On Council Dec. 14 agenda there is a most unusual report:  background to a request for a MZO (ministerial zoning order) to enable “redevelopment and revitalization” of a portion of the property owned by the Augustinian Fathers, Ontario  (AFOI).   Council has been asked to endorse the request to enhance the request being made to the Ministry of Municipal Affairs & Housing; but our endorsement is not a prerequisite.  For many people this property is known as where the Marylake Shrine and the brick Sir Henry Pellatt barn is. As summarized below, the vision, the dream, is exciting; but the MZO is very disturbing.  In essence the latter would enable serious violations of the Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Plan and would ignore King’s Official Plan (OP)without any studies by hydrologists, biologists and naturalists to assess the impact of the acquifers of the Moraine, the natural heritage of the  property.  The violation of the OP is particularly significant as it defines the urban boundary of King City as being the 15th SDRD beyond which there are no services i.e. sewers and water.

I presume this request is being made now as the Ministry has been issuing many MZO’s in the last few months.  Some of them have been strongly opposed by the respective Council; many have been strongly opposed by environmental groups because of what has been enabled such as filling in a wetland so that a warehouse/distribution centre can be built.  Given this trend I presume that the AFOI think the timing is right. There is brief background to MZO’s is in the report; to learn more about the process and the controversial recent ones just google.

MZO’s have existed in the Planning Act long before the current Government; but until recently they have been rarely used.  They are now being used as a means of “cutting red tape.”  Indeed “red tape” is cut: no studies by the professionals who know the science.  And yes, doing that takes time and costs money.  Along with no studies there is no public consultation.  There is no public meeting at which citizens can ask questions, identify concerns, express objections. There is no opportunity to understand what the consequences are of extending sewers beyond today’s urban boundary.

But, if we value our natural environment and if our value system includes future generations we need to do the studies. And as the concept for Marylake  includes some activities which are not permitted in the countryside and natural core of the Oak Ridges Moraine it is true that some of the plan would be refused and the AFOI would be told to submit their proposal in 2027 when the ORMCP will next be reviewed.  As protection and enhancement of the ORM has been identified to date as critical to health and well being of the Ontarians whose drinking water is dependent on the ORM the restrictions are entirely appropriate.  To date, the Province seems to support the protection of the ORM as they have deflected criticism of their numerous MZO’s by saying that they would not do them in the Greenbelt which includes the ORM.

As I said at the beginning theAFOI’s concept, the dream is exciting.  But, that is not the issue.  No property is an island.  The whole needs to be assessed.   If you agree send in an email to Council at clerks@king.ca by noon on December 14th expressing such.