Pressure Sensitive

Expanding business park uses

NRU
Aug. 24, 2016
By Geordie Gordon

Whitchurch-Stouffville staff is recommending that the town begin accepting zoning by-law amendment applications to allow sensitive institutional uses, such as longterm care facilities, daycares, dormitories and schools, within its business park despite the potential for land use conflicts.

According to a recent staff report, while institutional uses are permitted on lands designated as business park, the town has not previously allowed uses that would be adversely impacted by a nearby major facility in this area because of land use compatibility issues. With increasing developer interest in locating institutional uses in its business park, staff has reviewed municipal practices and environment and climate change ministry guidelines for siting sensitive uses to determine how they might co-locate with business park uses.

Acting planning manager Isa James told NRU in an email that “development pressure is the main driver for the town’s consideration of policies aimed at controlling implementation of sensitive institutional uses on [business park] lands.”

Ward 4 councillor Rick Upton told NRU that the town has not always been successful in attracting typical employment uses to its business park for a number of reasons. These include insufficient infrastructure such as transit, and high employee housing costs. He pointed to an example of a call centre that would have bought 400 employees to the town, but ultimately decided to locate elsewhere.

Upton says he supports locating sensitive institutional uses, such as long-term care facilities, in the town’s business parks, as they would bring more jobs than other potential uses, such as warehousing, which does not provide many jobs.

“At this point, looking at some relaxation [of land use regulations concerning] long-term care facilities, I think is a great idea ... It fills a need for the town ... They pay taxes, create jobs. Estimates [of] 150 to 200 jobs would be created. As opposed to building a 100,000 square foot warehouse that employs two people ... It’s good to have a warehouse, but it’s not good for employment in town,” he said.

James says that staff is recommending adoption of official plan policies that will help the town evaluate zoning by-law amendment applications for sensitive institutional uses in its business park. The evaluation would be based on the proposed use’s “ability to create sustainable jobs, potential to compromise the immediate or future viability of nearby employment uses and lands zoned for employment uses, and potential [to implement] mitigation measures ... to reduce or eliminate any contaminant discharges from nearby uses that might affect the users of the proposed institution.”

The existing uses in the town’s business park are not likely to create a conflict with sensitive institutional uses, Upton says. He expects the staff recommendations will be supported by his fellow councillors.

“The reality is there’s places of worship around, there’s a medical facility, there’s small business condos, there’s no heavy industry in that area,” he said. “Across the street from the business park there’s a school and residential [area], so it all works hand in hand.”

Council was scheduled to consider the item at its meeting August 23, after NRU’s publication deadline.