Brampton introduces development permit system - tool for renewal

NRU
March 2, 2016
By Geordie Gordon

Brampton has introduced its first development permit bylaw - eight years in the making - to manage the future of about 80 properties in the downtown area. The by-law, which was subject to an appeal to the Ontario Municipal Board, provides a framework for commercial uses of heritage protected buildings in the Main Street North area.

Since 2007, the section of Main Street North between Church and Vodden Streets has been identified as an area undergoing change, according to Brampton central area planner Paul Aldunate. Even as redevelopment applications were being submitted by developers, the city was keen to preserve the heritage elements of homes in the area.

“We needed to a way to address those issues. So [the city] decided to do a visioning exercise, and at the same time, use the...development permit system that the province enabled around that time to make it easier and more transparent for people to develop along that stretch [of downtown],” he said.

Under the 2007 revisions to the Planning Act, municipalities can implement a development permit by-law for a specified area, thereby replacing zoning, site plan and minor variance approvals.

City council approved a development permit by-law for the area in 2012, but a group of landowners appealed the decision to the Ontario Municipal Board. Aldunate said the landowners wanted to develop their properties at a higher height and density than envisioned by the DPS. The appeal was settled in December 2015 and the DPS came into effect.

However, the DPS has yet to be put into action, Wards 1 and 5 councillor Elaine Moore told NRU. She says the area covered by the DPS is significant as it is a gateway into the downtown with the main thoroughfare marked by homes with heritage characteristics. Implementation of the DPS, she says, allows Brampton to set out a policy to govern the future of Main Street North.“I think the DPS was offered up because a lot of applications were coming in, there was a common and consistent theme, [proponents] wanted to turn residential into commercial or retail, they needed parking concessions, they wanted to put additions on the homes to provide a little more office space...I think they took all of those themes to drive the [development permit] by-law,” she said.

Aldunate echoed Moore’s sentiment that development pressure is driving the need for DPS in that section of Main Street North.

“You have those two forces at play: you want to see revitalization and you want to see development happening in downtown,” he said. “At the same time, you want to be able to preserve the heritage features that are there. And so the DPS system has a way of making it easier, making it more attractive to developers ...and at the same time it lays out clearly what parts of the street [the city] would like to see preserved as well,” he said.

BILD policy and government relations vice president Paula Tenuta said that from the development industry’s perspective, the main benefit of the DPS is the certainty and efficiency that it could provide to both the applicant and the city. For example, both sides could work together to resolve issues prior to the establishing of a redevelopment framework. Tenuta said that while BILD members look forward to working with the city of Brampton as the DPS is rolled out, she said it is always the preference of BILD to have a development permit system implemented on a pilot basis, in order to iron out any of the wrinkles that may be part of the implementation process.

Tenuta also cautioned that the DPS could vary from area to area, since each community has its own needs, with growth influenced by the needs of residents and business and other factors such as transit and infrastructure.

With implementation of its first DPS, Brampton now plans to establish another one for a section of Queen Street West that also is undergoing a similar transition from residential to commercial use.

So far, the city has not received any official applications for the Main Street North area. But Aldunate says there have been some inquiries and he anticipates receiving a few applications this year.