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WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2011 Vol. 14 • No. 40
Queen’s Park stays redGTA’s provincial election results
p 2
Oakville studies wardsBoundary review underway
p 8
York Region planning fees30% hike proposed
p 8
INSIDE
HALTON’S NEW TRANSPORTATION PLAN
MODAL SHIFTBy Mark Ostler
Last week Halton Region approved a new transportation master plan, setting the region on a path to shift much of its residents’ transportation away from single-occupant vehicles and towards alternative modes. “What the plan is doing is ensuring that we maintain levels of service with respect to transportation within the region to accommodate growth to 2031. We are looking to promote a shift away from single-occupant vehicles, so the plan provides a transportation system that will accommodate options,” said Halton transportation services director Tim Dennis. Indeed, the region has recently established the Active Transportation Advisory Committee. Its mandate is to set out a coordinated regional approach to active transportation and establish a new regional strategy for education, outreach and infrastructure improvements for all non-motorized modes of transportation. The goal is to collaborate with local municipalities on the region’s first active transportation master plan. Halton’s area municipalities all have such plans, but there is no such regional document. The goal of the plan would be to cohesively integrate the region’s existing active transportation network. The plan, entitled The Road to Change, envisions 20 years of improvements to Halton’s transportation infrastructure, which is projected to triple in value from $1-billion to $3-billion. Developed with the help CONTINUED PAGE 3 >
GREATER TORONTO AREA
EDITION
BUTTONVILLE AIRPORT
SECONDARY PLAN SUBMITTEDBy Kristine Janzen
A redevelopment plan for one of the last large greenfield development opportunities in the Town of Markham is moving towards reality. Cadillac Fairview senior vice presi-dent of development Finlay McEwen gave a sneak preview of the redevelopment plan for Markham’s Buttonville Airport at an event last Wednesday on large-scale GTA redevelopment projects hosted by the Toronto chapter of the Urban Land Institute. Cadillac Fairview and Armadale Properties Ltd., who have been working closely with town staff for over a year now, submitted their secondary plan for the site to Markham on Friday. The new vision for the 170-acre (48 net hectares) privately-owned airport site sets out the development framework for a new mixed-use commercial and residential area, which includes a 13-acre lake that will front on Highway 404. The intent is to create a new high-end mixed-use employment district that will accommodate 24,000 jobs and 4,000 residents along with significant retail, entertainment, recreation and service amenities. According to McEwen, the lake is critical to establish a “sense of place” for the site. CONTINUED PAGE 4 >
Economics Matters
416.699.5645 [email protected]
demographics construction economics planning impacts
real estate markets expert testimony forecasting
2
McGUINTY HANGS ON
LIBERALS WIN MINORITY
UPCOMING DATES
CITY OF TORONTO GREA TER TORONTO VANCOUVER
Ian A.R. Graham, [email protected]
Lynn Morrow, [email protected]
Mark Ostler, Municipal Affairs [email protected]
Kristine Janzen, Planning [email protected]
Jeff Payette, [email protected]
Kristine Janzen, Circulation/[email protected]
SALES/[email protected]
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GREATER TORONTO AREA EDITION
GRE ATER TORONTO ARE A EDITION WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2011
OCTOBER 12Mississauga Council, 9:00 a.m.
Brampton Council, 1:00 p.m.
Durham Region Council, 10:00 a.m.
OCTOBER 17Mississauga Planning & Development Committee, 1:30 p.m.
Brampton Planning, Design & Development Committee, 1:00 p.m.
Ajax Community Affairs & Planning Committee, 7:00 p.m.
Oakville Council, 7:00 p.m.
Whitby Planning & Development Committee, 7:00 p.m.
Oshawa Council, 6:30 p.m.
Milton Administration & Planning Committee, 7:30 p.m.
Pickering Council, 7:30 p.m.
Brock Council, 7:00 p.m.
OCTOBER 18Durham Region Planning Committee, 9:30 a.m.
Markham Development Services Committee, 9:00 a.m.
Markham Council, 7:00 p.m.
Vaughan Council, 1:00 p.m.
OCTOBER 19Halton Region Planning & Public Works Committee, 9: 30 a.m.
OCTOBER 20York Region Council, 9:30 a.m.
Ontario has its first minority government in decades and the Liberals have won a third consecutive term for the first time in well over a century. Dalton McGuinty’s Liberals have been reduced to 53 seats, just one shy of a majority, while Tim Hudak’s Progressive Conservatives gained ground, sitting at 37 seats. Andrea Horwath’s NDP also made headway, now boasting 17 MPPs. But McGuinty lost a GTA cabinet mem-ber in this election. Hamilton Mountain incumbent Sophia Aggelonitis was the Liberal minister of revenue and minister responsible for seniors, but was defeated handily by NDP newcomer Monique Taylor. Also defeated was Bramalea-Gore-Malton incumbent Kuldip Kular who until this election was the Liberal parliamentary assistant to health and long-term care minis-ter Deb Matthews. In another NDP gain, Kular lost the riding to Jagmeet Singh. Four prominent GTA ridings had no incumbents running in this election. Prominent Liberal Wayne Arthurs opted out of running in Pickering-Scarborough East but the riding stayed red with Liberal Tracy MacCharles taking over. Another GTA riding that stayed Liberal was Mississauga East-Streetsville, where incumbent Peter Fonseca stepped down to run in the May federal election.
Fonseca narrowly lost and declined to run provincially, but Liberal newcomer Dipika Damerla won the riding this time around. In Burlington, incumbent PC MPP Joyce Savoline did not run, but PC candidate Jane McKenna held the riding for the Progressive Conservatives. Meanwhile, PC candidate Rod Jackson took the Barrie riding back from the Liberals, whose in-cumbent MPP Aileen Carroll did not run this time. Carroll was a one-term MPP and her predecessor in the riding was PC Joe Tascona, so Hudak’s Progressive Conservatives have regained that riding. Another interesting race, which proved far less close than it was initially thought to be, was in the Vaughan riding. Liberal incumbent Greg Sorbara won by almost 11,000 votes over Tony Genco, a former Liberal turned prominent PC candidate. All in all, York Region was the only region in the GTA to have all its incumbents run and win in 2011. Voter turnout dropped to a new record low this year, with just over 49 per cent of eligible voters making CONTINUED PAGE 6 >
STOCKXCHANGE
HALTON’S NEW PLAN CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
of Dillon Consulting and GHD, the plan tracks Halton’s transportation growth to 2031 and seeks to provide a balanced transportation network—walking, cycling, goods movement and personal vehicle traffic—although there is a focus on developing infrastructure in a way that reduces reliance on single-occupant vehicle trips. In terms of transit, the region itself does not operate any services, nor does Halton Hills provide any local public transit. The region also lacks inter-municipal integrated transit services and Halton is currently working with Oakville and Burlington on studies for inter-municipal bus rapid transit services along the Dundas Street and Trafalgar Road corridors. The provincial growth plan projects that Halton will grow to 780,000 residents and 390,000 jobs by 2031. The region’s new transportation plan seeks to address the spike in demand by addressing the transportation system’s deficiencies. One of the central features of the new plan is a focus on transportation demand management. Halton Region will continue promoting the Smart Commute program and will set up the Halton Transportation Management Association Working Group to promote alternatives to single-occupant vehicle travel. As of a 2006 Halton transportation survey, 5 per cent of residents in the region commute by public transit. The region’s goal is to achieve a 20 per cent transit mode share by 2031. To do so the region will add some reserved transit rights-of-way, semi-exclusive transit rights-of-way that also allow taxis and high-occupancy vehicles, and some queue jump lanes for buses on certain corridors. As well, transit signal priority will be considered on all of these corridors and rights-of-way. However, Dennis noted that much of the increase in transit use will be borne by improvements that will be made by Metrolinx and GO Transit, which already provide for a significant proportion Halton residents’ transit use. The region’s new plan assumes that provincial road improvements, such as the proposed widening of certain sections of Highway 401, Highway 407 and Highway 7, will be implemented. As well, the plan makes recommendations to the region’s lower-tier municipalities for local road improvements, such as the widening of Harvester Road in Burlington, the extension of Third Line and widening of Ontario Street in Milton, and the widening of Speers Road
and Wyecroft Road in Oakville. As for regional road improvements, the plan estimates that between the end of the current $1-billion regional capital roads program in 2021 and the endpoint of the new transportation plan in 2031, the region will require $1.13-billion in projects. Funding is expected to come largely from regional development charges. Halton has about 934 kilometres of regional roads and the region is responsible for the maintenance of 128 road structures and bridges. For the most part, the projects include widening various regional roads either from two to four lanes or from four to six lanes. The exceptions are the proposed construction of a new six-lane link and interchange along 5½ Line from Britannia Road to Steeles Avenue and a new four-lane link along North Service Road between Burloak Drive and Bronte Road. Delivering on these improvements, however, could prove to be a challenge. Dennis told NRU that a significant proportion of the improvements envisioned for the next 20 years are actually required a lot sooner. “A good proportion of the 20-year capital improvements are actually required in the next five years, which, purely from a project delivery perspective, is a challenge,” Dennis said, adding that this isn’t the only challenge the plan faces. “The other challenge that we’re going to face is actually promoting the shift in the public away from single-occupant vehicles and promoting active transportation.” nru
3GRE ATER TORONTO ARE A EDITION WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2011
What the plan is doing is ensuring that we maintain levels of service with respect to transportation within the region to accommodate growth to 2031. We are looking to promote a shift away from single-occupant vehicles, so the plan provides a transportation system that will accommodate options.
• Tim Dennis
STOCKXCHANGE
4GRE ATER TORONTO ARE A EDITION WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2011
“It is very difficult to create an environment in the 905 where people want to stay and linger. Companies are now looking for greater amenities in suburban office locations, including housing, entertainment, retail and transit facilities,” said McEwen. Older suburban office parks are becoming obsolete and less attractive to businesses who increasingly want to provide a more amenity-rich environment for employees. Adding a significant residential component into the plan is critical to ensuring a truly mixed-use environment, explained McEwen. Markham mayor Frank Scarpitti told NRU preliminary studies conducted by Cadillac Fairview show developing a lake is feasible. “To their credit, they have gone out and at least done the preliminary work [to develop the lake]. This would have to be reviewed by the town, York Region and the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority, because there are obviously potential issues,” added Scarpitti. While a 13-acre lake may seem like an over-the-top public amenity, McEwen explained the lake would be privately owned and maintained, adding the plan does not include a huge contribution to the public realm. Further, construction of the privately owned lake would take place in the first phase
of development to generate interest in the site and to provide a unique amenity on a site that fronts Highway 404. The site contains many development challenges, such as being a remote location adjacent to a major highway, having poor integration with the surrounding transportation and transit network, having poor infrastructure and being located between two tributaries of the Rouge River. However, McEwen explained that planning solutions are being explored. With respect to improving transit infrastructure to the site, Scarpitti explained that the town is exploring possibilities, including a new overpass over Highway 404 to the Buttonville Airport site to accommodate traffic and possibly bus rapid transit service. “[Transit] would be definitely something that would be required if Buttonville [Airport] was to be redeveloped in the fashion that has been submitted. There will have to be improvements to the rapid transit system for the area—there’s no doubt about it,” explained Scarpitti. “There’s another connection here to a subway that we haven’t fully utilized, and that’s the Sheppard subway at Fairview Mall. There could be direct connections through
BUTTONVILLE AIRPORTCONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
Buttonville Airport redevelopment plan for the southwest portion of the site. SOURCE: CADILLAC FAIRVIEW
CONTINUED PAGE 5 >
5GRE ATER TORONTO ARE A EDITION WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2011
BUTTONVILLE AIRPORTCONTINUED FROM PAGE 4
11,788 ACRES RARE LAND OPPORTUNITY
No warranty or representation, expressed or implied, is made as to the accuracy of the information contained herein, and same is submitted subject to errors, omissions, change of price, rental or other conditions, withdrawal without notice, and to any specific listingcondition, imposed by our principals.*Sales Representative **Broker
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THE ROYAL HIGHLANDSThe Royal Highlands of Haliburton, a large preserve of mostly untouched natural beauty about 2.5 hours northeast of Toronto
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Brad Warren** 416-756-5418 [email protected]
Earle Ruggles** 416-756-5441 [email protected]
Max Izen* 416-756-5474 [email protected]
busses or busses on dedicated lanes that could connect this development to the subway at Fairview,” said Scarpitti. McEwen also emphasized that the project must be profitable. “Cadillac Fairview and our partners, the Sifton family, are for-profit…this is what we do, we make money through developing real estate. Our job is to return income to our shareholders,” said McEwen. Cadillac Fairview is wholly owned by the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan and The Armadale Group, including Armadale Properties Ltd., is owned by the Sifton family. The secondary plan incorporates 7-million to 9-million square feet of commercial, office, residential, hotel and convention space. It includes between 900,000 and 1.2-million square feet of commercial restaurant and entertainment uses, 2.6-million to 4.4-million square feet of office and major institutional uses, 3.2-million to 3.6-million square feet of residential space, 450,000-600,000 square feet of hotel space
and 100,000 square feet of convention space. Despite poor integration with regional and local transit, the plan would double the town’s current office space inventory, adding nearly 3-million square feet. The town’s employment land strategy, which assumes the 988-acre Markham Centre site will be built out over the next 20-25 years, notes development of the town’s 485 net hectares of vacant and developable employment land is not sufficient to meet its employment forecasts to 2031. When Markham Centre is fully built out, it will accommodate an estimated 41,000 residents and 39,000 jobs. While redevelopment of the Buttonville Airport is key to ensuring the town can support and maintain future high quality employment growth, the site is not large enough to accommodate Markham’s employment land requirements, estimated to be 395 to 520 gross hectares of land outside the current settlement area. nru
6GRE ATER TORONTO ARE A EDITION WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2011
STOCKXCHANGE
the trip to the voting screen. The previous record low turnout, just fewer than 53 per cent, was set in the last provincial
election. At the moment, it appears the general trend in voter turnout is heading south. nru
McGUINTY HANGS ONCONTINUED FROM PAGE 2
DURHAM
Ajax-Pickering Joe Dickson (L)
Durham John O’Toole (PC)
Oshawa Jerry Ouellette (PC)
Pickering-Scarborough East Tracy MacCharles (L)
Whitby-Oshawa Christine Elliott (PC)
HALTON
Burlington Jane McKenna (PC)
Halton Ted Chudleigh (PC)
Oakville Kevin Flynn (L)
Wellington-Halton Hills Ted Arnott (PC)
HAMILTON
Ancaster-Dundas-
Flamborough-Westdale Ted McMeekin (L)
Hamilton-Centre Andrea Horwath (NDP)
Hamilton East-Stoney Creek Paul Miller (NDP)
Hamilton Mountain Monique Taylor (NDP)
PEEL
Bramalea-Gore-Malton Jagmeet Singh (NDP)
Brampton-Springdale Linda Jeffrey (L)
Brampton West Vic Dhillon (L)
Dufferin-Caledon Sylvia Jones (PC)
Mississauga-Brampton South Amrit Mangat (L)
Mississauga East-Cooksville Dipika Damerla (L)
Mississauga-Erindale Harinder Takhar (L)
Mississauga South Charles Sousa (L)
Mississauga-Streetsville Bob Delaney (L)
SIMCOE
Barrie Rod Jackson (PC)
Simcoe-Grey Jim Wilson (PC)
Simcoe-North Garfield Dunlop (PC)
YORK
Markham-Unionville Michael Chan (L)
Newmarket-Aurora Frank Klees (PC)
Oak Ridges-Markham Helena Jaczek (L)
Richmond Hill Reza Moridi (L)
Thornhill Peter Shurman (PC)
Vaughan Greg Sorbara (L)
York-Simcoe Julia Munro (PC)
Bold = incumbent candidates
SOURCE: ELECTIONS ONTARIO
Here is a list of the region’s MPPs
DEVELOPMENT MANAGER
Concord Adex Inc. has an immediate position available for a Development Manager. The successful candidate should have a minimum of five years’ experience in the development industry and should be well versed in both the design and municipal planning aspects of development. In addition to an architectural or interior design background, residential high-rise condominium experience is essential. The candidate must be self-motivated and be able to manage multiple large scale projects while working in a fast-paced, dynamic team environment.
Salary will commensurate with experience.
Please apply in confidence to Sheila Matheson, Manager, Office [email protected]: 416-813-0888
7GRE ATER TORONTO ARE A EDITION WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2011
GTA IN BRIEFDURHAM
Ajax statutory public meeting
The Town of Ajax is hosting a public meeting October 20 in council chambers from 7 to 8 p.m. to discuss an official plan and zoning by-law amendment application by Tri-Star Management Corp. The application is to permit a one-storey commercial mixed-use development
at 36 Salem Road South. The property is currently designated high density residential in the official plan and zoned agricultural. The amendments propose a commercial mixed-use designation in the official plan and an uptown mixed-use designation in the zoning by-law.
Memorial Park Gates heritage designation
Last week, Town of Ajax
general government committee adopted a recommendation to designate the Memorial Park Gates on the east side of Memorial Park under Part IV of the Heritage Act and to have staff draft a by-law for consideration by council. The Memorial Park Gates are a prominent part of the Church Street North streetscape. They were built as a memorial to those who served in the First World War by the Pickering Village
Chamber of Commerce and Women’s Institute in 1922 after the chamber of commerce purchased the site for use as a park.
Durham courthouse wins Brownie
The Canadian Urban Institute awarded the Durham Region courthouse the Excellence in Project Development Brownie Award at its 11th annual
CONTINUED PAGE 8 >
LAWYERS
RUETER SCARGALL BENNETT LLP
is pleased to announce that
ROBERT MILLER has joined our firm
to continue his practice in
planning, municipal and development law 155 University Avenue
Suite 600
Toronto, Ontario
M5H 3B7
t 416 869-9090
f 416 869-3411
rslawyers.com
ADVOCATES
LIT
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8GRE ATER TORONTO ARE A EDITION WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2011
Brownie Awards gala dinner last week. This year’s gala took place at the Allstream Centre at Exhibition Place.
HALTON
Burlington 2012 budget consultation
The City of Burlington is hosting a community workshop and meeting October 13 from 7:00 to 9:30 p.m. at the Burlington Seniors Centre to discuss the city’s 2012 budget. The city will also host an online survey for residents to participate in the budget process during the preparation period. Further public meetings will be held after the 2012 budget has been drafted.
Ward boundary review
The Town of Oakville is hosting a public information session October 18 at 7 p.m. in committee rooms 1 and 2 to review proposals for a new ward system. The boundary review is being undertaken to address the significant variation in the number of electors per ward as a result of population growth in the town. An online survey on the ward boundary review
will be open on the town’s website until October 21. The town plans to have the new ward system in place for the 2014 municipal election.
PEEL
ZBL housekeeping amendment
The City of Mississauga will host a statutory public meeting October 31 at 1:30 p.m. in council chambers to discuss a housekeeping amendment to the city’s zoning by-law. Amendments to definitions, general provisions and parking regulations have been proposed by staff, along with minor changes to the residential, commercial, city centre, employment, Parkway Belt and institutional zones.
Brampton citizen appointments
The City of Brampton is seeking citizens to serve on the Brampton Heritage Board, the Council Compensation Committee and the Taxicab Advisory Committee for a term ending November 30, 2014. Applicants must be qualified electors in the City of Brampton. Further information is available on the city’s website.
YORK
Planning fees increase
York Region planning and economic development committee at its meeting last week considered a report recommending a 30 per cent increase in fees for local official plan amendments and subdivision applications to reflect the additional staff time required to review applications. The report
proposes to implement the new fees effective January 1, 2012. After a review of planning application fees charged in other Greater Golden Horseshoe regional municipalities, staff noted York Region’s fees for plans of subdivision and condominium and routine local official plan amendment applications were below average, excluding the City of Toronto.
East Gwillimbury OP
Last week, the York Region planning and economic development committee adopted a recommendation to advise the Ontario Municipal Board that the region supports approval of the 2010 Town of East Gwillimbury Official Plan, subject to modifications. The plan is the subject of an appeal to the OMB because of a lack of a decision by York Region within the statutory 180-day timeframe. nru
GTA IN BRIEF CONTINUED FROM PAGE 7
To subscribe or advertise in NRU GTA Edition, please go to www.nrupublishing.com or call 416-260-1304.
GREATER TORONTO AREA EDITION
STOCKXCHANGE
Hatch Mott MacDonald has announced that Nathan Higgins is the infrastructure, transportation and environmental
engineering company’s new senior vice president and Canadian leader for its rail and transit practice. Higgins has over 23
years of experience as a professional engineer and has served on committees for the American Public Transportation
Association and the American Railway Engineering and Maintenance-of-Way Association.
GTA PEOPLE
9GRE ATER TORONTO ARE A EDITION WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2011
GTA OMB NEWSAncaster appeals allowed
In a decision issued October 4, board member Mary-Anne Sills allowed appeals by Sandra Dussin against a City of Hamilton Committee of Adjustment decision. Dussin had applied for a severance to permit the creation of two lots at 100 Southcote Road and a replacement home on the severed lot. The minor variances were to permit reduced lot frontage from 18 to 15 metres and north rear-yard setback from 7.5 to 1.6 metres. The board noted after a review by city staff, two additional variances were identified, despite a building permit being issued without a minor variance application requirement. The variances are to reduce the north and south rear-yard setbacks with further eave projections from 7.5 metres to 1.5 metres. At the beginning of the hearing, the board granted a request by nearby Lynda Lane residents Robert Wild, Brian Moar and Joe Boyachek for participant status. The board noted municipal planning staff recommends approval of the consent and minor variance applications, subject to conditions. Planner George Zajac (IBI Group) presented planning evidence in support of the application. He told the board the application is an appropriate infill development that will fit in well with the character of the surrounding neighbourhood. Further, the variances are minor and represent good land use planning that is consistent with provincial planning policy. Zajac indicated the development will use existing infrastructure and is a permitted use. Local residents told the board the development does not fit in with the character of the neighbourhood because the
consent would result in the creation of two lots smaller than most lots in the area. They also told the board the proposed new home is too large, will “look out of place” and will set a negative precedent for development in their neighbourhood. The board accepted the planning opinion of Zajac and allowed the appeals, subject to the conditions identified by city planning staff. The board noted the proposed consent and minor variance applications satisfy the criteria set out in the Planning Act. Further, while the board considered the issues raised by local residents, it could not support their position as there are similar sized lots in the area and the proposed home conforms to most of the zoning requirements, with the exception of rear-yard setbacks and lot frontages. Solicitor N. Smith represented Sandra Dussin. Participants Robert Wild, Brian Moar and Joe Boyachek were not represented by counsel. (See OMB Case No. PL110094.) nru
