Councillor Jaye Robinson Feb 20th, 2019 – Planning Matters in Leaside Business Park

Good Afternoon,

I hope you had a wonderful Family Day and long weekend.

I’m reaching out to follow up on some issues discussed at the Leaside Business Park Association’s Annual General Meeting, which I had the pleasure to attend on January 16^th.

In that meeting and following conversations, I was advised of several concerns your membership has about the protection of employment lands in the Business Park.

As you may know, the Province recently announced its intention to amend the Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe, which could potentially impact a number of the City’s industrial lands – including the Leaside Business Park. The City was given a very short window to provide comments on the proposed changes, and I wanted to ensure that City Planning had an opportunity to incorporate feedback from the LBPA.

Given the LBPA’s interest in these amendments and their concerns with the Committee of Adjustment, my office quickly organized a meeting with the Director of Strategic Initiatives Policy & Analysis, the Director of Zoning and the Committee of Adjustment, and a Community Planner for Leaside. We discussed high-level planning policy, the inconsistent employment zoning by-laws, and several site-specific applications.

Thank you to President Dag Enhorning and Hugh Martin for representing the interests of the Business Park.

The meeting was very productive and presented an opportunity for the LBPA to provide valuable feedback on major planning initiatives. If you are interested in more information about the Province’s proposed changes to the Growth Plan, you can review City Planning’s preliminary report to the Planning & Housing Committee here.

A report will be considered at the February 26 meeting of City Council with City Planning’s feedback on the proposed changes. As a part of this report, City Planning will identify areas to be designated “Provincially Significant Employment Zones” to ensure that Toronto’s employment lands continue to be protected from residential and retail incursions.

On another note, you should be receiving an update in the mail for an upcoming community consultation meeting on March 4, 2019, 6:30 – 8:30pm, at Leaside High School to discuss the application for 11-29 Industrial Street.

Many thanks for your continued engagement on these important issues. As always, please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any further questions or concerns.

I look forward to our continued work together.

Warm regards,

Jaye