Council action on warehouse
Public pressure and receptive councillors have made a difference. City council has imposed significant additional conditions on the proposed Dickenson Road warehouse, including requiring the developer to donate to the public the provincially significant wetland, its 30 metre buffer zone, and a woodlot.
Three delegations and over 35 letters challenged the plans for a 40,000 square metre warehouse on 37 hectares of farmland, wetlands, forest and natural features. On May 31, the city’s planning committee discussed the staff recommendations for more than two hours before a 6-4 vote approved the development in the Airport Employment Growth District (AEGD).
But on June 7, the full council was virtually unanimous in strengthening the conditions to better reflect the promises that the AEGD will be an eco-industrial business park. Four amendments were adopted, moved and seconded by eight different councillors.
The changes include provision of “a three metre wide public pathway or trail” connecting the protected wetland to multi-use pathways on two roads that are to be constructed perpendicular to Dickenson. There are also financial securities that will be held by the city to ensure “that there are no impacts” on the wetland “for a period of not less than five years after full buildout” of the proposals.
Other added conditions require annual public reports on the performance of stormwater management on the property, on the management of invasive species, and on the habitat enhancement restoration plan. There’s also required monitoring of the health of transplanted species and replacement on any that don’t survive during the first five years, with part of the replanting zone also deeded to the city.
The current AEGD secondary plan has “eco-industrial guidelines” where were noted by staff and verbally supported by the developer, but generally are treated as aspirational targets rather than specific rules. The changes adopted by council force the developer to specifically describe its sustainability plans including consideration of “heat pumps, green roofs, solar installations or other on-site renewable energy generation, grey water re-use and permeable paving treatments.”
All of these are additional to approximately fifty special conditions that had already been recommended by city planning staff.
None of these changes prevent the warehouse construction. It was effectively approved eight years ago when the AEGD was endorsed by the OMB in 2015.
The changes also doesn’t mean similar conditions will become part of the requirements for future AEGD developments. But planning staff indicated that something like that could be accomplished by an update of the eco-industrial rules in the secondary plan. Such modification could take account of climate change and the biodiversity action plan now undergoing public consultation.
