Phase 2 of Official Plan Review is on Council agenda for 11/2.  Its a very  important report as this drives how the Township will evolve.  At this stage all the details are not yet being determined; but very significant policy directions are being determined such as:  intensification, specifically amount and in which village; possibilities for change in established subdivisions; densities in Greenfield sites.  Here is the report.  And if you want more background go here. As I review below I am very supportive of some elements but am not happy about others.

There are a couple recommendations which are in line with what I wanted to see.

• Existing neighbourhoods are to protected; specifically new lot creation within them is to be prohibited and to some degree replacement houses will be regulated.    Note: In parallel to the OP review there is work underway to amend the zoning by-law; for this we have started with Nobleton but will be doing other villages next.  It is within the revised zoning by-law that neighbourhoods within the village will be determined and that the “right” regulation for new replacement houses will be determined. e.g. front yard setbacks may vary in different neighbourhoods in response to what is already in place.
• There will be policies to address secondary units.  Intent will be to direct development of those to the appropriate areas and to ensure that they are safe.
• Intensification targets are now proposed for each village, as opposed to a number for the whole Township. Overall target is same; but as reviewed in the report a servicing constraint in Nobleton means that more needs to be build in King City and Schomberg than might have occurred.  Clearly, the big question is where specifically; that will be determined in Phase 3.

I am not comfortable with the proposed average density for Greenfield sites.  (To clarify:  a greenfield site is land within the community boundary which is still “natural” but is zoned for development.)  The report recommends 7 units per hectare on average.

• In comparison, the Greenfield site at southwest corner of Dufferin & 15th is currently zoned 3/ha.  The Greenfield site south of Kingscross off Jane is zoned estate residential at 1/ha.
• Mary Lake Estate (north of Kingscross), southwest corner of Keele/15th SDRD will be built to a density of 5.

I cannot support the current zoning for the Greenfield sites as I believe they are a manifestation of urban sprawl.  (Yes, not as extreme as some but still sprawl.)  I believe that the only way we are going to really preserve significant lands as open spaces, farm land, forests, is if we intensify. Furthermore, it is very expensive for the Municipality to provide services when residences are sprawled.

But, I think 7/ha is too much.  I don’t believe King City has the social/recreational infrastructure to properly support the population;  we have passed new Development Charges to address this gap but it is now being appealed.  I would be more interested if that kind of density was for energy-efficient design i.e. beyond what building code demands and Energy Star levels.

In summary: many positive elements but there is a very serious issue where I am not in agreement.