The lands that lie between the outer edge of the urban settlement area boundary in the Inner Ring and the inner boundary of the Greenbelt have become known as the "Whitebelt," because they are not subject to the policies of the Greenbelt Plan or the Growth Plan and are consequently shown as a whitish colour on the Growth Plan maps. The Whitebelt lands are indicated in Figure 3.16. These lands are currently used primarily for agricultural and rural uses.
The Whitebelt landscape is similar in appearance and land use to the Protected Countryside component of the Greenbelt, but does not have the same level of protection from urban development. At present, these lands have not been designated for urban growth. The development community would like these lands to be made available for future urbanization,[1] while others would prefer to add the lands to the Greenbelt, create an agricultural land reserve, or put them to other non-urban uses.[2]
Figure 3.16: Location of the Whitebelt
Figure 3.17 indicates the location of Whitebelt lands in the GGH.
Figure 3.17: Location of the Whitebelt lands
As Table 3.13 indicates, there are 46,000 hectares of Whitebelt lands in the GGH, primarily located in the Regional Municipalities of Peel, Halton, and Durham.[3]
Table 3.13: Inventory of Whitebelt lands, by municipality
|
Upper- or Single-tier Municipality |
Area |
Lower-tier Municipality |
Area |
|
Region of Durham |
11,500 ha |
Municipality of Clarington |
4,600 ha |
|
City of Oshawa |
1,100 ha |
||
|
City of Pickering |
4,700 ha |
||
|
Town of Whitby |
1,000 ha |
||
|
Region of Halton |
11,700 ha |
City of Burlington |
500 ha |
|
Town of Halton Hills |
6,800 ha |
||
|
Town of Milton |
4,300 ha |
||
|
Town of Oakville |
100 ha |
||
|
Region of Peel |
11,300 ha |
Town of Caledon |
11,300 ha |
|
Region of York |
6,200 ha |
Town of Aurora |
100 ha |
|
Town of East Gwillimbury |
1,700 ha |
||
|
Township of King |
100 ha |
||
|
Town of Markham |
2,000 ha |
||
|
Town of Newmarket |
100 ha |
||
|
City of Vaughan |
1,800 ha |
||
|
Town of Whitchurch-Stouffville |
400 ha |
||
|
City of Hamilton |
5,200 ha |
- |
5,200 ha |
|
Total |
46,000 ha |
- |
46,000 ha |
1 Calculated by the Neptis Foundation as determined through the review of municipal official plans, official plan amendments, and other planning documents; see Appendix A for methodology, Appendix B for sources, and Appendix C for the land area inventory by municipality, and the Greenbelt Plan Area defined though Ontario Regulation 59/05 by the Ontario Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing. 36 hectares in Niagara Region (Town of Grimsby) were not included in the total.
*Numbers may not sum to total due to rounding.
If all of the remaining Whitebelt lands were to be designated for future urban development as a result of the updated 2031-2041 forecasts or at some other point, the combined area of the Whitebelt, the designated greenfield areas, and new designated greenfield areas that would be urbanized is 153,100 hectares or 1,500 square km, an area more than twice the size of the City of Toronto. This 1,500 square km would represent a 46% increase in the size of the built-up urban footprint from 2006 (see Table 3.14). Given the large quantity of land currently designated for development, there is no immediate need for the Whitebelt lands to be designated for urban development at this time.
Table 3.14: Summary of land supply in the Greater Golden Horseshoe as of 2006
|
|
Area |
|
Designated Greenfield Areas (as of 2006)1 |
88,000 ha |
|
New Designated Greenfield Areas (added since 2006)1 |
19,100 ha |
|
Whitebelt Lands2 |
46,000 ha |
|
Total |
153,100 ha |
|
Built-Up Area (as of 2006) 3 |
329,800 ha |
1 Calculated by the Neptis Foundation as determined through the review of municipal official plans, official plan amendments, and other planning documents; see Appendix A for methodology, Appendix B for sources, and Appendix C for the land area inventory by municipality.
2 See Table 3.13
3 Built Boundary for the Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe, 2006 (2008), Ontario Ministry Infrastructure.