A provincial plan to protect more farmland and water sources from urban sprawl has struck a nerve with the Town of Innisfil.
The town has a plan to use the Highway 400 corridor to attract new employers and in turn, create more jobs.
Mayor Gord Wauchope says the town isn't against the Greenbelt expansion, but he doesn't want areas already slated for growth to be part of it.
“It could certainly impact the areas where we are anticipating the growth for industrial commercial areas,” he says.
Council will soon vote on the town's official plan, which would become a roadmap for growth for the next two decades.
Town planners argue the Greenbelt study is redundant because provincial policies and studies have already been done to protect the environment, as recently as last year.
“We're anxious to get the official plan approved reflecting those provincial policies,” says Tim Cane, town planner. “To have this moving target all the time is frustrating for us to spend the time and resources to constantly update these planning rules.”
There's no guarantee that the areas the province is studying will be used for a larger Greenbelt, but advocates argue the study is necessary to ensure fresh water sources are protected.
“Unfortunately there's still gaps in provincial policy for how source water protection plans protect private well owners, our farms, our businesses,” says Margaret Prophet, a spokesperson for Simcoe County Greenbelt Coalition.
The town will send its concerns to the province, which is currently taking feedback on the Greenbelt review until March.
There's no timeline for a decision.
