Moved by: City Councillor Whillans
Seconded by: Regional Councillor Santos
WHEREAS City Council approved Resolution C363-2020 (September 30, 2020) to support and continue advancing the GTA West Corridor Study through Brampton’s City limits; and
WHEREAS Members of Council can request Council to reconsider a decision of Council made during the current term, in accordance with Section 13.2 of Procedure By-law 160-2004, as amended; and
WHEREAS the requirements of the Procedure By-law are met in terms of the pre-conditions for a reconsideration motion, through a Notice of Motion properly filed, subject to a two-thirds vote of Council to reconsider the decision;
THERFORE BE IT RESOLVED:
THAT the matter of Resolution C363-2020, as it relates to Council’s decision to support and advance the GTA West Corridor, be re-opened and reconsidered, as follows:
Resolution C363-2020
“WHEREAS the Ontario Ministry of Transportation initiated Stage 1 of the GTA West Environmental Assessment in 2008;
AND WHEREAS in May 2017 the GTA West Advisory Panel released its final report and its recommendations to the MTO determining that the highway contravened the province's planning objectives, was bad for the environment and was not an effective way to reduce traffic congestion;
AND WHEREAS this GTA West Highway has created uncertainty for many land owners in the protected area of Brampton since 2008;
AND WHEREAS in February 2018 the Province announced that it would not be proceeding with the GTA West project;
AND WHEREAS the Provincial Government reversed the previous decision and restarted the GTA West project on June 19, 2019;
AND WHEREAS the Provincial Government announced on August 7, 2020 the Preferred Route for the GTA West project;
AND WHEREAS the Province recently proclaimed Amendment 1 to the Growth Plan to the Greater Golden Horseshoe that shows the Future Transportation Corridor conceptually extending from Highway 427 to the broader region of Guelph/Waterloo area in Schedule 6 of the Plan;
AND WHEREAS the Province has set out the vision in the Provincial Policy Statement (2020) to achieve strong, livable and healthy communities that promote and enhance human health and social well-being, are economically and environmentally sound, and are resilient to climate change;
AND WHEREAS the Province has set out the vision in the Growth Plan for the Golden Horseshoe (2020) will support the achievement of complete communities with access to transit networks, protected employment zones and an increase in the amount and variety of housing available;
AND WHEREAS City Council endorsed in principle of an ‘urban boulevard’ as part of the City’s vision for the Heritage Heights Secondary Plan and the plan supported by PDC089-2020 and C308-2020:
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that Council for the City of Brampton supports the GTA West corridor with the Heritage Heights urban Boulevard portion through Brampton’s City limits.
FURTHER RESOLVED THAT the Province continue to advance the GTA West Corridor EA process to assess the merits of the ‘urban boulevard’ envisioned in the City’s Heritage Heights Vision Concept;
AND FURTHER THAT this resolution be circulated to the Premier of Ontario, The Minister of Transportation, the Region of Peel, the Town of Caledon, the Town of Halton Hills and the Region of Halton.”
THAT subsequent to Council’s reconsideration of Resolution C363-2020, the following motion be considered:
WHEREAS the Province has set out the vision in the Provincial Policy Statement (2020) to achieve strong, livable and healthy communities that promote and enhance human health and social well-being, are economically and environmentally sound, and are resilient to climate change; and
WHEREAS the Province has set out the vision in A Place to Grow (Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe, 2020) to support the achievement of complete communities with access to transit networks, protected employment zones, and an increase in the amount and variety of housing available; and
WHEREAS the GTA West Transportation Corridor Route Planning and Environmental Assessment study (now known as the Highway 413 Transportation Corridor Route Planning and Preliminary Design Project) was terminated by the previous government following the recommendation by an expert panel that the highway contravened the province’s planning objectives, was bad for the environment, and was not an effective way to reduce congestion; and
WHEREAS the Provincial Government reversed the previous decision and restarted the Environmental Assessment study in June 2019; and
WHEREAS Council for the City of Brampton wishes to take a leadership role by investing in infrastructure and communities that will mitigate and be resilient against climate change, minimize suburban sprawl and environmental impacts, and reduce dependence on cars; and
WHEREAS the Highway 413 Project has created uncertainty for many land owners and delayed development in northeast and northwest Brampton; and
WHEREAS in July 2020 Council endorsed a plan for northwest Brampton to create a complete, compact, mixed-use, transit-oriented community that will promote and enhance human health and social well-being, provide a diversity of housing typologies, and be economically and environmentally responsible; and
WHEREAS the north/south urban boulevard proposed by the City in northwest Brampton, to be located within the Highway 413 alignment, is a critical piece of infrastructure that will knit the Heritage Heights community together, maximize the parallel street network, and enable Council’s vision for a complete community to be realized; and
WHEREAS a limited access 400-series highway through Heritage Heights would create a barrier, increase car dependence, contribute to low density suburban sprawl, increase greenhouse gas emissions, increase congestion, and prevent Council’s vision for northwest Brampton from being realized; and
WHEREAS in September 2020 Council forwarded a request to the Province requesting that the Ministry of Transportation work with the City of Brampton to incorporate the urban boulevard into the overall plan for the Highway 413 corridor; and
WHEREAS the Ministry of Transportation has indicated that they will not be incorporating the urban boulevard into their corridor planning, but rather will continue to plan on the basis of the entire corridor being a 400-series limited access highway; and
WHEREAS Council is now of the opinion that the impacts of Highway 413 in the form of a 400-series highway corridor on climate change, the environment, and efforts to reduce dependence on cars and its potential to lead to increased suburban sprawl outweigh the benefits that would ensue from its construction;
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED:
THAT Council for the City of Brampton strongly opposes investments in infrastructure that will encourage suburban sprawl and car dependence and that will negatively impact the environment; and
THAT Council for the City of Brampton continues to support an urban boulevard in the Highway 413 alignment, and strongly oppose the current design for the 400-series controlled access highway proposed by the Province of Ontario, within the Heritage Heights area; and
THAT Council for the City of Brampton now strongly opposes the Highway 413 Project in its entirety; and
THAT this resolution be circulated to the Premier of Ontario, The Minister of Transportation, the Region of Peel, the Town of Caledon, the Town of Halton Hills and the Region of Halton.