Executive summary
- The purpose of this report is to introduce Halton Region’s Draft Preferred Growth Concept and the associated Draft Land Needs Assessment and to provide comments from the City of Burlington perspective to inform the completion of the Integrated Growth Management Strategy (IGMS) and the next stage of the Regional Municipal Comprehensive Review/Regional Official Plan Review.
- City of Burlington staff have reviewed the Region of Halton’s Draft Preferred Growth Concept and Draft Land Needs Assessment released in November. Staff have prepared a submission to inform the Region as work continues on the Regional Municipal Comprehensive Review/Regional Official Plan Review.
Climate implications
- Burlington City Council declared a climate emergency in April 2019 in response to the concerns about the impact that a changing climate is having on the City and communities around the globe. On April 20, 2020 Council approved a Climate Action Plan which provides a framework to reduce the use of fossil fuels in the community, the main contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, which are causes of climate change. The Climate Action Plan focuses on the following key areas: low-carbon new buildings, deep energy retrofits for existing buildings, renewable energy, electric mobility and equipment, integrated mobility, waste reduction and industry innovation.
- The Regional Official Plan and Burlington’s Official Plan have roles to play in ensuring that planning activities contribute to achieving the City’s climate change mitigation and adaptation objectives.
- In accordance with the Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe (2019), planning in Burlington must have as a guiding principle the need to “integrate climate change considerations into planning and managing growth such as planning for more resilient communities and infrastructure –that are adaptive to the impacts of a changing climate- and moving towards environmentally sustainable communities by incorporating approaches to reduce greenhouse gas emissions” (Growth Plan, 2019, S.1.2.1).
- Staff look forward to reviewing the more detailed Greenhouse Gas Emissions technical work, expected to be delivered as part of the information supporting the preferred growth concept.