Innisfil town council has voted in favour of requesting a Ministerial Zoning Order (MZO) for the Mobility Orbit development, a community planned around a new GO Train station proposed on Line 6 near Alcona.
The report on the MZO, presented in Wednesday evening’s virtual meeting, proposed a two-week comment period before council approves the revised draft on Oct. 28. Following lengthy debate, council extended the public input period by one week to Nov. 4.
The town is asking Ontario's Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing for an MZO that would give the green light to the first phases of Orbit, which would be built around a transit hub – with the highest densities of 200 dwelling units per hectare within a 225-metre radius of the GO station, along with retail-commercial, institutional, and flex work spaces; and a slightly reduced density of 150 per hectare within a 225- to 425-m radius.
The MZO would also set the outer boundaries of the Orbit, redesignating the agricultural/rural land beyond the 425-m radius for urban use, although a secondary plan would be required before development could proceed.
It was described as an “expedited planning approval process” that will give the developer involved, Cortel Group, the assurance of higher densities – offsetting the cost of paying for a proposed GO train station and transit hub.
Without the MZO, developers would have to apply for Official Plan and zoning-bylaw amendments, which could be appealed to the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal (LPAT). An MZO cannot be appealed – although it can be amended by the minister – a saving of both time and money.
Two delegations appeared before council questioning the MZO approach.
Claire Malcolmson, executive director of Rescue Lake Simcoe Coalition and a “sixth-generation cottager in Innisfil,” said she is “not a fan” of MZOs.
“There have been at least six of these in Simcoe County,” Malcolmson said, noting MZOs were intended to be used for development in northern Ontario, and for projects of “provincial interest.”
She asked why construction of a new GO station is a matter of provincial interest. She also warned that the use of the MZO process leads to “fragmented planning… a kind of a gold-rush approach to planning. A lot of public process is missing.”
Malcolmson suggested that the Orbit project will primarily benefit the developer, not the town, and questioned how much of the Orbit ‘vision’ would actually be built.
“I think we really should scrutinize this plan. What does the developer really want to build? What would be the most profitable to build? Is there any market research that supports this model? I don’t really think people are lining up to buy a condo in a farm field," said Malcolmson, who urged the town to hire an independent lawyer to look at the details.
Malcolmson's concerns were echoed by architect Steven Kirshenblatt, who addressed council three months ago regarding the Orbit project. He was worried the town would pursue an MZO to expedite approval, “and lo and behold, here we are. What is behind the rush? The people behind this abuse of process should be ashamed of themselves.”
Noting that the town has only seen renderings of the Orbit and its buildings, he questioned why the MZO is even needed.
The developer could propose higher densities without an MZO, Kirshenblatt said.
“No MZO created Friday Harbour. The costs to create Friday Harbour were huge," he said. "If a design has real merit, private money will back it. This design does not have real merit. The reason is the vision is not economically feasible without long-term commitments.”
Kirshenblatt urged council to slow down and go through the proper planning process.
“I have my concerns and doubts as well,” said Deputy Mayor Dan Davidson, who asked for clarification of the links between an MZO for the Orbit and larger plans to extend servicing along Line 6 to the Innisfil Heights employment land.
The's town chief administrative officer, Jason Reynar, said it will cost $100 million to expand the wastewater treatment plant to accommodate growth, and added the town has been pushing developers within the Orbit area to sign an agreement to front-end costs, both for the treatment plant and a new interchange at Line 6 and Highway 400.
“I’m not really a fan of an MZO,” said Coun. Bill Van Berkel. “They’re all right for what they’re meant for,” such as projects of regional or provincial significance, like the Tollendale Village retirement community.
The Orbit, he said, doesn’t fall into that class.
“It’s a shortcut for the developer. It bypasses the normal procedure,” Van Berkel said.
“The way it is right now, I have a real problem with it," he added. "The public needs to have input. I’m in favour of the Orbit and the train station, but this is not the way to do it.”
The town's director of growth, Tim Cane, insisted the community has been engaged and “the vision has been sitting out there for some time.”
Since the Orbit was publicly unveiled in November 2019, there have been 15 focus group members, 75 people subscribed to updates, 2,100 e-newsletter recipients, more than 23,000 web page views, and 490 responses to a survey asking about potential GO Train use. There have also been 51,642 views of a promotional video prepared by the municipality.
Cane urged council to move forward to avoid any further delays with construction of a station – otherwise, he suggested, Innisfil could be looking at “another 10 years of same old, same old.”
He pointed out that, even with an MZO, there’s still a "rigorous and detailed site-plan process. That piece will still remain.”
For the first time, an estimated cost for the GO station was provided: $29 million, substantially more than the $15 million initially proposed by Metrolinx.
“In the past, provincial governments would have built that station,” Cane said.
But now, the expense has been shifted to developers in exchange for higher densities on surrounding land, as well as air rights above the station itself.
Cane said town staff hope to have the MZO request in front of Simcoe County in November and to the ministry before the end of the year.
Without an MZO and under a normal planning process, the station could be delayed another five to seven years, Cane said.
“As far as I’m concerned and based on best available information, we’re still moving toward a start date of 2022," he added. "For that to happen, things have to start happening soon.”
“This is a town initiative, it is not a developer-led initiative,” said Coun. Alex Waters. “We’re light years ahead of Bradford, we’re light years ahead of Barrie."
However, Waters questioned whether an MZO would have enough “teeth” to ensure sustainable development.
“We’re creating a bit of a donut, not an Orbit,” he warned.
The area beyond the 425-m centre will be governed by a secondary planning process, but what happens if something goes wrong with that first part, Waters asked. "Then we have a rotten core."
The CAO suggested that the deadline for comments be set for the Nov. 4 special meeting of Innisfil council.
In a recorded vote, his recommendation was approved. In favour were Mayor Lynn Dollin, Davidson, Waters, Carolyn Payne, Rob Nicol and Donna Orsatti. Voting against were Van Berkel and Kenneth Fowler. Coun. Kevin Eisses declared a conflict and did not vote.
As part of its plan to seek public input, the town is hosting a virtual open house on Monday, Oct. 19 at 6:30 p.m., at Innisfil.ca/youtube. Comments can also be posed at the town's website or by emailing [email protected].
