There are proposed amendments to Official Plan and zoning bylaws to permit two new residences to be built on the easterly side of the Hickory Hills property between Dufferin St. and Keele.
The proposed two large lots are effectively peninsulae poking into the Environmental Protection Area. (Per the King City Community Plan (KCCP) the purpose of this land designation is “to protect and enhance the landscape network and the natural features of which it is composed.”)
The “planning” history of these two parcels is very curious.
- In 1996 these two parcels were designated Environmental Restoration Areas.
- In 1997 York Region included in its modifications to OPA 54 (the KCCP) re-designation of both parcels to “rural”; and as such, per the KCCP “non-farm residential uses shall be prohibited.”
- Now, in 2011 there is a proposal to permit a residence on each parcel.
As covered in the Planning report which you can read here, there are several outstanding significant issues yet to resolve before a decision is made: namely servicing and access.
In addition, there is an overarching issue; namely, what is the plan for the remainder of the property (referred to as parcel C in the report)? It surely defies good planning principles to be addressing bits & pieces, one at a time.
And, in fact, this is obliquely commented on in the KCCP as it discourages fragmentation of ownership in Environmental Protection Areas. This is particularly relevant in this case as parcel C is host to SHIFT, Richard Serra’s sculpture, and there have been long, protracted negotiations between the Township and the property owners on SHIFT which have not yet been completed.
Debbie,
Your comment led me to the story about “Shift” and the “discovery” in 1973. While I have been following the Shift debate in the press for several years now, I had never seen the initial story and the comments about the artist.
It is always better to follow a debate in the proper context.
Thanks for that.