Peterborough councillors back opposition to MZO

Proposed industrial buildings would be a ‘blockage’ for city growth, Pappas warns

Peterborough city council plans to write its own letter of objection — in addition to the one already sent by city staff — to the Ontario government in response to an application for a provincial ministerial zoning order (MZO) to allow development of three industrial buildings on vacant land to the west of city limits in Cavan Monaghan Township.

City chief administrative officer Sandra Clancy and chief planner Ken Hetherington have already written to Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Steve Clark to say they object to an MZO for 1840 Brown Line (at Airport Road).

But at a virtual city council meeting on Monday night, council voted 10-1 (with only Coun. Stephen Wright dissenting) to write a further letter of objection to Clark.

Coun. Dean Pappas said industrial buildings in that location would constitute “a blockage” for city growth.

“It really obstructs the long-term visioning and planning for the city,” he said.

At issue is a development proposal for three large industrial buildings on 28 hectares of vacant land on the northwest corner of Brown Line and Airport Road, directly across from the city’s Major Bennett Industrial Park.

Landowner Sam Ganni needs rezoning from rural to industrial use and he’s applied for an MZO.

The Ministry of Housing and Municipal Affairs can issue MZOs to help expedite development projects; township council has already endorsed this application.

But MZOs don’t allow for comment from the public, neighbouring municipalities or First Nations, so city staff wrote an unsolicited letter of objection on April 8.

The chief concern from staff is that the proposal would develop an area designated as “urban fringe,” a buffer zone where the city could expand somewhat if it were to experience a growth spurt in the next 30 years.

Pappas said on Monday the MZO idea “is not well thought-out” and that it “would have dire consequences for the city, going forward” if it were granted.

“I think it would hamper the growth of the city for generations,” he said.

But Wright said he didn’t think the city has any business trying to interfere with the township’s plans.

“If the shoe were on the other foot, we would have trouble with another council meddling in our affairs here,” Wright said.

“I wholeheartedly believe there needs to be more collaboration with the county,” he added.

However, Hetherington said he didn’t think the County of Peterborough had any consultations with Cavan Monaghan Township on this application either.

And chief administrative officer Clancy said that while she agrees a lot of people “just want to create jobs in our region,” and would like to collaborate across borders, the issue of water and sewer servicing in rural areas complicates matters.

“The urban centres have the city services,” she said, and these are the services developers want.

Clancy and Hetherington asked Clark in their letter to consider redrawing the city boundary to include 1840 Brown Line, “and perhaps additional lands, which would lead to new employment development on full municipal services and a wider range of employment uses and greater job growth.”

On Monday, Clancy told city council that “the logical order” of developing the area would be to redraw the boundary first and then prepare servicing and construction plans.

A redrawn boundary would settle a long-standing impasse.

For 20 years the city has eyed Cavan Monaghan Township lands in this area to alleviate a shortage of industrial property.

Although there have been many attempts at negotiating for annexation, no deal has ever been forged. However it has come close.

In late 2021, for example, Cavan Monaghan Township Mayor Scott McFadden proposed the potential annexation of 110 hectares of township land south of the North Monaghan Parkway and west of Airport Road, roughly in the area where 1840 Brown Line is located.

McFadden said at the time he saw the city’s land shortage as an emergency and wanted to help.

Peterborough County council had approved the plan, but then township council voted not to follow through after all.

That reversal came following city council’s adoption of a new official plan that looks instead to potentially reuse old farmlands within Peterborough city limits as industrial properties.

McFadden said at the time that the city’s need for industrial land mustn’t be urgent after all, if city council planned to convert old farmlands.

McFadden told The Examiner earlier this month he was “disappointed” the city felt it had been shut out of any discussions about these lands, since this area has been identified for a decade as future regional employment lands and the city and township have been discussing that for years. He added that he would be “pleased to support” any plan to add employment to the city.

“We should be thinking about the economy for the broader region, as the importance of job growth does not stop at a municipal boundary,” he wrote in a message to The Examiner.