• This week, Mayor Iain Lovatt endorsed a second Minister’s Zoning Order (MZO) request.
  • Like the Mon Sheong MZO, it seeks upzoning and intensification of the Gottardo lands at 188 Sandiford Drive.
  • MZO requests must meet intake thresholds via a mayoral endorsement letter or council resolution to be considered by Ontario’s Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, MPP Paul Calandra.
  • Mayoral endorsements of MZOs can only be submitted by heads of council who have been granted strong mayor powers.
  • Bullet Point News spoke with Mayor Lovatt about his evolving views on the use of strong mayor powers to deliver new housing.

 

Stouffville Mayor Iain Lovatt endorsed another MZO request this week for the Gottardo site at 188 Sandiford Drive. Like the Mon Sheong Foundation MZO detailed in an earlier article, the request seeks to upzone and intensify the lands to allow the construction of seniors’ apartments within taller buildings than currently permitted.

Located at the northwest corner of Hoover Park and Sandiford, Gottardo’s request does not disclose the number of apartments being sought for their site. However, the MZO would more than double the current maximum building height permissions to 41 metres.

Under existing zoning approvals, 212 dwellings within two six-story buildings would be authorized with a maximum height allowance of 20 metres. The senior care centre would offer independent, supported, and assisted living for its residents.

On June 19, 2018, Stouffville’s Council unanimously approved site specific zoning to allow institutional residential uses on the Business Park Area employment lands. Like Mon Sheong’s current zoning, those units cannot provide full kitchens or en-suite laundry facilities.

Should Gottardo’s MZO be approved, further upzoning would allow for additional units and full residential apartment uses, including complete kitchens and en-suite laundry appliances.

According to Ontario’s Zoning Order Framework, MZO requests must meet intake thresholds for provincial consideration. Mayors with strong mayor powers can meet those requirements by submitting a supportive letter to MPP Paul Calandra, Ontario’s Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing (MMAH).

Alternatively, MZO requests can reach the Minister’s desk following a supportive resolution passed by a municipal council.

It is at the requesting party’s discretion whether to bring their MZO request to Mayor Lovatt or Council at large. Council support for Mon Sheong’s and Gottardo’s requests, as was provided for a recent MZO request on Lake Woods Drive, was therefore not required.

While the option to personally endorse an MZO request is only granted to heads of councils with strong mayor powers, doing so is not considered a formal directive or use of the added executive authority as described in Ontario’s Municipal Act.

“Zoning orders are made at the discretion of the Minister. The Minister may consider requests submitted by parties such as ministries, municipalities, organizations, businesses, or individuals,” an MMAH spokesperson said in comments to Bullet Point News.

“The Ministry’s Zoning Order Framework is an articulation of the Minister’s expectations for what requesters, including municipalities, should include when asking for a zoning order and how the Minister may assess a request,” the spokesperson added. “These expectations are not legislative or regulatory requirements.”

Bullet Point News asked MMAH to explain why the mayoral authority to endorse an MZO over a council resolution has been excluded from regulatory processes related to strong mayor powers, including accountability and transparency requirements, but did not receive a response.

Since being granted strong mayor powers in 2023, Lovatt has consistently emphasized his belief that they are unnecessary for advancing development in Stouffville.

“Strong mayor powers are a tool that the Province provides that I do not foresee the need to ever use,” he said in 2023. “Council works very hard to build consensus on Staff reports that move the Town forward. We work very well together.”

“A majority decision of Council has approved every single development in our town’s history,” Lovatt also said during a May 2024 Chamber of Commerce event. “We… make decisions after weighing all the facts as a council, and I stand by what I’ve stated before: I do not foresee a time when I’ll need to flex my strong mayor powers.”

With Minister Calandra’s likely approval of Mon Sheong’s MZO, Stouffville’s record of Council-approved development is set to change. Lovatt’s view on the potential use of his new executive powers also appears to be evolving, which he addressed in a recent conversation with Bullet Point News.

“I get the perception of me using them here, but I think the legislation is very clear on what I can use them for: these are only letters of support and not directives,” Lovatt said, responding to the suggestion that his personal endorsement of an MZO over Council support constitutes an effective use of strong mayor powers. “The actual decision-making is in the Minister’s purview.”

Lovatt reiterated his preference to work with Council in advancing housing development throughout Stouffville. However, he criticized Council’s refusal of Hyson Properties’ project at the northwest corner of Main and Ninth Line, a proposal he supported.

Hyson appealed Council’s decision to the Ontario Land Tribunal, and Council appeared to then withdraw its defence of the refusal on a narrow vote—allowing Hyson to proceed uncontested. The process resulted in delays and wasted resources, frustrating Lovatt.

“I’m not using my strong mayor powers to the extent that I have been given them by the Province to support priorities like building housing. But I could,” Lovatt said. “I chose not to on Hyson, and I think that demonstrates what I will call restraint.”

“What we have gone through with the Hyson file is unacceptable, in my mind,” he added. “If we get a couple more of those, I’ll be using my strong mayor powers.”

In the context of MZO endorsements, Lovatt explained that his first choice is to work with with his Council colleagues. “But times have changed in the last six years and we’re at a crisis level now for affordable rentals… especially for seniors,” he said, noting that he believes the MZOs will result in faster delivery of needed housing.

“I understand that the only reason I can write a supportive letter [for an MZO] is because I’m a strong mayor, but they have to go through the entire public planning process under their new zoning conditions,” Lovatt said in closing. “But I have been completely consistent since I became mayor six years ago: I am supportive of new housing.”