Stouffville’s Council Endorses MZO Request for Oak Ridges Moraine Property Severance

• Stouffville’s Council endorsed a resident’s Minister’s Zoning Order (MZO) request to sever a property within the Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Plan (ORMCP) area.
• The property, located at 120 Lake Woods Drive, would undergo severance to create a new residential lot with a single detached dwelling.
• As the site sits within an ORMCP Natural Linkage Area, which is designated to provide ecological protections, new residential uses are prohibited.
• Provincial policy places ORMCP regulations above municipal zoning and planning, meaning the Town cannot approve the owners’ requested changes.
• MZOs are controversial directives from Ontario’s Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, allowing lands to be rezoned without notice or public hearing.
• Council supported the request in a 6-1 decision, with Councillor Sue Sherban casting the lone opposition vote.

MZO requests are considered by the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, a role currently filled by local MPP Paul Calandra, when endorsed by a municipal council. The local mayor may also put forward an MZO request in a written letter through the use of Strong Mayor Powers.

The subject property spans 2.4 hectares and is located in Ward 2 at the southwest corner of York Durham Line and Lake Woods Drive. It was part of a land assembly conducted for the adjacent Evergreen Estates community, approved between 1988 and 2002, according to a recent Staff report.

Applications for Evergreen Estates were first submitted to the Town in 1987, resulting in 56 estate lots west of the site. The developer assembled 58.4 hectares, including 120 Lake Woods Drive, though not all assembled land was used for the resulting subdivision.

“At the time that the Evergreen Estates subdivision was approved, it was understood that the development should not preclude the future development of any of the adjacent parcels of land, including the subject property,” the Staff report notes.

In 2001, the Province of Ontario established the Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Act. “The ORMCP identified existing settlement areas … and then strictly limited the ability of properties outside those settlement areas to further develop,” the report explains.

The developer of Evergreen Estates sought exemptions under the ORMCP as they were preparing to start construction. However, adjacent unused lands like 120 Lake Woods Drive did not receive exemptions and became subject to ORMCP restrictions on residential development.

The property lies within a Natural Linkage Area under the ORMCP, which are intended as corridors supporting the movement of plants and animals across the Oak Ridges Moraine. This designation aims to maintain, improve, and/or restore “the ecological integrity of the ORMCP area,” as described in the Staff report.

Consequently, the addition of new residential uses are not permitted. The creation of new lots within Natural Linkage Areas are also prohibited, except under specific conditions that do not apply to the Lake Woods proposal.

If the MZO is approved, the property owners intend to have the site rezoned similarly to Evergreen Estates. This would allow the severance through a Committee of Adjustment process and enable the construction of a new residential unit.

The eastern half of the site currently contains a single detached home, while the western portion, intended for severance, is described by Staff as a “manicured meadow.” Under ORMCP guidelines, natural heritage elements must be protected, and a Natural Heritage Evaluation (NHE) conducted by consultants for the property owners identified a qualifying woodlot on the south side.

The woodlot has been deemed a Significant Woodland, requiring a minimum 30-metre protection zone, according to the report. “There was no significant wildlife habitat and/or other natural heritage features identified on the subject property,” it adds.

Under the proposed plan, the woodlot would remain undisturbed, with adequate setbacks provided between it and any potential development.

Town Staff have not fully reviewed the NHE and will not do so unless the MZO is approved and a development application is submitted. However, they noted that the study “concludes that there would be no adverse impact” on the existing woodland community nor its ecological function due to the proposed development.

Staff stated that “solely from a higher-level practical planning perspective and in this unique situation, the minor infilling—based on the scale of proposed development and in the context of the subject neighbourhood, surrounding lot pattern, and land uses along and in proximity to Lake Woods Drive—appears to be reasonable development.”

“In Staff’s opinion, the proposed development appears to meet the objectives of the ORMCP by protecting the ecological and hydrogeological integrity of the lands and meets the general intent of the ORMCP,” the report adds. “The request for the Minister’s Zoning Order is supported by Staff.”

While Council voted in agreement, Councillor Sue Sherban was the only Member in opposition to endorsing the MZO request. She focused on the precedent-setting implications, noting that other rural ORMCP property owners might also seek severances for new residential development.

“I feel that, if I start going down this road, it’s a slippery slope and there’s never an ending to it,” Sherban said. She also referenced the open field aspect of the property, questioning its use as rationale for removing ORMCP protection with an MZO.

“I did look at the pictures, and it is a big open lot, for sure. But if that’s the stand that we take, there will never be an ending to [justifications like] ‘This lot is open,’” Sherban explained. “I’ve seen many developers cut down trees before they…put in their application [so they don’t] hinder them in making such positions. I’m not saying that happened here at all, but unfortunately, that’s the world we live in.”

Mayor Iain Lovatt joined the rest of Council in approving the MZO endorsement. “At the end of the day, this is the Minister’s decision, not ours,” Lovatt said. “It makes all the logical sense in the world, as has been laid out by our Staff in this report, to support this item.”

Lovatt noted that MZO requests are added to the Environmental Registry of Ontario, which offers a 30-day public comment period after such proposals are posted. Public comments are then reviewed and considered as part of the Province’s decision-making process.