The majority of city council has again over-ruled its staff and enlarged the aerotropolis, and this time is also thumbing its nose at the Ontario Municipal Board. A decision debated in secret council session endorses option 1A as the city’s boundary configuration position but also orders the addition of a disconnected 9 hectare property owned by the Ancaster Christian Reformed Church.
It’s the second time council has arbitrarily added the church land at Garner and Fiddler’s Green to the airport employment growth district (AEGD). The first came in October 2010 as a last minute addition to the plan developed by staff over several years and against their recommendation.
That enlargement of the AEGD was not defended by city consultants and lawyers at the subsequent OMB hearings. The initial position they put forward was for the same 662 net hectares originally proposed by staff, and by the time the hearings were completed they had reduced that to 555 net hectares.
The next phase of the OMB hearings, scheduled for November, will determine which 555 hectares will be included in the urban boundary expansion. In preparation, staff presented a consultant review and recommendations that in its executive summary specifically identifies the “disconnected area identified by council at the intersection of Garner and Fiddler’s Green Road” as inappropriate.
The report goes on to explain that “being located west of Highway 6, it creates a disjointed land use pattern” and that it was “not addressed in the 2010 Secondary Plan or supporting materials.” It also points out the land are “not readily accessible from Highway 6 and servicing will likely require significant upgrades to current systems.”
Exactly how council dismissed those objections is unknown because they chose to debate the boundary configuration in camera – first of all at the February 18 planning committee meeting, and then again at the subsequent full council gathering that approved the addition with councillors Johnson, McHattie and Clark opposed. The wording of the resulting resolution is identical to the one approved in 2010.
In sharp contrast to the staff opinion, it continues to declare that “the lands are contiguous to the existing urban boundary and represent a logical extension of the urban area boundary”, and are “immediately serviceable” plus have “easy access to Highway 403”.
The resolution also asserts that “the proposed development of a church-religious retreat will contribute to jobs and assessment growth in our community”, will complement other employment uses anticipated for the AEGD and will be complemented by proximity to the airport. The final clause may be the most significant: “the proposed development has commitments from project partners”.
The council move responds positively to a position paper submitted by lawyers acting for the church which contends that there is “flexibility” in the 555 figure set by the OMB and that council should not submit to “a pre-set mathematical outcome.”
The council resolution offers no suggestions respecting deletion of other lands in option 1A to accommodate the church lands. That will be one of the issues at the phase three hearings where some developers are expected to argue for their own additions to the AEGD and others are seeking a ruling that their lands are “better suited” for residential development.
One of the additions being sought by Silvestri Investments is also located along Garner between the church lands and new Highway 6. They contend that nearness to the 403 is much preferable to closeness to the airport – a facility their planners contend is a poor attractor for new business. Silvestri is also arguing another block of their lands is unsuited for industrial development and more amenable to residential expansion.
Even on its own, option 1A may encounter some size challenges in the hearings since it is an extra 30 hectares over the 555 limit.