Province begins process of returning two Ajax properties to Greenbelt

Attempts to sell the lands without building homes ‘will not be tolerated,’ a Housing Ministry statement said on Wednesday. The move comes after the properties were listed for sale.

Thestar.com
Aug. 31, 2023
Jeremy Nuttall

The provincial government has begun the process of returning two Ajax properties to the Greenbelt after the new owners listed the land parcels for sale, according to a statement released Wednesday afternoon.

“Any attempt to sell these lands or otherwise profit from this decision without building the homes Ontario residents rightly expect runs contrary to the government’s intentions and will not be tolerated,” said the statement from Ontario’s Housing Ministry.

The properties at 765 and 775 Kingston Rd. being put up for sale by a China-based developer, rather than building homes on the 100 acres of land, was another setback for a government already under fire for removing 7,400 acres from the Greenbelt.

Wednesday’s statement from the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing said it was not made aware of any intention to resell the properties -- including listing some of the land to be developed as a business park -- and now intends to fold them back into the Greenbelt.

“This lack of transparency raises serious concerns about the owner’s ability to meet the government’s expectation that homes be built in a timely manner, including the need to show meaningful progress before the end of year,” said the statement.

The owner of the land has insisted the situation is a misunderstanding and the investor was trying to find a joint-venture investment partner to help develop it.

This latest move by Doug Ford’s government to put the land back into the Greenbelt adds more fuel to a public relations fire raging about the removal of lands from the massive swath, spanning from greater Toronto to Hamilton, on the argument it is needed to build homes.

Also on Wednesday, a report by the provinces ethics watchdog found Housing Minister Steve Clark violated the Member’s Integrity Act during the process of removing land from the Greenbelt.

The Housing Ministry’s statement said it intends to ensure the other owners of the properties removed from the Greenbelt act quickly on building homes there as the region grapples with a housing crisis.

“The government’s intention in amending the Greenbelt boundaries has always been to increase the supply and affordability of homes by building at least 50,000 homes quickly, while also expanding the overall size of the Greenbelt,” the statement said.

But those who are against removing land from the Greenbelt in the first place said the decision by the province was an unexpected “win” for them.

“We don’t believe that we need to be touching the Greenbelt ever,” said Marilyn Crawford, regional councillor for ward 1 in Ajax. “Of course we’re happy about (the decision).”

Crawford said the region’s housing needs have changed over the past year and the city has enough land to build homes without going into the Greenbelt.

She said opposition to the decision to build there has been swelling in the Durham region.

The Star asked the representative of the China-based land owner for comment on the government’s decision but had not received a response by publication time.

But recently John Dong told the Star in a statement that the properties were put up for sale in the hope of gaining some interest from someone with more experience building homes.

“My clients have no development experience and required a partner with the requisite experience to meet the government’s policy objective to have shovels in the ground in 2025,” Dong said.

“At no time was the property going to be sold outright.”

The president of the numbered company that owns the land is listed as Yuchen Lu, who has an address in a small community in central China.