• Former Councillor Wilf Morley, 92, criticized Stouffville’s focus on residential development in a March 19 deputation to Council.
  • He questioned the Town’s reliance on residential tax revenue and lack of opposition to Minister’s Zoning Orders and asked Council to prioritize employment growth and complete communities.
  • Mayor Iain Lovatt defended the push for greater housing supply, but he agreed that commercial development must expand while highlighting current industrial projects.
  • Councillors Keith Acton, Rick Upton, and Sue Sherban supported Morley’s concerns, emphasizing the need for balanced growth.
  • Councillor Hugo Kroon stressed employment growth limitations posed by Greenbelt restrictions and noted that municipalities operate under the Provincial government.
  • Sherban passed a motion requesting an update report on the Town’s available employment lands and their potential for tax revenue generation.

 

Former Stouffville Councillor Wilf Morley offered a critical view of the town’s growth patterns and direction in a deputation to council last week.

Now 92, Morley moved to Stouffville in 1956 and has been an active member of the community for nearly seven decades, including eight years as a local councillor and 30 years on Stouffville’s Committee of Adjustment.

Morley criticized the Town’s imbalanced budgetary reliance on residential taxpayers over employment tax revenue. He also questioned Council’s decision not to defend its refusal of Hyson’s development application on the Giles site at the Ontario Land Tribunal, given the concerns and participation of nearby residents.

“I believe that Council is applying too much interest to residential development without adequate community support while failing to catalyze greater commercial, business, and industrial development,” he stated in his introductory remarks.

Morley also addressed Mayor Iain Lovatt’s alignment with the Ontario government’s housing focus and policies, particularly his personal endorsement of recent Minister’s Zoning Order (MZO) requests from Sandiford senior living developers Mon Sheong and Gottardo.

“To my knowledge, Council has not spoken out in opposition to any Minister’s Zoning Orders, yet I can think of at least three MZO changes that have been applied to our town,” Morley said. “How do you propose we properly manage development if you continue to support this government’s Minister’s Zoning Orders?”

“While affordable housing is presently the big push, we cannot survive on residential taxes,” he added. “Are you interested in the future livability and affordability of our town, or are you interested in fraternizing with the wishes of the Provincial government?”

The former councillor also highlighted Provincial downloading, a concern raised by the Association of Municipalities of Ontario during the recent Ontario election, and the need for soft infrastructure and services to keep pace with growth.

“Complete communities are regularly discussed by councils and municipal planning staff and are referenced heavily in Provincial planning policies and Stouffville’s Official Plan,” he said. “More and more residents will strain existing amenities and services with each new development approved.”

“So what are we doing to ensure the delivery of complete communities alongside all of this growth?” Morley asked in his concluding remarks. “This needs to be more than just a buzzword. We need planning, funding, and action to see them realized.”

Mayor Lovatt acknowledged that change is both inevitable and difficult for communities across Canada, but he emphasized the growing housing crisis and his focus on alleviating it.

“Eighty-five percent of our built housing stock in our community consists of single-family homes with an average value of $1.5 million,” Lovatt said. “Our kids…will never live in our community at housing prices like that.”

Lovatt agreed with Morley’s desire to increase employment and balance Stouffville’s tax base. He highlighted 31 commercial-industrial development projects currently underway throughout the town.

“1.2 million square feet of industrial space is under construction,” he said. “And there are applications and pre-consultations…happening on a weekly basis for more, because we are laser focused on using the lands in the settlement areas that we have.”

Lovatt also noted that the conversions of Sandiford employment lands to permit senior living developments and places of worship were done by a previous council.

“Those decisions were made, and we have to make the best of it,” he said. “I will not be supporting converting any more commercial and industrial land…for housing.”

Councillor Keith Acton commended Morley’s long history in the town, saying all residents have the right to challenge Council. He acknowledged past planning mistakes and the need to accumulate and preserve employment lands while working to deliver complete communities.

“I’m not going to sit up here and tell you you’re not right, because you are right,” Acton said. “It’s not fair to our existing residents if we continue in this direction. They will pay more and have less opportunity…at libraries, parks, pools, community centres, and arenas.”

“I think that most residents agree with you. I know that I do,” Councillor Rick Upton said, echoing some of Acton’s comments. “We know there is going to be development…there is no stopping that, but…we must all ensure that new development is compatible with our present community.”

“I encourage the Province not to use MZOs and our Mayor not to use Strong Mayor Powers in the future,” Upton added. “I feel that anything worthwhile coming to the Town should go through [municipal] planning and this council.”

Councillor Hugo Kroon also agreed on the need for greater commercial development. He pointed to the Highway 404 corridor, a growing employment zone in neighbouring municipalities, and Stouffville’s inability to use much of its 404 lands due to Greenbelt restrictions.

Kroon reiterated Council’s repeated desire to see Greenbelt lands opened for employment uses.

“We are hopeful that the Province is going to give us the opportunity to utilize our lands where our commercial activity needs to be so that we can bring jobs and [employment tax] assessment and funding back to this municipality,” he said.

Kroon also addressed Morley’s criticism of provincial policies and their impacts on the Town, noting that municipal governments operate under upper levels of government.

“The Province, for whatever reasons that I agree with, says that certain things need to be done, and we make the best of the situation that is being handed to us,” he said.

“The Province has the authority to do MZOs, for better or for worse—that authority exists,” Kroon added. “We are beholden to what upper levels of government tell us to do…There is no point in fighting against them. We will fight with them, but we are not going to fight against them.”

After reiterating her disagreement with opening Greenbelt lands for development, Councillor Sue Sherban put forward an approved motion asking Town Staff to provide an update report detailing Stouffville’s stock of unused employment lands and their potential tax base.

While frustrated that Stouffville’s Procedural By-Law did not allow him to directly address some Council comments following his deputation, Morley appreciated the opportunity to present his concerns.

“I look forward to seeing that report and getting a better understanding of where our employment lands are and the opportunities they present,” he said after the meeting. “Otherwise, I hope Council takes my points seriously and starts doing what’s right for the town.”