Mayor Olivia Chow backed MZO for Etobicoke lot despite staff objections

The provincial MZO overrides local rules banning conversion of land to residential use, allowing mosque to build multi-use development.

Thestar.com
Feb. 8, 224
Ben-Spurr

Mayor Olivia Chow backed a request for a minister’s zoning order at an Etobicoke property late last year despite city planning staff's objections to the plan, the Star has learned.

The owners of 65 Rexdale Blvd. want to rebuild an existing mosque on site, as part of a new mixed-use development that would include 220 rental units. But the land is zoned for employment, and residential uses are prohibited. The provincial MZO would override city planning policy and allow mixed-use development, including new homes.

It's a case that pitted two of Toronto’s most pressing interests against one another: the need for more housing, especially rental, and the necessity of preserving land for good jobs.

Supporters of the redevelopment say it will deliver low-cost housing to an area of the city that needs it. Up to 30 per cent of the units in the nine-storey development would be designated affordable, while rent revenue would help make the busy mosque financially sustainable.

According to sources, the mayor’s office turned to city planning staff last fall and asked if they could support the expedited zoning order request. But staff said no. The sources, who the Star is not naming because they weren't authorized to speak publicly about discussions around the plan, said staff believed 65 Rexdale wasn't a good candidate for residential uses, and the request did not follow the normal planning process meant to protect employment land.

But the request went ahead anyway. While MZO asks from the city typically come to council with a report offering planning staff's analysis, this one was via a committee motion from local councillor Vince Crisanti. There were no staff recommendations on the ask, which council approved 17 to 4 on Dec. 13.

In an email, Chow's office confirmed she worked with Crisanti to get the request to council.

"Building new housing is a top priority for Mayor Chow," Arianne Robinson, Chow's press secretary, said when asked about the mayor's support. Chow has set an ambitious target of building 65,000 rental units by 2030.

Crisanti didn't return a request for comment.

The Dec. 13 council vote represents at least the fourth time Chow has supported an MZO, a sometimes controversial tool that allows the province to bypass local planning rules. The Star reported last month that Housing Minister Paul Calandra worked with the mayor on three other orders in Toronto.  

The property at 65 Rexdale is in Premier Doug Ford's Etobicoke North riding. Its owner, the non-profit International Muslims Organization of Toronto (IMO), said in a public presentation last April, before Chow was elected, that the group had "political traction" at the city, and had received "assurances from the province" that the MZO would be granted.

A spokesperson for the premier declined to answer questions about whether Ford backs the MZO. A spokesperson for Calandra also wouldn't say whether the minister intends to grant the request. The Ontario PC government has mostly paused issuing MZOs until it completes a review it launched in December after facing criticism it was imposing too many.

Both the mayor's and minister's office said advancing the redevelopment wasn't related to talks between Chow and Ford over a new financial deal for the city that concluded in November.

The IMO has operated a mosque at 65 Rexdale since 1994. The building near the intersection of Islington Ave. and hwy. 401 hosts about 1,000 worshippers for Friday prayers, and both Chow and Ford have attended events there.

As a rule, city staff are reluctant to convert employment lands to residential. The properties are often strategically located near rail lines and highways that facilitate industrial activity, and former chief planner Gregg Lintern has likened them to the Greenbelt because once they're converted, they -- and the well-paying jobs they provide newcomers and others without professional qualifications -- can't be replaced.

A 2022 city land needs assessment also found there was “more than enough” space for anticipated housing demand in the city’s residentially-zoned land, and called for not just retention, but intensification, of employment land.

In the case of 65 Rexdale, despite its zoning the property isn't currently being used for employment. However, Lintern warned council last July an employment conversion at one property risks setting off "unmanaged land speculation" that erodes employment zones. That's because allowing residential uses boosts a property's value, and a conversion at one site provides a precedent for other nearby landowners to make similar requests.

The Greater Toronto Airport Authority has raised concerns about the proposal at 65 Rexdale, because the property is in the Pearson operating area, a designated zone intended to create a buffer between the airport and noise-sensitive land uses like housing. Last year staff cited similar concerns while opposing a conversion request at 2200 Islington Ave., around the corner from 65 Rexdale.

Coun. Shelley Carroll is among Chow's progressive allies who have spoken passionately about the need to preserve employment lands. In October, she described them as a "sacred boundary" that protects jobs for the city's less affluent.

In an interview, she said she was initially concerned about the 65 Rexdale plan, but voted for the MZO when she learned the property was at the "tail end" of the Pearson zone, close to neighbourhoods already zoned residential.

The city does have a formal process for approving employment conversions, called a municipal planning review, which started in 2020 and wrapped up last year. IMO didn’t submit a request to that major review, which would have been the normal channel to pursue the rezoning.

In an email, the IMO told the Star it ran out of time to submit a request through the review, and sought out the MZO to "expedite the building of residential units."

As for its statement about "traction" at city hall and provincial "assurances," the group asserted the MZO plan has long had government support because it would help with the housing crisis.

IMO noted that 65 Rexdale already isn't being used for employment, and its location near transit and midrise apartments to its north make it appropriate for residential uses. There is already a library, pharmacy, and big-box retail stores nearby.

"The best use of the site is to add the residential component," it said.

The IMO has yet to submit a development application. If the MZO is granted, council has asked the minister to consider rescinding it if there isn't "reasonable progress" on the development within two years.

And while staff didn't support the MZO, they helped Crisanti craft the wording of his motion to ensure that if the order goes ahead, the development will still have to go through a site planning process that will allow staff to press for changes that address their concerns.

IMO's plan is opposed by some members of the mosque's community, who have started an online petition claiming IMO leadership is planning to "demolish" the mosque and profit from the redevelopment. The IMO rejects the allegations, and said the group's board members "have not and will not personally benefit" from the plan.