Second MZO converts more employment land to residential in Richmond Hill

Yorkregion.com
March 24, 2022

Richmond Hill has lost another chunk of employment land to potential residential development following the second minister’s zoning order, or MZO, issued for the city.

The Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing has granted the special zoning order to convert a 9.42-hectare employment land in one of Richmond Hill’s business parks into residential lands.

Toronto-based real estate developer Baif Developments Ltd. owns the property located in the northeast quadrant of the Headford Business Park along the Highway 404 corridor.

It’s the second MZO that Richmond Hill has received from the province, about a year after the first special zoning order was granted to convert the employment lands located immediately north of the Baif property into residential uses.

MZOs are a controversial and blunt tool used sparingly in the past but more frequently in recent years. It allows the province to approve proposed development by overriding local planning authorities without public input or any chance of appeal.

The Baif lands, which have remained vacant for decades, are now expected to be turned into a mixed-use community consisting of stacked back-to-back townhouses, tall buildings, as well as seniors apartments, according to a concept plan provided by Bousfields Inc. on behalf of Baif Developments.

It will also include a 1.2-hectare lot reserved for seniors housing and a community wellness hub, with the possibility of providing an additional long-term-care home, according to Coun. Tom Muench's motion.

“Employment land is fundamentally important,” said Ute Lehrer, a professor in the Environmental Studies department at York University. “The problem with converting employment land into residential or mixed use or office space is that the value will increase, and you no longer will have the sites, the possibilities for industries to locate in the city.”

The two motions to request MZOs were introduced to council by Regional Coun. Carmine Perrelli and Muench respectively, about a year apart, both as an “economic development opportunity.” The two councillors seconded each other’s motion.

Coun. Godwin Chan voted for the Treasure Hill motion, but raised concerns at that time over “setting a precedent” for the future development proposals.

Then Ward 4 councillor and now Mayor David West as well as Ward 5 Coun. Karen Cilevitz voted against both of the requests.

“I am concerned that we are going to need employment lands in the future and if we let them go to residential, then we're not going to have them as employment lands,” West said.

Amazon Canada has recently announced that it will construct a delivery station on 10.85 hectares of land in Richmond Hill, which is expected to bring 400 jobs to the city.

However, if the city keeps losing large parcels of employment lands, the mayor said he’s concerned that there won’t be enough space left for future opportunities like that.

“We are going the wrong direction here, no doubt because of the influence developers have had on this council. I understand their purpose is to make as much money as possible, but this goes against the 'greater good' of the community,” resident Pat Pollock said.

“The desire of this council to keep our taxes at zero per cent increase is impossible to do if employment lands are not maintained and built upon,” she added.

City staff have also advised against the conversion of the Baif property in a report, stating the lands represented a “significant opportunity” to accommodate a range of employment uses thanks to its size and access to Highway 404.

Muench said in his motion that with conversion of Treasure Hill lands to residential uses, including a proposed long-term-care home in proximity, the Baif lands were no longer suitable for employment development due to potential negative impacts such as noise, and air quality and traffic.

The two MZOs have reduced the city’s total employment land area to 706 hectares, accounting for only seven per cent of the total of the Richmond Hill land area, according to statistics.

The minister’s zoning order is not a bad tool, said Lehrer, a professor who specializes in urban planning and land use, noting its purpose is to fast track projects such as social institutions when faced with opposition that doesn’t see its collective benefit.

But the MZO for the Baif land was “completely misused,” she said. “It's fast tracking a process that normally the planning process is there for a purpose that actually different voices can get involved and that MZO is completely eliminating this process.”

“We're seeing under Doug Ford's leadership that they have been overused and they have been concentrated for projects that are supported by a few,” Lehrer said, adding buzzwords such as "affordable housing" and "seniors' homes" have been repeatedly used as an "excuse" to push for development in the province.