'Sense of betrayal’ as Keep Vaughan Green protests golf course development

Protesters fail to sway city in bid for independent experts to study 'massive' infill project

Yorkregion.com
July 30, 2020
Dina Al-Shibeeb

More than two years ago, Keep Vaughan Green began lobbying against what it calls the “largest” infill project on a golf course in the City.

KVG was formed in 2017 in reaction to the developer Clubhouse’s initial bid to build 600 homes after acquiring the 290-acre Country Club Golf Course in the rolling hills of the Humber Valley in the same year.

However, Clubhouse is now eyeing at least 1,215 units, made of 475 single detached dwellings, 124 townhouses, 616 apartment units -- as well as open space, parks, roads and other infrastructure uses.

Backed by more than 500 members and a number of ratepayer associations, KVG’s petition has garnered about 12,534 signatures, as of July 27, objecting against the development by Clubhouse Inc.

The Vaughan divide: Developers covet high density, residents want to keep it low
KVG has also urged the City of Vaughan to adopt an Interim Control Bylaw to study Clubhouse’s proposal. An ICBL will allow independent experts -- under no pressure by deadlines which usually happen through the conventional process -- to evaluate the impact of this project.

Residents of the “established neighbourhood” fear the high-density project will add traffic to an already-congested area.

"It's the largest infill proposed in Vaughan with no access to major roads. There has been infill before near Weston Road, but there are major roads to access this infill, all residential roads," KVG president Bob Moroz said.

The group is also concerned about threats to biodiversity, devalued home prices, and noise and pollution resulting from years of construction.

In addition, a 5,000 BC arrowhead was discovered on the golf course, making the land a valuable archeological site.

Pressure from KVG-organized protests has failed to sway the City of Vaughan to adopt an ICBL, but officials says a working group has been struck to study the viability of the development proposal, and KVG will be part of that.

The City of Vaughan added that its development and planning department is preparing a “technical report” for the “consideration at a future Committee of the Whole meeting.”

Moroz reiterated that he isn’t against “growth.”

He said: “I'll tell you what my real opinion is: it’s a sense of betrayal and frustration on behalf of our elected council. For the last two plus years, we've been lobbying to be more engaged in this massive infill that's going on in the city.

“This large infill is going to change the whole community. I'm not talking about just the people that live around a golf course. It's going to change everything from the village of Woodbridge to the west of Woodbridge, north to Sonoma into Kleinburg.

“It's going to affect them in certain ways, whether it has to do with traffic, the removal of trees, which is green space at a time when Vaughan has got such a low canopy, and they don't seem to be concerned about protecting the environment.”

Developers vs. residents: Is there any balance of power?

Some of the slogans at the protests read, “The City belongs to the residents not the Developers” or “Developers Can Develop / Residents Decide Where,” alluding to the missing balance of power between developers and residents.

The residents in their deputations as well as the protesters have also made their voice heard over how developers may have more clout especially after the Ford government has allowed them to get minister’s zoning orders (MZO) by avoiding opposition appeals that include public input.

The dismissal of the ICBL while developers can possibly request MZOs is also a main driver behind this protest.

Richard Lorello, who also works as an adviser to KVG, said: "Not too long ago, there was a request for a ministerial zoning order. For block 41 ... Right away, it was brought to council for a vote. It was even brought as an addendum item, so we couldn't even do it because it was too late. It was done within a matter of I would say, you know, a few weeks."

Any potential MZO could possibly “undermine your democratic rights as it takes away your right to appeal,” since it’s a minister’s order, added Lorello.

The request for an ICBL isn’t unprecedented. Vaughan Council enacted an ICBL in September 2014 to restrict the use of land -- designated for “low rise residential” for a period of one year in order to complete a land use study.