The best tools we have for protecting the character of our established neighbourhoods are the two updates, in process, for the King City and Schomberg zoning by-laws and the Official Plan. (For the zoning by-law amendment we are building off the effort completed for Nobleton in 2015.) I hope that residents will take some time to review the draft zoning by-law for King City and Schomberg which is now available for review and that they will provide feedback. As the subject matter is pretty dry and the documents are lengthy see below for my suggestion on how to direct your efforts. Deadline for providing your feedback is January 31st.

The link provided above is for the complete set of documents/maps. For the rest of this post I will provide links to individual documents/maps. Here is the draft zoning by-law for all 3 villages; once you get into you will see that the framework for all 3 villages is same; however, for each village there are specifics unique to that village. The first few pages are informative for understanding the scope of what is in the by-law. Then there are 30+pages of definitions and then another 40+pages with provisions; I suggest skimming over the table of contents to see if there is something of interest to you.

I recommend you put focus on the section beginning at page 83 (zone classifications and zone maps) with the objective of identifying how your property is classified in the draft by-law. In parallel you need to refer to the schedule showing maps of your village; here is the one for King City. Once you understand how your own property is classified and what the classification is of your neighbours you can then look at the draft zoning requirements/restrictions and determine if you are satisfied with what is being proposed. The question to ask yourself is as follows: if the house next door to you, or across the street was knocked down, are you okay with what the property owner can build on that lot in terms of setbacks, height etc.

The other thing to consider is whether you are satisfied with the permitted uses in your neighbourhood.

Note: once the draft zoning by-law is approved, there is no impact on the current existing properties. But, when someone wants to build or expand a building the new zoning by-law will influence what can be done. If someone wants to sever their property, the requirements on lot size, frontages in the new zoning by-law will be required.

If you have feedback please forward to zoningbylawreview@king.ca.  Deadline is 1/31. And/or please let me know your opinion on this important initiative. 

And….I anticipate that we will be seeing a draft for the revised Official Plan in February.  This is the process whereby we will be addressing such things as: where lower prices housing (more affordable housing); changing a residential zone to commercial, for example; sites for intensification.