Clearview Township has cleared the runway for an expansion of industrial uses for lands next to the regional airport.
At its March 11 meeting, councillors approved a motion asking the minister of municipal affairs and housing for a Community Infrastructure and Housing Accelerator (CIHA) order, a planning tool recently introduced as part of the More Homes for Everyone Act, for the 285-acre Clearview Aviation Business Park (CABP).
The property received official plan and zoning approvals in 2018 to permit aviation industrial uses, along with a draft plan of subdivision — which outlines the general principles for development of the site — that would remain in place until 2033.
The CIHA order is intended to facilitate certain types of development, such as employment lands, transportation infrastructure, and public service facilities, and in some respects compresses the time frame for a rezoning and official plan amendment.
CABP owner Stonebridge Developments made the request of the township last August, which was followed by a public meeting in January. In August, Stonebridge president Remo Niceforo said that being able to expand the uses of the lands beyond just airport-related industries would make the property more marketable to potential tenants.
Mayor Doug Measures said it was “a big decision” for the municipality.
“It’s the first time our municipality has asked for a CIHA — it’s a significant step in the land planning process,” he told Simcoe.com. “It can lead to us improving our situation for potential employers and manufacturers.”
He said the vision of the area around the airport as an industrial zone goes back more than 20 years, to the former regional airport board created when the Town of Collingwood owned the facility.
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“This is not suddenly a factory appearing in the middle of the countryside,” he said. “This is something that has been talked about as far back as 2001.”
The request will come with a number of conditions, including that the lands can’t be used as a contractor’s yard, a home improvement outlet, storage units, or for temporary storage of aggregate or topsoil extracted on the premises.
A number of studies should also be completed as a condition of the order, including an impact assessment on the airport, including flight path and obstacle limitations, and a land-use compatibility study for noise, odour, dust, vibrations and other emissions.
The motion also requests as a condition of the order that the minister require the parcel employment land impact analysis completed in November to be revised and resubmitted “to ensure the viability of the existing local employment areas are not adversely impacted by the proposed additional uses.”
A functional servicing report will also be required to prove the lands can be serviced with full municipal or communal services attributed to the highest use for existing and proposed additional uses.
The township’s director of planning and building, Amy Cann, said it would still be up to the minister’s discretion as to the final form of the CIHA order.
“This is about giving the best data to the minister so that he can form the CIHA order in the best interests of the township, the proponent, and in the context of the property,” she said.
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