Halton Hills says provincial corridor study has halted major developments

By: Christian Collington, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, TheIFP.ca

 

Halton Hills officials were reeling after facing a double whammy of provincial updates: new legislation stripping municipal planning controls and a separate corridor expansion that has frozen local development.

 

During council’s Dec. 8 meeting, town staff outlined the impacts of Bill 60, the Fighting Delays, Building Faster Act, while property owners simultaneously expressed frustration over a surprise expansion to the Northwest GTA Transmission Corridor that has paralyzed major industrial projects.

 

While Bill 60 changes the rules for planning approvals, it was the updated mapping for the transmission corridor that confirmed the corridor was expanded in Halton Hills, cutting through the Premier Gateway employment lands and impacting community hubs.

 

“This is not, in any way, business as usual,” Mayor Ann Lawlor said.

 

Based on what was presented regarding the transmission corridor, council committed to more advocacy.

 

“If it is something that council wished, we could go back to ministry staff and ask that perhaps in the new year they could come and give a presentation to council,” Bronwyn Parker, the town’s director of planning policy, said.

 

Employment lands ‘indefinitely sterilized’

 

The expanded corridor has halted a major development at 14829 Steeles Ave., where First Gulf had submitted a rezoning application to build 1.2 million square feet of industrial space.

 

Nicole Guadagnoli, a development manager for First Gulf, told council the new map increases the frozen portion of their property from 4.2 acres to 25 acres.

 

She said the change makes their proposed five-building industrial park impossible to build and “indefinitely sterilizes” the 25 acres of their site.

 

She added the company must now turn away large international groups looking to set up shop in Halton Hills.

 

“No explanation has been given on the reason to expand this area into our property,” Guadagnoli said.

 

The corridor changes also impact the Croatian Franciscan Centre on Winston Churchill Boulevard and landowners like Milena Babic.

 

Babic, whose property is now 90 per cent frozen by the corridor and Highway 413 protections, told council she has received vague letters from the province with no timelines for when her land might be released.

 

“This disproportionate impact is inequitable and unjustifiable,” Babic said.

 

Local planning power curtailed

 

Beyond the corridor, Bill 60 introduces sweeping changes to how the town handles planning applications.

 

Parker explained that the new legislation allows “as-of-right” approvals for minor variances in urban residential zones, provided the request is within 10 per cent of zoning bylaw requirements.

 

Previously, homeowners wanting to build closer to a property line than permitted would need to apply for a minor variance.

 

This public process included notifying neighbours and holding a hearing at the committee of adjustment.

 

“It effectively takes that minor variance process and completely gets rid of it,” Parker said. “It doesn’t require circulation to the neighbouring property owners. It removes the individual needing to go through that minor variance process.”

 

Coun. Jane Fogal criticized the changes, suggesting they undermine the rules-based system that protects residents.

 

“To me, this just breaks everything. It breaks planning,” Fogal said.

 

Unanswered questions

 

The legislation also grants the minister of municipal affairs and housing new powers to issue zoning orders that are not subject to the Provincial Planning Statement, provided the lands are outside the Greenbelt.

 

These decisions will no longer be posted for public comment on the Environmental Registry of Ontario.

 

Meanwhile, regarding the corridor, town staff have met with provincial officials but have received few concrete answers regarding timelines for the transmission corridor technical studies, which are not expected to begin until spring 2026 at the earliest.

 

When asked if the transmission corridor guidelines could simply follow the Highway 413 route to minimize land impact, Parker said the ministry deemed it “not feasible” due to the sheer size of the infrastructure required.

 

Staff will report back to council in the new year regarding any new developments they receive from the ministry regarding the transmission corridor.