On February 27 Council agenda there is a staff report recommending numerous actions which, pending fulfillment of identified conditions, the development of the 92 hectares at the southeast of Jane /King Rd. intersection will begin. The report is complicated as there are 3 owners who have collaborated to build the plan. Immediately adjacent to King Road there is a parcel which will be industrial and commercial; south of this parcel there are two parcels which will both be developed as residential.  More specifically: the residential development proposes a total of 276 dwellings. The employment development proposes separate blocks, which are proposed to accommodate low rise, low density office and/or industrial buildings.

The industrial commercial parcel Is the employment lands which have been designated as such since the King City Community Plan (2001) and subsequently identified as such in our new official plan, Our King. The objective of employment lands is to provide an appropriate mix and range of employment uses to meet long-term needs, provide opportunities for a diversified economic base, including ancillary uses. The zoning bylaw for this area permits a range of uses including offices, light industrial uses and light manufacturing uses. (See the report for complete listing of uses.) The proponent has submitted a  site plan application featuring 1.9 million square feet of industrial space across three large buildings. I will be asking staff about consideration of Kingview (the residential development on the north side of King Rd.) as they review the site plan for landscaping and setbacks.

The two parcels for residential development feature a mix of various lot house sizes and types. There are single detached of various sizes, town houses street town houses and lifestyle units to be geared towards seniors.  These parcels are characterized by natural heritage features including provincially significant wetland, wood lots.  Given this I will ask be asking about adherence to our buffers.  And I will ask about the comment in the legend on figure 4 about a replacing a wetland.

When I read the report with a climate lens I see positive things.  In the conditions to be fulfilled there is active transportation considerations such as multi use paths within the development and on the arterial roads. With the exception of the information that there is a wetland being replaced I have the impression that natural heritage features which are an important defence against climate change are being protected. But at this stage there is no information about how the various buildings will rate in our green building standards. And I am extremely disappointed to see that according to condition 99 it’s appears to assume that the new subdivision will be using natural gas to heat these homes.

Finally, I have questions about the impact on the few private lots which continue to be on South Summit Road.

As always you can make comments or ask questions about this report.     Contact clerks@king.ca to register for making a deputation and/or send in your comments by email to clerks@king.ca by noon on Monday February 6 and they will be circulated to Council.  And I welcome you to contact me directly or make a comment on my blog.