describes the March 2022 staff recommended employment planning policy framework in the new Region of Peel Official Plan. An addendum to the report reflects changes directed by Regional Council in the adopted April 2022 Region of Peel Official Plan.

Employment Planning Implementation Report, March 2022 and April 2022 Addendum

Other key employment-related documents can be accessed through appendices to the Land Needs Assessment Report, including the Employment Strategy Discussion Paper 2051 Addendum and the Vacant and Underutilized Land Inventory.

Updates on items related to the Growth Management focus area were provided to Regional Council and the Planning and Growth Management Committee (PGMC) throughout 2021. These reports and presentations are provided for reference below:

The Region of Peel is required to protect employment areas from sensitive land uses such as residential to ensure sufficient land is available to support forecasted growth and employment uses such as manufacturing, warehousing, and offices. Through a municipal comprehensive review, the Region may consider the conversion of employment lands to non-employment uses, subject to provincial and regional criteria.

The Region has received 59 requests for conversion through the MCR. The employment conversion requests were initially documented in the Region of Peel Preliminary Employment Conversion Analysis - May 2021. Additional requests were received as part of the fall 2021 Official Plan review statutory consultation. Staff supported 16 sites for removal from the Regional employment area. Information on the requests, staff responses, and detailed analysis is presented as follows:

Fall 2021

The Region completed a draft of the Peel 2051 Land Needs Assessment to determine the amount of land required to accommodate future population and employment growth to the year 2051 in accordance with the requirements of the Provincially mandated methodology. The Land Needs Assessment informed elements of the Peel 2051 Municipal Comprehensive Review including:

  • The amount of population and employment growth allocated to the local municipalities;
  • The planned mix of housing units and employment types;
  • Minimum rates of intensification;
  • Minimum densities in designated greenfield areas and Strategic Growth Areas; and
  • The need for settlement area boundary expansion.

The following information provides an overview of the findings of the Peel 2051 Land Needs Assessment and included the draft Land Needs Assessment Report and supporting appendices:

Peel 2051 Land Needs Assessment Report (report and appendices)

The completed draft of the Peel 2051 Land Needs Assessment was presented to the Planning and Growth Management Committee on October 7, 2021. The materials presented at this meeting include:

 

June 2021

On the June 17, 2021 Planning and Growth Management Committee agenda, a number of key technical components of the Growth Management focus area were presented in the Land Needs Assessment Report Update.  The Land Needs Assessment Report Update provided information on a balanced approach to accommodate growth to 2051 and continued to demonstrate the need for settlement area boundary expansion to support a mix of housing options and employment types. Supporting technical studies include:

  • Appendix I – Intensification Analysis: 2051 Addendum
  • Appendix II – Region of Peel Vacant and Underutilized Employment Land Inventory
  • Appendix III – Employment Strategy Discussion Paper: 2051 Addendum
  • Appendix IV – Region of Peel Preliminary Employment Conversion Analysis

All other presentations and reports to the Planning and Growth Management Committee related to Peel 2051 can be found on the Official Plan Review Reading Room webpage.

August 2021

As part of an updated Peel 2051 draft Regional Official Plan, the in-effect office consolidation was updated to illustrate tracked changes for draft policies and mapping as of August 13, 2021. Growth Management and employment related policies can be found in Chapters 4 and 5 of the draft Regional Official Plan. Growth Management policy changes are also summarized at a high level for reference.

High-Level Summary of Key Draft Policy Changes

Draft Peel 2051 Regional Official Plan – August 13, 2021

Key Growth Management Schedules and Figures (see “Mapping” Table)

  • Schedule Z1 - Regional Structure (Formerly Schedule D)
  • Schedule Z2 - Strategic Growth Areas (New schedule being proposed)
  • Schedule Z3 - The Growth Plan Policy Areas in Peel (Formerly Schedule D4)
  • Schedule Y6 - Employment Areas (New schedule being proposed)
  • Figure Z1 - Population and employment growth in Peel Region (Formerly Figure 4)
  • Figure Z2 - Population age structure in Peel Region (Formerly Figure 7)
  • Figure Z3 - Home languages: Peel Region and Ontario (Formerly Figure 8)
  • Figure Z4 - Provincially Significant Employment Zones (New Figure being proposed)

Growth Management Display Boards July 2021

As part of open houses held in Summer 2021 for the overall Peel 2051 Municipal Comprehensive Review, display boards were prepared for each focus area, including Growth Management. These display boards provided an overview of the growth management policy framework, growth forecasts, and the supporting studies.

June 2020

As part of the June 25, 2020 Peel council report, 2041 Regional Official Plan Review update to Regional Council, a Growth Management Policy Directions Report was prepared. The Growth Management Policy Directions Report provided background information on policy issues and updates necessary to reflect the latest Provincial policy direction and conformity. The report provided background information and recommendations that informed the Regional Official Plan policies regarding regional on growth management and the allocation of population and employment growth across the Region

Growth Management Policy Directions Report and Appendices
Draft Growth Management Employment Policies in Proposed ROP Section 5.7 and 5.8

On February 27, 2020 an Employment Policies and Trends Overview Report was presented to Regional Council to provide an overview of the employment planning policy framework in Peel and trends that guided updated employment policies as a part of Peel 2041 (now referred to as Peel 2051). Regional Council also received an update on the new Growth Plan 2019, Provincially Significant Employment Zones (PSEZ) framework. The PSEZ are lands identified by the minister for the purpose of long-term employment land protection, job creation, and economic development.

On October 26, 2017, Regional Council directed staff to proceed to a statutory public meeting and open houses on the Growth Management draft Regional Official Plan Amendment (ROPA).

The scheduled Public Meeting was cancelled due to Provincial policy changes though previous consultation materials are also available for reference:

Based on the 2017 draft policies, the following table addresses all comments and formal submissions received from stakeholders and members of the public between January 2015 and December 2018:

Many of these comments and responses were provided under an old Provincial planning and policy framework.

As part of the supporting information for the Draft Growth Management ROPA, the 2017 Region of Peel Employment Strategy Discussion Paper (and the Addendum for Planning to 2051)recommended implementation strategies to achieve employment targets. One strategy included investigating whether it would be feasible to incentivize major office employment development. On April 22, 2021, Regional Council approved a Regional Major Office Incentives Program to provide Tax Increment Equivalent Grants (TIEGs) to major office developments of approximately 1,858 square metres (20,000 square feet) and above, subject to eligibility criteria. The program details, project history, case studies, and financial implications are outlined on the Regional Major Office Incentives Program webpage and the April 22, 2021 report to Regional Council.