Aurora council approves motion to add sunset clause to site-specific zoning bylaw amendments

Motion presented by Mayor Tom Mrakas

Yorkregion.com
May 6, 2022

Aurora town council unanimously approved a motion presented by Mayor Tom Mrakas to add a sunset clause to all future site-specific zoning bylaw amendments.

“We’ve seen many examples across Ontario and in Canada where councils have granted approval to residential development applications, but the approved developments are not being constructed in a timely manner and often come back to council for amendments sometimes over multiple terms of council,” said Mayor Tom Mrakas. “Aurora is proud to be leading the way with innovative, forward-thinking solutions to address the housing crisis and ensure development moves forward and in a way that respects our official plan and local bylaws.”

If a building permit has not been issued within a specified time frame from the enactment of the zoning bylaw amendment, then the bylaw will be repealed, according to the town.

The motion directs staff to include existing Official Plan Servicing Allocation “Use it or Redistribute It” policies in all future residential draft plan of subdivision and site plan application approvals that will stipulate the applicant shall proceed to register the appropriate development agreement within a given time frame or receive an extension from council and obtain a building permit within a specified time frame for said project, according to the town.

“The addition of sunset clauses aligns to our existing Official Plan policies, where we already see some time frame requirements such as the existing three-year clause for draft plan of subdivisions,” said Marco Ramunno, director of planning and development. “The Town of Aurora is constrained with respect to the amount of servicing we have, and this clause would encourage developers to proceed with their projects.”