Item - 2014.PG33.17

The  Planning and Growth Management Committee deferred consideration of the item to the June 19, 2014 meeting of the Planning and Growth Management Committee.

This report responds to a request from City Council to begin the process of making an application to the Province to designate public lands in the Don and Humber River and Etobicoke Creek valleys as part of the Greenbelt Area under the new Urban River Valley designation.

The report reviews the application process and implications of adding public lands to the Greenbelt through the Urban River Valley designation and provides cost information to designate public lands located within the Don and Humber River and Etobicoke Creek corridors that meet the environmentally significant areas (ESA) criteria. Designating public land in Toronto as Urban River Valley would not provide any additional policy protection to these lands and would result in a discontinuous patchwork of land being recognized as part of the Greenbelt. The report recommends an alternative approach that will achieve the goal of recognizing the importance of the Don and Humber Rivers and Etobicoke Creek as river valley connections between the Greenbelt Area and Lake Ontario. This approach will recognize river valley connection in the Official Plan, provide a strong foundation for raising public awareness about the importance of river valley connections and can be done at no additional cost to the City.