Excess of employment lands doesn't stop Vaughan from rezoning agricultural properties

'It is especially important to preserve a range of land uses in Ontario’s cities, including agricultural land and open space': professor

Thestar.com
April 6, 2022
Dina Al-Shibeeb

The urban planning debate continues in Vaughan.

Two years ago, on Oct. 29, Vaughan council backed a minister’s zoning order (MZO) to rezone lands -- located at 11260 and 11424 Jane St. -- from agricultural to employment by developer Cortel Group.

However, Vaughan already has an excess of employment land.

“There are 1,261 hectares of gross employment lands that are vacant in Vaughan, according to the Vacant Employment Land Directory,” the city told the Vaughan Citizen when inquiring about the availability of land.

It’s a reason why environmentalists like Irene Ford from Vaughan have questioned why did council back an MZO by the housing minister especially that the municipality has declared a climate emergency in 2019.

Council also backed another MZO in 2020 that enabled the relocation of a Walmart distribution facility and other zoning changes to be at the new emerging downtown Vaughan Metropolitan Centre (VMC). The MZO proposed by SmartCentres has touched Provincially Significant Wetlands (PSW) on agriculturally zoned land.

The VMC, however, is a significant mega project in Vaughan that’s seen to help with the housing crisis.

The city’s reasons for the rezoning at Jane Street, meanwhile, are that the proposed employment use is consistent with the policies set by the province and in line with the growth plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe.

Adding more to this rationale is that the lands at Jane Street are also in proximity to Highway. 400, facilitating a major goods movement and using an existing and planned infrastructure.

In addition, the document for the MZO application shows that the Cortel Group promised to not allow any buildings or structures within the open space conservation zone. The developer also vowed that if there is any structure to be built in the sensitive area, it would be only for conservation or flood control projects, including stormwater management facilities.

“That council supports and has no objection to the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing enacting a minister’s zoning order for the subject lands, which would permit the lands to be developed for employment uses and provide for the protection of the environmental features,” the city added in defence.

The council resolution in support of the MZO is also for the owners of these lands to work with the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA) and the Ministry of Northern Development, Mines, Natural Resources and Forestry to “undertake the appropriate studies to address the environmental considerations, including compensation, as may be appropriate.”

When asked if Vaughan should stick with what’s already approved for employment land, Shauna Brail, an associate professor at the Institute for Management and Innovation, University of Toronto Mississauga, said, “It is the government’s responsibility to manage land use and development planning.

“While it may not be uncommon for there to be pressure on land zoned for other purposes to be rezoned for new and potentially higher value uses, it is especially important to preserve a range of land uses in Ontario’s cities, including agricultural land and open space,” Brail further explained.

The professor also said there is high demand for industrial space in the Greater Toronto Area but the supply is very low, translating this “into higher rents and the potential for greater profit.”

The professor asked “what is the rationale for rezoning protected lands meant to preserve agricultural uses and green spaces or protect against environmental damage?

“Does a rezoning encourage short-term gains over long-range needs and values?” she further pondered.

The Cortel Group did not reply to a request for one-on-one interview.