The Places to Grow Act, 2005 requires municipalities to bring their official plans into conformity with the

Growth Plan (GP) for the Greater Golden Horseshoe (GGH), 2006. There are 21 upper or single tier and 89 lower tier municipalities in the GGH, have undertaken the conformity work and are at various stages to implement the GP since its release in 2006. The Growth Plan for the GGH 2006 is a 25 year framework to manage growth. It is a plan to promote healthy communities, keep the economy strong and protect the environment. The major policy issues facing suburban municipalities such as Brampton in implementing the Growth Plan are as follows: (1) Policies for Where and How to Grow, briefly described as under Growth Forecast finalizing the allocation for the population and the employment for the various stages of the GP Intensification in intensification area Containing Sprawl and Protecting Lands Transit supportive communities in designated Greenfield areas Development of mixed use, transit supportive and pedestrian friendly urban environment Sufficient land for employment Balance of job and housing allocation Complete communities (2) Policies for Infrastructure to support Growth, briefly described as under Transportation Corridors Water and Wastewater systems Community infrastructure (3) Policies for Protecting What is valuable, briefly described as under Natural Systems implementing Greenbelt policies, identifying and protecting Natural heritage Features and Areas A Culture of Conservation which includes Water and Energy conservation, Reducing Air pollution and GHG emission, and efficient Waste Management. The Official Plan will be the primary tool for articulating many of the Growth Plan objectives. There are other planning documents which guide development at a micro level will also require compliance and potential revisions including the Citys Secondary Plans, Block Plans, Zoning By-law and policy Guidelines. The Peel Region Official Plan Amendment Number 24 Places to Prosper Growth management, Employment Areas and Greenbelt Conformity assigns 725,000 Population and 312, 000 Employment to the City of Brampton by 2031. As a planner and as part of the Growth Management Planning Team, first step is to understand the Citys capacity to accommodate the growth in meeting the Peel Region (GP) population and employment forecasts to 2031, intensification and the Greenfield density targets. This compliance exercise will involve preparing a

number of inventories, assessing and analyzing current practices, developing the targets and then preparing various strategies to achieve the targets. The Challenges before any growth management planner to achieve sustainable growth according to the Growth Plan compliance are: 1. Ensuring Servicing and Infrastructure is in place to match Growth needs 2. Transforming the market Addressing Market Mismatches 3. Achieving 40 % Intensification and Prescribed Density Targets 4. Integrating Land Use and Mobility 5. Creating Place and Complete Communities 6. Increasing Employment Opportunities 7. Meeting Multiple Growth Objectives 8. Maintaining the Health of natural heritage 9. Monitoring and Updating/ Evaluating 10. Priority actions for Short term The Growth Planners roles and responsibilities as member of the Growth Management Implementation Program team for The City of Brampton are broadly highlighted in a six step process as below: 1. Provincial Obligations: Identifying and finalizing the built boundary, the designated Greenfield area, the urban Growth Centre and the Settlement Areas boundary Preparing/Coordinating Economic analysis at Regional/Municipal level and establishing significant employment areas Evaluating Transportation network and providing input to the region, Metrolinx and the Province Analysis for present and future capacity requirements for infrastructure for the projected population and employment forecast (Achieving intensification and density targets) Identifying Natural heritage Systems Identifying Prime Agricultural land & Mineral Resources 2. Existing Conditions Constraints, Problems and Challenges Inventories and analysis of existing land supply, density and potential intensification capacity Problems Constraints regarding Infrastructure Block level analysis for all vacant sites, inventory of all hard and soft services Database and Mapping base preparation for an ongoing evaluation base structure Review of transportation master Plan, Services Plan, Parks and Open Space Plan, NHS and Trails Master Plan Review and Impact of ongoing Environmental Assessment in and abutting the City 3. Development of Strategies Possibility of enacting any interim control for a short term requirement

Strategy formulation to achieve density target for UGC, designated Greenfield areas, and employment areas Short term and Long term review and allocation of development Protection of key natural heritage, source water features, with strong connectivity among features and systems Establishing priority areas and Strategies establishing Nodes, Corridors, Mobility hubs Anchor/ Gateway, Major Transit Areas and Light Rail Transit along the Hurontario/ Main Street Corridor Multi Modal supports Walking, Cycling and Public Transit Emphasis on the public realm (Streetscapes, pedestrian areas, public parks, public facilities). Modify Development Charge Criteria - Tax Shifting and Fiscal Policies

4. Policy and Strategy Implementation: The Official Plan Compliance exercise Review and revisions to various planning documents including the Block Plan, Zoning By-law etc. Review and revision to various planning policies documents and guidelines Preparing new guidelines for new policies including Sustainability, Place making, Energy Conservation, Urban Design, Housing, Low Impact Development and Green Development etc. 5. Public Education and Awareness Program: Public involvement and participation through out the process Public awareness for conservation and preservation of the natural environment Public stewardship program for Greenland protection and enhancement. Optimization of Our Resources Respect and Recognize the need of the diverse communities Collaboration among all sectors and stakeholders for a better feedback 6. Monitoring and Evaluation for Continuing Update Process Updating and incorporating technological changes in mapping and database Formulating and evaluating new techniques for calibration of available data on population and employment Learning from best practices and standards and guidelines from various organizations Conclusion: Communities should be shaped by choice, not by chance and the Growth Management Planners will be able to provide that appropriate shape. We can keep on accepting the kind of communities we get, or we can learn how to get the kind of communities we want.