Report to Development Services Committee November
16, 2010
SUBJECT: Approved
Region of York Official Plan and Amendment No. 3 to the Region of York Official Plan
PREPARED BY: Elisabeth
Silva Stewart, Senior Planner, ext.3115
RECOMMENDATION:
1)
That the information report dated November 16, 2010,
entitled “Approved Region of York Official Plan and adopted Amendment No. 3 to
the Region of York Official Plan” be received;
2)
And that Staff provide updates to Development Services
Committee on the status of the Region of York Official Plan and Amendment No.3
to the Region of York Official Plan as they become available.
The purpose of this report is to update Development
Services Committee on the approval of the new Region of York Official Plan by
the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing and the adoption of Amendment No.
3 to the Region of York Official Plan.
On December
16, 2009, Region of York Council adopted the new York
Region Official Plan and submitted it to the Minister of Municipal Affairs and
Housing for approval. Town Staff
reviewed the adopted new Region of York Official Plan (ROP), and identified matters
of interest to the Town in the February 2, 2010 report to Development Services Committee
(DSC). In that report, Staff recommended
that the Town seek modifications to several provisions of the ROP. At the February 2, 2010 DSC meeting, the
Committee suggested further modifications which were considered by Staff in a report
dated February 16, 2010 and endorsed by the DSC. The modification requests,
as revised by DSC, were endorsed by Council on March 1, 2010, and were
submitted to the Region and the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing.
On May 5th,
Region of York staff reported back to the Region’s Planning and Economic
Development Committee on the submissions received with a recommended list of
modifications to the ROP. These
recommendations were forwarded to the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing
prior to approval of the new Regional Official Plan. The Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing
approved the new ROP with additional modifications on September 7, 2010 with
the Appeal Period ending on September 28, 2010.
At the time of preparing this report, it was known that various appeals to
the ROP had been submitted to the Minister.
Regional staff will be reporting on these appeals following their review.
Regional
Official Plan Amendment (ROPA) No. 3 which amends the ROP to incorporate urban
expansion lands in Markham was adopted by Regional Council on September 23,
2010 and the last day to appeal was on October 18, 2010.
Additional Modifications
made by the Minister in his approval of the ROP:
In approving the ROP, the Province has made additional
modifications beyond those recommended by the Region. Modifications specific to Markham were
discussed with Regional staff before the issuance of the approval decision on
September 7, 2010. The following will be
a short discussion of the most significant modifications made by the Province.
Toronto Buttonville
Municipal Airport
Region of
York staff recommended modifications to the newly adopted ROP, resulting from a
request from Markham Council to introduce a
new policy relating to the Toronto Buttonville Municipal
Airport which read:
“The Toronto Buttonville
Municipal Airport lands are designated for business park use in the Town of
Markham Official Plan, including permission to operate an airport. When airport
operations at the Buttonville Airport cease, the significant
majority of the subject lands shall be retained for business park use, as
contemplated in the Town of Markham Official Plan. The Town of Markham will determine the
details of the future use of these lands through an implementing secondary plan
process.
The re-use of
the Airport site is intended to generate a range of quality employment
opportunities and expand upon the number of jobs planned for the site. Approval of the Secondary Plan to the
satisfaction of the Town in consultation with the Region will not be considered
a conversion, and a further Regional municipal comprehensive review will not be
required.”
In it’s approval however, the Province further modified the
policy relating to the Toronto Buttonville Municipal
Airport which now reads:
“7.2.88 That the Toronto Buttonville Municipal Airport lands are designated for business
park use, in the Town of Markham Official Plan, including permission to operate
an airport. When
airport operations at the Buttonville Airport cease,
the significant majority of the subject lands shall be retained for business
park use, and the balance for a mix of urban uses. The Town of Markham, in consultation with the
Region, will determine the details of the future use of these lands through an implementing
secondary plan process.
The re-use of the Airport site is intended to generate a
range of quality employment opportunities and expand upon the number of jobs planned
for the site.”
It is understood that the Province felt that these
modifications were needed in order to ensure conformity with the Places to Grow
Plan, specifically relating to the conversion of employment land uses to other
uses. It is also understood that
representatives for the Toronto Buttonville Municipal
Airport were consulted in the discussions leading up to the Ministry’s
modification. Town staff
were also consulted. The new
wording maintains the spirit of Markham Council’s request.
Employment Policies
Employment policies were modified by the Province. The modifications included a clarification of
the role of Figure 2, together with a modification to Figure 2 (below). Figure 2 now only identifies lands within the
current settlement area as ‘Strategic Employment’.
Extract of
Figure 2 – York Region Strategic Employment Lands – ROP, Sept. 2010
The modified employment policies also clarify that
employment lands within Regional Centres and Key Development
Areas are required to be planned for, through secondary plans consistent with
applicable policies within sections 5.2 (Sustainable Cities, Sustainable
Communities) and 5.6 (Building Complete, Vibrant Communities) of the ROP.
New draft Plan of
subdivision conformity policies
Through the approval of the ROP, the Province added new
policies with respect to draft plans of subdivision. Where an approved draft plan
of subdivision lapses, opportunities for achieving the growth management
targets established by the ROP shall be considered as part of the development
review process. If a plan of
subdivision has been registered for 8 years or more, and does not meet the
growth management targets established in the ROP, then Regional Council or Town
Council shall use its authority under the Planning Act to deem it not to be a
registered plan of subdivision. Further,
Council of the Town or the Region, shall require
approvals of draft plans of subdivision to include a lapse date in accordance
with the Planning Act. (see Appendix A – Modification 114, page 17). Staff will confirm the intent of these
policies and identify if there are any Plans to which these new policies apply,
in consultation with Regional staff.
Appeals to the Region of
York Official Plan
The appeal period for the York Region Official Plan closed
on September 28, 2010. MMAH staff is required to send these appeals to
the OMB together with the public record.
At the time of preparing this
report, Regional Planning staff had not yet received the total appeal package
from MMAH. Once the appeal package has
been received and reviewed, the Region is expected to share this information
with local municipalities. If required, Markham
staff will report on appeals to the ROP at a future date.
Conformity Provisions
The Region of York Official Plan requires local official
plans and comprehensive zoning by-laws to be brought into conformity with the
Region’s Official Plan in a timely manner.
Policies in the local official plans or secondary plans may be more
restrictive than the ROP, provided such policies are consistent with the
general intent of the ROP.
Conformity factors include conformity with Provincial
plans, statutes and regulations, consistency between overall direction and long
term objectives, and reasonable efforts to accommodate matters identified in the
policies of the ROP.
Because the ROP is under appeal, the sections under appeal
are not yet in effect. However, as a prudent
policy and with the exception of applicable transition provisions, the Town
should proceed on the basis that all Town policies and approvals should conform
with the approved ROP on a go forward basis.
On this basis, applications for development approval should be reviewed
in the context of conformity with the ROP.
Transition Provisions
There are transition provisions within the new ROP. These provisions include the policy that
legally existing and approved land uses as they existed at the time of the ROP
approval, are recognized. Applications
received on/or after the date of this Plan’s approval shall be subject to the
policies of the ROP. Proponents with
pending applications at the time of ROP approval are to be encouraged to work
with the Region to re-examine the applications based on the policies within the
ROP.
ROPA 3
ROPA 3,
amends the ROP to incorporate an urban expansion area in Markham to accommodate
a portion of the Town’s forecast urban growth to the year 2031, and was adopted
by Regional Council on September 27, 2010 (attached as Appendix B). The area identified for expansion is
consistent with the growth alternative endorsed by Markham Council on May 11,
2010. ROPA 3 also adds a new policy,
requested by the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, which requires the
removal or amendment to the Minister’s Airport Zoning Order 104/72, prior to
development approval in the portion of the lands subject to that Order.
At the time
of the preparation of this report, the appeal period for ROPA 3 had just
finished (October 18, 2010). It is
understood that ROPA 3 is also the subject of a number of appeals. Once obtained, and reviewed, staff will
report further on these appeals if required.
Not
applicable.
Not
applicable.
The new ROP aligns with Growth
Management, Transportation and Environment priorities of Building Markham’s
Future Together.
Not
applicable.
RECOMMENDED BY: ________________________ ________________________
T.J. Lambe Jim
Baird
Manager,
Policy and Commissioner
of
Research
Division Development
Services
Appendix A – Minister of
Municipal Affairs and Housing Approval of the New Region of York Official Plan
– Notice of Decision
Appendix B – ROPA 3 - Notice of Decision
Q;\Development\Planning\MISC\MI 528 Regional Official
Plan\Approved Regional Official Plan\dsc November 16
2010 rop approval.doc