On the heels of the Greenbelt scandal,
the consequent RCMP investigation,
the resignation of the Minister of Housing
the walk back of municipal boundary changes, now comes a review of all provincial MZO decisions.
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Video excerpts from Nov 22 Community Meeting presentation “Revoke the Lakeview Village EMZO”
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The Lakeview Ratepayers Association (LRA) sent their comments in a letter to Minister Paul Calandra Read Letter
What can you do to help, how can you take action? Click the arrows below for more information.
Send your own email along with the Nov 2nd LRA letter to Paul Calandra MPP, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing. Copy your email to other politicians, Click <<< triangle for further details
To:
The Honourable Paul Calandra, MPP, Minister of Municipal Affairs & Housing
Email: Paul.Calandra@pc.ola.org
Copy:
The Honourable Charles Sousa, MP Mississauga-Lakeshore
charles.sousa@parl.gc.ca
The Honourable Rudy Cuzzetto, MPP Mississauga-Lakeshore
Rudy.Cuzzetto@pc.ola.org
Councillor Stephen Dasko, Ward 1 Mississauga
stephen.dasko@mississauga.ca
Lakeview Ratepayers Association
admin@lakeviewratepayers.com
Suggested template:
Dear Minister Calandra
I agree and fully support the position of the Lakeview Ratepayers Board as presented in the November 2nd letter below, sent to the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing.
In order to restore good faith in the oversight of this Ministry, it is imperative to revoke the Lakeview Village MZO to the approved plan, completed in good faith with the community.
Full Name:
City:
Postal Code:
November 2, 2023
The Honourable Paul Calandra, MPP
Ministry of Municipal Affairs & Housing
17th Floor, 777 Bay Street
Toronto, Ontario
M7A 2J3
Email: Paul.Calandra@pc.ola.org
Re: O. Reg. 91/23: ZONING ORDER – City of Mississauga, Regional Municipality of Peel (Lakeview)
Dear Mr Calandra,
We strongly oppose the proposal to double the density of Lakeview Village Development in Mississauga Ward 1, going from 8,050 to 16,000 units. The government’s claim that this is to fast track affordable housing is misleading.
The original rezoning process involved transparent consultations and expert recommendations for a sustainable community with 5,400 units. The community and the city worked together to grant the developer a 150% bonus in density when amending the Official Plan. That land use approval process took only 3 months from the time the developer purchased the land. The OPA established a fast-track masterplan and zoning process that matched the developer’s site preparation timeline. Again, no delays. Lakeview was a model of how to get a community right and fast-track the planning approvals.
What’s concerning is the Ministerial Zoning Order (MZO) was signed suddenly in what appears to residents as bad faith. The MZO grants the developer unchecked autonomy and sets a worrisome precedent for all future developments. This will lead to billions of dollars in profit for the developer with no significant specification of public benefits or mitigation of negative impacts this density will bring. We must protect the public’s trust in the Planning Act that allowed the Lakeview project to happen in the first place.
We urge you to uphold the negotiated Master Plan and stick to the approved 8,050-unit proposal.
Sincerely Yours,
The Lakeview Ratepayers Board
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Please sign our online petition by following the LINK to our petition page
Print out and add your name and address to our paper petition form and collect names from your neighbors Click <<< triangle for more details
Print out the form, ask you neighbors to sign the form also (original signatures required). Contact us at admin@lakeviewratepayers.com for pick up.
List of contacts to send your own letter and comments. Click <<< triangle for more details
To:
The Honourable Paul Calandra, MPP
Ministry of Municipal Affairs & Housing
Email: Paul.Calandra@pc.ola.org 17th Floor, 777 Bay Street, Toronto, Ontario, M7A 2J3
Copy:
The Honourable Charles Sousa, MP Mississauga-Lakeshore
charles.sousa@parl.gc.ca
The Honourable Rudy Cuzzetto, MPP Mississauga-Lakeshore
Rudy.Cuzzetto@pc.ola.org
Councillor Stephen Dasko, Ward 1 Mississauga
stephen.dasko@mississauga.ca
Mayor (Mississauga)
mayor@mississauga.ca
Lakeview Ratepayers Association
admin@lakeviewratepayers.com
David Breveglieri Mississauga City Planner – Lakeview file,
David.Breveglieri@mississauga.ca
Mayor Bonnie Crombie is the new Liberal Party Leader and has spoken directly on the Lakeview MZO situation. She has publicly stated that ‘Ford should revoke the minister’s zoning order that effectively doubled the allowed size of the project’
Email: Bonnie Crombie info@bonnieforleader.ca
Do you want to understand more?
You may have recently seen news stories about the Greenbelt where the Ontario government forced through some bad planning decisions. Did you know that your community has been similarly treated?
In May 2023, significant changes were made by the province to the Lakeview Village site (former power plant). Without community consultation the number of housing units allowed was doubled, which now means 40,000 people could be living on that development site alone.
No one knows how that will affect Lakeview’s other 20,000 residents, our roads, schools etc.
The density will become 55,744 people/sq km or as planners say 557 people/hectare. It will be one of the most dense suburban communities in the world.
Watch the video above for more info about the MZO and the community involvement in the process
What is an MZO? In general, rezoning land takes place through the city/municipality with consideration for the existing
land use, impact of change and with public consultation. An MZO allows the Ontario government to bypass the city/municipality land use rules and make the decision to change the use of the land without public input and consideration of existing planning rules. The idea of an MZO is to move the process along quicker. However, it hasn’t moved anything along faster and has in fact added more layers of bureaucracy that has not allowed any of the land to be developed. Lakeview Village has already gone through rezoning from utility/brownfields site to development land, this was the result of a long process by the community to convince the city, Province and owners of the land, and OPG, that we would be better served for our growth by allowing residential development at this location over another power plant. Despite the increase in density, on May 12, 2023, the Province decided on an increase of 8000 units (now totaling 16,050 units) at Lakeview Village.
Revoke the MZO
In the past it was impossible to overturn an MZO. However, in the past 2 months the Greenbelt scandal has unfolded that showed various privileged developers were able to directly influence the process, and consequently the Greenbelt was reversed. In addition, an RCMP investigation is underway, and the previous Minister of Housing resigned. In October, the new Minister announced he would overturn the controversial boundary expansions and review all MZO’s.
Why now? There is a glimmer of hope!
We need your help to bring attention to this issue, and to be part of the change. No-one knows what the impact will be on Lakeview. However, we do know the suggested increase was not planned, came without process, and did not involve community consultation. Without the two decades of hard work from the community, this developmental opportunity would not exist. We deserve a seat at the table.
Jim Tovey always said, ‘you buy the land, you buy the plan’ and we aim to continue to follow his 3 P’s strategy of being Proactive, Persistent & Positive.
This development could overwhelm the capacity of our local infrastructure and the increased demand may have a lasting impact on the area.
