Rouge River State of the Watershed Report Land and Resource Use Goal: A healthy watershed with a mosaic of land and resource uses (at watershed and community scales) that are compatible with the protection and improvement of ecological health. Land and resource uses include: Rouge Park, urban and rural settlements, agriculture, golf courses, aggregate extraction, and transportation and utility corridors. Land and Resource Use Key Findings The population of municipalities within the Rouge River watershed has increased substantially between 1996 and 2001, and municipal and provincial forecasts for Rouge River watershed municipalities indicate that their populations will continue to grow in the next twenty years. Approximately 40% of the Rouge River watershed is in agricultural use, 35% is used for urban settlements, natural cover makes up 24% and 1% is in watercourses and other water bodies. Over 12% of the watershed is protected in Rouge Park, while significant areas of land in the upper watershed are protected under the Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Plan and the Greenbelt Plan . The majority of urban growth in the Rouge River watershed over the next ten to twenty years will occur in the Upper Rouge River, Berczy, Bruce and Robinson Creeks, and Little Rouge River subwatersheds. Valley slopes and watercourses that are not well defined are common in these parts of the watershed where many small headwater streams are located. This makes them less likely to be perceived as natural features warranting protection, despite being integral to the health of the watershed. Public transit options are limited for the urbanizing area of the watershed, so that commuters rely heavily on private automobile usage. Expansion and increase in connections to the GO Transit, TTC, and “905” community transit services are helpful, but this in combination with designing transit friendly urban development, would constitute a more comprehensive approach to reducing reliance on automobiles and associated fossil fuel usage. Most of the Rouge River watershed’s agricultural lands are used for cash crops. Land ownership, policy designations and changing markets are factors affecting agricultural vitality in the watershed. Municipalities are endeavouring to address unsustainable rates of water use within their jurisdictions as evidenced by their ongoing programs and studies to increase efficiency. In order to reduce the negative impacts of waste disposal in landfills, municipalities within the Rouge River watershed are attempting to increase the amount of waste diverted from landfill sites through reuse, recycling, and composting of waste materials. Due to a growing base of accepted scientific knowledge and updated, corresponding policies, new development and redevelopment is beginning to take place in a more sustainable way. Examples of sustainable communities have been designed and implemented in jurisdictions around the world, and they are beginning to be employed locally, using new technologies for water and sewer infrastructure, stormwater management, and energy use that are all less resource consumptive. Summary of Current CondCondiiiitionstions Ratings: Objective: Overall Rating Practice sustainable resource use by individuals, households, and Fair businesses. Improve sustainability in urban form at building site and community Fair scales. Protect agricultural lands for food and crop production and as a vital component of the watershed landscape, by sustaining a viable Fair agricultural industry. TABLTABLEE OF CONTENTS 13.0 LAND AND RESOURCE USE................................................................................ 13-1 13.1 Introduction................................................................................................................ 13-1 13.2 Watershed Location and Demographics .................................................................. 13-1 13.3 Planning Policy Context............................................................................................. 13-5 13.3.1 Flood Vulnerable Areas and Special Policy Areas ....................................... 13-5 13.3.2 Rouge Park Management Plan and Rouge North Management Plan ....... 13-11 13.4 Current Conditions, Emerging Trends, and Key Issues ......................................... 13-12 13.4.1 Land Use...................................................................................................... 13-12 13.4.2 Transportation ............................................................................................. 13-21 13.4.3 Water............................................................................................................ 13-24 13.4.4 Solid Waste.................................................................................................. 13-27 13.4.5 Energy.......................................................................................................... 13-29 13.5 Moving Toward Sustainable Land and Resource Use ........................................... 13-30 13.5.1 Development Limits..................................................................................... 13-31 13.5.2 Development Design................................................................................... 13-31 13.5.3 Infrastructure................................................................................................ 13-33 13.5.4 Stormwater Management............................................................................ 13-34 13.6 Summary and Management Considerations .......................................................... 13-37 13.7 Objectives for Sustainable Land and Resource Use .............................................. 13-41 13.8 References ............................................................................................................... 13-46 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 13-1: General Land Use within the Rouge River Watershed........................................ 13-2 Figure 13-2: Municipal Share of the Rouge River Watershed ................................................. 13-3 Figure 13-3: Special Land Use Policy Areas in the Rouge River Watershed .......................... 13-6 Figure 13-4: 2002 Land Use/Land Cover and Approved Official Plan Land Use in the Rouge River watershed................................................................................................... 13-13 Figure 13-5: Existing and Proposed High Order Transit Network in the Rouge River watershed ............................................................................................................................. 13-25 Figure 13-6: Stormwater Management Controlled Areas...................................................... 13-35 LIST OF TABLES Table 13-1: Distribution of Population and Employment for Rouge River watershed Municipalities in the Greater Golden Horseshoe 2001-2031 ............................... 13-4 Table 13-2: Policy Documents Affecting Land and Resource Use in the Rouge River Watershed ............................................................................................................................... 13-7 Table 13-3: Residential solid waste diversion rates 2001-2006............................................. 13-42 Table 13-4: Number of transit passenger trips per person 2001-2006. ................................ 13-44 Table 13-5: Mode of transportation to work based on Statistics Canada 2001 Census of Population data. .................................................................................................. 13-44 Unique Rouge River Watershed Feature The cccommitmentcommitment ttoooo environmental protection, already expressed by manmanyy watershed stakeholders, represents an opportunity to shape sustainable communities that can be an international model. CHAPTER LAND AND RESOURCE USE 1313 1133 13.0 LAND AND RESOURCE USUSEEEE 13.1 Introduction The use of land and its resources is directly relevant to a watershed’s health. As new urban development extends northward in the Rouge River watershed and nodes of redevelopment arise in existing urban areas, the natural environment rarely goes unaffected. Nonetheless, the legislative framework governing land and resource use is, more and more, striving to maintain and enhance natural systems in cases of new development, and seeking to rehabilitate and restore these systems in instances of redevelopment. This chapter of the State of the Watershed Report provides an overview of current conditions, emerging trends, and key issues for land and resource use in the Rouge River watershed. It also provides an overview of more sustainable use of land and resources. Finally, management considerations are offered to address key issues that will be considered for inclusion in the integrated watershed management plan. Many of the land and resource use issues raised this chapter have already been addressed in previous chapters of this State of the Watershed Report in the context of specific watershed goals and objectives. Therefore, this chapter also serves as a summary of key issues and directions associated with land and resource use decisions. 13.2 Watershed Location and Demographics The Rouge River watershed is one of the larger watersheds in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and in TRCA’s jurisdiction. Traversing portions of six GTA municipalities, the Rouge’s 336 square kilometres span from the Oak Ridges Moraine in the north, to the Lake Ontario shoreline in the south (see Figure 13-1 and Figure 13-2). 13-1 Figure 131313-13 ---1111:: General