232 COMMISSION OF CONSERVATION 



be faced, or compensation paid, because the owner is being asked 

 to give up something to comply with a requirement which affects his 

 property only. He has to get compensation not necessarily because 

 he is injured but because he is asked to confer a benefit upon the com- 

 munity which other owners are not asked to confer. In a development 

 scheme the requirements of local authorities are made general through- 

 out its area and in practice what have appeared to be revolutionary 

 proposals have met with little opposition. 



In certain schemes large areas of land have been granted free by 

 owners for recreation purposes and for widening roads without cost 

 to the community and without loss to the owners. The fact that the 

 latter contribute by this means to a general scheme of development 

 has meant in such cases that the balance of their property was increased 

 in value as a result of his contribution to the scheme. 



The reader who is not familiar with the working of planning 

 and development legislation will probably find many questions arise 

 in his mind regarding the feasibility and benefit of the proposals 

 referred to in the above outline; but experience in the working of such 

 legislation leads to the conclusion that it is the only sound and effec- 

 tive way to control the development of land. 



Summary of Leading Features of Planning and Development 



Legislation 



The following summary relates to the proposals of the Commission 

 of Conservation, some of which may not be acceptable in one or other 

 of the provinces. For instance, the compulsory provisions with regard 

 to the appointment of a development board and the preparation of 

 a partial development scheme may be objected to. While it is con- 

 sidered important that these two things should be compulsory this 

 is not essential to the working of the Act, although desirable in the 

 interests of uniformity. 



1. Administration. — A new department of the province should 

 be set up, or an existing department strengthened, to undertake all 

 work in connection with planning and development in addition to 

 other work relating to local government. A director of planning 

 and development should be appointed for the province. Each local 

 authority should be required to appoint a development board, or to 

 constitute itself into a development board, in which capacity it would 

 devote entire attention to planning for the future. 



2. New Streets and Subdivisions. — A development board 

 should approve the plans and particulars of all streets and subdivisions 



