Dubbed ROPA 38, the amendment incorporates the results of the Region’s Sustainable Halton planning exercise to accommodate new population and job growth.

It also modifies the 2006 Regional Plan to bring it into conformity with various provincial planning acts and policies, including the Greenbelt Plan and the Places to Grow Act, specifically the Act’s Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe.

The Growth Plan outlines a target for Halton to reach 780,000 residents and 390,000 jobs by 2031, which will actually require the Region to slow down slightly the rate of growth it has experienced over the past 20 years, according to the Region’s Director of Planning, Ron Glenn.

The Region’s current population stands at 480,000, according to recently released statistics, meaning Halton must plan to accommodate 300,000 more people.

Much of that planning work was completed in the 1990s when the Region outlined major growth areas in Oakville and Milton.

There will be another 155,000 new residents, mostly in north Oakville and Milton, coming to under-construction or already planned areas, Glenn confirmed.

For the remaining 145,000 people, the Region envisions 61,000 will be accommodated in infill developments within the already built boundaries of Halton’s major urban areas.

Specifically, much of that population would be focused in the provincially-outlined urban growth centres of downtown Milton, downtown Burlington and midtown Oakville.

New “greenfield” growth areas — essentially designating currently agricultural and rural lands for urban development — in Milton and Georgetown would accommodate populations of approximately 60,000 and 20,000, respectively between 2021 and 2031.

Last June, regional council endorsed a preferred option for where those residential areas, as well as future employment zones, would be located, included on the main land use designation map in ROPA 38.

Based on feedback provided to the Region, the ROPA 38 open houses are expected to garner major interest from farmers and rural residents concerned about the proposed introduction of a new land use designation — Natural Heritage System (NHS) – that would replace the Region’s current Greenlands A and B designations.

Rural residents have expressed fear at previous council sessions the NHS places unreasonable limits on land uses and essentially adds another layer of bureaucracy to the Province’s Greenbelt and Niagara Escarpment designations.

To see ROPA 38 in its entirety, visit www.halton.ca and search ‘ROPA 38.’

The dates for the ROPA 38 open houses are as follows (all times 6 to 9 p. m., with presentation at 7 p. m.):

• Wednesday, Oct. 14 at the Milton Seniors' Activity Centre, 500 Child's Dr., Milton

• Thursday, Oct. 15, at The Hall, Mold-Masters Sportsplex, 221 Guelph St. (Hwy #7), Halton Hills

•Tuesday, Oct. 20 atSt. BernadetteSchool, 1201 Heritage Way, Oakville

• Wednesday, Oct. 21 at St. John School, 653 Brant St., Burlington