4. Objectives

The objectives expressed by the Central Pickering Development Plan are explanations of the end action or situation to be reached in the development of the urban and agricultural communities in Central Pickering. Objectives should be capable of attainment and measurement. The objectives of the Plan are based on the eight goals set out in Stage 2.

4.1 Natural Heritage System

The Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources in cooperation with the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority identified the Natural Heritage System for the Central Pickering Development Planning Area, drawing on more than 30 years of fieldwork and investigation of the environmental features of the Development Planning Area.

The identification of the Natural Heritage System followed a 4 step process:

  1. identification and assessment of all natural heritage features within Central Pickering, including critical inter-relationships and dependencies
  2. definition of appropriate buffer zones around each of the identified features
  3. identification of corridors to link the features/buffers, both with each other and with those located outside the Development Planning Area, to facilitate floral and faunal movement
  4. delineation of the Natural Heritage System boundary to encompass all features, buffers and corridors, based on a comprehensive ground-truthing exercise

The Natural Heritage System represents approximately 53% of Seaton and 54% of the Development Planning area and includes the following:

  1. all wetlands
  2. all significant woodlands
  3. all streams/watercourses
  4. Lake Iroquois shoreline
  5. all valley systems to stable top-of-bank
  6. all Environmentally Significant Areas
  7. all locations of species at risk
  8. groundwater seepage/discharge areas
  9. linkage corridors
  10. buffer zones

The Plan is based on the premise that natural features and functions can be protected while also providing a place for recreation, learning, mental and spiritual regeneration, interaction and movement. The Plan seeks to build strong relationships between natural, urban and agricultural systems. As such, the Plan takes its form from the landscape and assumes that new urban and rural communities can be developed on a sustainable basis and in a symbiotic relationship with nature. The Plan also values cultural heritage features, and the Natural Heritage System protects a large number of such features in the Development Planning Area.

Objectives

Specific objectives of the Plan in respect of the Natural Heritage System include the following:

  • Protect, maintain and, where possible, enhance all environmentally significant features and functions, all significant connections to regional natural systems including the Oak Ridges Moraine, Rouge Park, Duffins Creek system, Lake Ontario, and the Greenbelt Area, as well as all key hydrological features in the Development Planning Area.
  • Promote active linkages between the Natural Heritage System and surrounding urban and agricultural land-uses.
  • Facilitate the inclusion of the Natural Heritage System in the overall fabric of Central Pickering by permitting a range of low-impact uses and activities within the Natural Heritage System that are compatible with its protection.
  • Allow the specific infrastructure required for the new community to locate in the Natural Heritage System in an environmentally acceptable manner while minimizing impacts.
  • Create a safe and secure Natural Heritage System by encouraging public use of those Natural Heritage System lands in public ownership.

Policies

In order to facilitate the implementation of these objectives, it is a policy of this Plan to:

  1. Establish and maintain a Natural Heritage System as shown on Schedule 3 as a Primary Designation on publicly owned lands (i.e., Seaton), and as an Overlay Designation on privately owned lands (i.e., the Duffins Rouge Agricultural Preserve), including both significant natural heritage features and other lands providing required linkage, corridor, and buffer functions.
  2. Require the preparation of an overall Natural Heritage System Management Plan for the lands referred to as Natural Heritage System Primary Designation on Schedule 2 by the owners of the land. The Natural Heritage Management System Plan will include the preparation of a master trail plan, and establish the long-term uses, maintenance requirements and responsibilities, programs and associated financial implications for all elements of the Natural Heritage System. The Natural Heritage System Management Plan will also address cultural heritage protection. The planning and design of the master trail plan for the Natural Heritage System Primary Designation will consider the following:
    • build on the heritage pattern of land division within the Development Planning Area by following open and unopened road allowances, lanes and hedgerows, where feasible
    • link urban neighbourhoods with places of work, mixed-use centres, and social facilities
    • connect with urban neighbourhoods via a series of trailheads located at the edges of urban neighbourhoods and linked with urban paths
    • use the existing trail systems, including the Seaton Trail, the proposed Regional Trail Network and the proposed Whitevale Trailhead as a basis for providing a new comprehensive trail system for the Development Planning Area
    • avoid the most sensitive features of the Natural Heritage System, including habitat of sensitive species, wetlands, and steep slopes
    • avoid fragmentation of core forest habitat
    • utilize educational signs to develop greater understanding of the value and protection needs of the Natural Heritage System
  3. Ensure that the lands within the Natural Heritage System Primary Designation remain in public ownership.
  4. Permit the following uses on lands within the Natural Heritage System Primary Designation:
    • non-motorized trails, including chipped wood walking trails, boardwalks, cross-country skiing/snowshoeing trails, and paved, accessible multi-use trails
    • associated facilities, such as rest areas, benches, and play equipment, where they do not impact on the natural features or functions of the Natural Heritage System
    • organic, public garden plots
    • restorative, scientific and educational uses, including forest, fish and wildlife management activities, as well as conservation and flood or erosion control projects, undertaken by or under the supervision of the appropriate public authority, provided such activities respect the sensitivity of these lands and environmental integrity is maintained or enhanced
    • stormwater management systems/facilities
    • infrastructure where required to serve the new urban community, where the location is logical or no reasonable alternative exists. Efforts are too be made to minimize the footprint of the use, to the extent possible, and to ensure no significant negative impacts on the Natural Heritage System or natural features and functions occur

      infrastructure includes: sewage and water systems, electric power generation and transmission including renewable energy systems, communications/telecommunications, transit and transportation corridors and facilities, oil and gas pipelines and associated facilities.
  5. Allow the full range of uses identified as permissible on lands within the Preserve primary designation (see Section 4.3) that also fall within the Natural Heritage System Overlay Designation, subject to the definitions and policies set out in Section 3.2 of the Greenbelt Plan (Order-In-Council 208/2005) as applicable.
  6. On lands within the Preserve primary designation that also fall within the Natural Heritage System Overlay Designation, encourage those agricultural uses that assist in the function of linkage corridors, and the protection and restoration of the Natural Heritage System, including the consideration of organic farming, the minimization of fencing, the retention and enhancement of hedgerows, and the preparation of Environmental Farm Plans.
  7. Require the City of Pickering to consider Natural Heritage System connections through and around existing settlement areas when implementing municipal policies, plans and strategies affecting those settlement areas.
  8. Within the Preserve primary designation, permit the following additional uses in the Natural Heritage System Overlay Designation, notwithstanding the policies of the Preserve primary designation:
    • non-motorized trails, including chipped wood walking trails, boardwalks, cross-country skiing/snowshoeing trails, and paved, accessible, multi-use trails
    • restorative, scientific and educational uses, including forest, fish and wildlife management activities, as well as conservation and flood or erosion control projects, undertaken by or under the supervision of the appropriate public authority provided such activities respect the sensitivity of these lands and environmental integrity is maintained or enhanced
  9. Notwithstanding the above, ensure that the conditions of conservation easements held by the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority on lands within the Natural Heritage System Overlay Designation continue to apply in full.
  10. Require that organic, public garden plots be administered by the agency responsible for managing the Natural Heritage System. Garden plots may involve the small-scale cultivation of food, herbs and flowers. Principles to be considered in the planning, operation and design of such garden plots include:
    • minimize fencing that may pose a barrier to the migration of flora and fauna
    • locate garden plots outside sensitive Natural Heritage System features and their buffers and avoid locations that may impair Natural Heritage System linkage functions
  11. Create new urban neighbourhoods, which through community planning and sustainable design, protect and enhance the Natural Heritage System, strengthen its relationship to urban areas, and ensure that natural areas are safe and form part of everyday life in the community.

4.2 Cultural heritage

The Central Pickering Development Plan is based on the fundamental belief that our heritage, as manifested in our archaeology, cultural heritage landscapes and built form, can and should continue to form an important component of land-use in the Development Planning Area. Accordingly, the Plan respects the unique cultural heritage of the area, protects significant cultural heritage resources, and manages land-use change in order to provide continuity between the past and present.

The cultural heritage system in the Development Planning Area comprises a rich fabric of significant archaeological sites, built heritage resources and cultural heritage landscapes. The diversity and significance of the cultural heritage resources in the Development Planning Area are of such magnitude that the Development Planning Area represents one of the richest rural settlement areas left unaffected by urban development in the Greater Toronto Area.

Objectives

Specific objectives of this Plan in respect of cultural heritage include the following:

  • identify the range of cultural heritage resources from all time periods, including archaeological sites, cultural heritage landscapes, and built heritage resources
  • reflect First Nations’ historical cultural affiliation with the Development Planning Area
  • protect and conserve significant cultural heritage features and integrate them into new urban and agricultural communities and the Natural Heritage System
  • restore, rehabilitate, protect and conserve significant cultural heritage resources
  • record and salvage all built cultural heritage features and/or archaeological remains that cannot be conserved in place and document all displaced cultural heritage landscapes
  • foster public awareness and appreciation of Central Pickering’s cultural heritage through promotion, interpretation, education and commemoration
  • ensure that heritage resources and artefacts are protected and passed on for care by future generations
  • involve First Nations, the public, landowners, local heritage experts, heritage committees, relevant public agencies, and other interested groups and individuals in cultural heritage decisions affecting the Development Planning Area through the Master Environmental Servicing Planning and Neighbourhood Planning processes
  • encourage urban development on or adjacent to protected significant cultural heritage properties to be of an appropriate scale and character, where the heritage attributes of such properties are conserved

Policies

In order to facilitate the implementation of these objectives, it is a policy of this Plan to:

  1. Recognize the importance of cultural heritage features in the development of Neighbourhood Plans by:
    • where possible, creating a development pattern that reflects the historic concession grid in order to integrate wood lots, hedgerows, tree lines, and field patterns into the new urban pattern and Natural Heritage System
    • protecting and maintaining cultural heritage landscape elements such as treelines, hedgerows and the rolling topography, where feasible
    • ensuring new developments and land-uses near or adjacent to cultural heritage landscape features respect cultural heritage patterns and their integrity
    • viewing the Natural Heritage System and open spaces associated with social facilities as opportunities for cultural heritage resource integration and protection
    • requiring that urban design guidelines prepared as a component of the Neighbourhood Plans address the conservation of significant cultural heritage resources and landscape features, and the integration of significant views associated with these features into the design of the new urban community. . In particular, these considerations shall be an integral element of the design of public spaces. In the preparation of urban design guidelines, the assessment and recommendations contained in the Fall 2005 report entitled “Cultural Landscape Assessment Central Pickering: Seaton Lands” prepared by Wendy Shearer Landscape Architect Limited shall be considered
    • integrating and conserving locally significant individual heritage buildings or related features, where appropriate, into Neighbourhood Plans, based on local or regional consultations and consideration of the Ontario Heritage Act designation provisions.
  2. Ensure that Neighbourhood Plans for lands adjacent to the designated Hamlet of Whitevale heritage conservation district will:
    • demonstrate appropriate transitional design and compatibility with the area’s existing character, including use of social, institutional, open space and recreational and renewable energy systems to serve as a buffer, as shown on Schedule 2 and referred to as Hamlet Heritage Open Space
    • direct north-south and east-west arterial road alignments away from the built-up area of the community
    • protect, wherever feasible, built heritage features and structures
    • ensure that new development is generally consistent with the character of existing buildings
  3. Recognize First Nations’ cultural and spiritual connection to the Development Planning Area and require the development process be undertaken in a respectful manner. This will include actively seeking the input and advice of First Nations in considering the most appropriate actions to take with respect to the protection, commemoration, long-term management and/or mitigative excavation of archaeological sites.
  4. Require, as a condition of development approval, that an archaeology monitor, preferably of First Nations’ ancestry, be retained and funded by the proponent for any significant mitigative excavation activities, on known pre-contact archaeological sites. The purpose of this monitor would be to work co-operatively with the proponent’s licensed professional archaeologist in order to report back on the results of the mitigative excavation activities to interested First Nations.
  5. Require a licensed archaeologist to assess any land alteration and/or grading within the Natural Heritage System in areas considered to have archaeological potential, except as such activities relate to normal farm practices. Disturbance of existing archaeological sites shall be avoided as much as possible.
  6. Protect known significant archaeological sites on-site to the greatest degree possible. On-site protection and archaeological site avoidance measures involve
    1. accurate delineation of archaeological site boundaries and extent of archaeological sites through the completion of a detailed Stage 3 archaeological assessment and
    2. establishment of Archaeologically Sensitive Areas in recognition of the demonstrated sensitivity of land parcels containing sites of significant archaeological concern (e.g., complex aboriginal villages). As such sites may be impacted by development and small-scale land-use alteration that is not subjected to comprehensive planning control under the Planning Act or Environmental Assessment Act, their long-term protection should be considered using tools such as the following:
      1. use of prohibitive zoning by-laws, as permitted by section 34(1) of the Planning Act or through other conditions or orders that prohibit any future land-use activities that might result in soil disturbance on such sites
      2. use of other protective tools, such as heritage easements, subdivision agreements or covenants and passive land-uses
  1. Notwithstanding the presumption in favour of on-site protection of archaeological sites, achieve in appropriate cases the goal of mitigating impacts to significant sites through both Stage 3 assessments and Stage 4 systematic archaeological excavations consistent with Ontario Ministry of Culture Archaeological Assessment Technical Guidelines.
  2. Ensure that land disturbance or site alteration undertaken within the Development Planning Area, including public works such as berm construction and slope or bank stabilization, shall be kept to a minimum and only be undertaken in a manner that does not destroy or adversely affect known archaeological sites, built heritage properties and cultural heritage landscape features.
  3. Consider an expansion to the Brougham Pioneer Christian Cemetery, as part of the preparation of the Neighbourhood Plan for lands in the area of the current cemetery.
  4. Permit within the Hamlet Heritage Open Space designation surrounding the Hamlet of Green River the same land uses referenced under Policy 2 a) above.

4.3 Agriculture

The Plan seeks to ensure that the Duffins Rouge Agricultural Preserve remains permanently in agricultural and conservation use by fostering a healthy near-urban agricultural community that is self-sustaining, produces and sells locally grown agricultural products, and enhances surrounding rural and urban areas.

The long-term vision of this Plan is to foster and support agricultural land-uses by providing for the diversification of agricultural operations. This Plan encourages such diversification by promoting and protecting a full range of agricultural uses and normal farm practices.

This Plan allows for a wide-range of agricultural uses, secondary uses and agricultural-related uses in a manner that supports the agricultural community. The preparation of this Plan relies upon and integrates, as appropriate, the Provincial Policy Statement, Greenbelt Plan (Order-In-Council 208/2005), advice from the Agricultural Advisory Team and elements of the Greater Toronto Area Agricultural Action Plan, which was released in February 2005.

The Duffins Rouge Agricultural Preserve has been included in the Greenbelt Plan (Order-In-Council 208/2005). However, as provided for under the Greenbelt Act, 2005 this Plan’s policies take precedence over the policies of the Greenbelt Plan (Order-In-Council 208/2005), as appropriate.

The purpose of this Plan is to put in place policies that over time can be relied on to protect the Duffins Rouge Agricultural Preserve’s prime agricultural resource lands, spur farming investment through value-added enterprises to address niche market opportunities like organic farming and farming tourism, and encourage sustainable agricultural activities that will help, in a small way, to provide food security in an uncertain global food marketplace.

This Plan recognizes that Green River, Whitevale and Cherrywood are important Hamlets with historic roots as social and service centres for the surrounding area. Existing uses are encouraged to continue, including all residential, employment, commercial, community and recreational uses. This Plan encourages Hamlets to support surrounding agricultural activity by providing opportunities for agricultural-related businesses and institutions.

Objectives

Specific objectives of this Plan in respect of agriculture include the following:

  • permanently protect the prime agricultural resource lands in the Preserve
  • facilitate the diversification of the agricultural economy and enable farmers to increase income generated on their farms through value-added products and/or secondary uses
  • promote flexibility in agricultural land-use policies to enhance the agricultural economy of the Duffins Rouge Agricultural Preserve
  • encourage all types, sizes and intensities of agricultural uses and activities within the Duffins Rouge Agricultural Preserve
  • maximize opportunities for the creation of a range of small and large farms by encouraging both full- and part-time enterprises through private ownership and long-term leasehold arrangements, while at the same time preventing the expansion of settlement areas into the Duffins Rouge Agricultural Preserve

This Plan establishes 3 land-use designations in order to encourage and support a mix of agricultural uses and activities, conserve natural features and prohibit new rural residential development in the Duffins Rouge Agricultural Preserve. The designations
are Preserve, Hamlets and Residential Clusters, and are shown on Schedule 2.

Policies

In order to facilitate the implementation of these objectives, it is a policy of this Plan to:

4.3.1 Agriculture

  1. Allow existing and new agricultural uses, secondary uses and agricultural-related uses on lands designated as Preserve, in order to take advantage of its proximity to urban areas and markets.
  2. Permit the following uses on lands designated as Preserve:
  • agricultural uses as defined by the Provincial Policy Statement
  • secondary uses as defined in the Provincial Policy Statement being uses secondary to the principal use of the property, including home occupations, home industries, and uses that produce value-added agricultural products from the farm operation on the property. Secondary uses could include cottage industry, herb gardens, seasonal roadside produce stands, farm vacation uses, kennels and craft shops
  • new residential dwellings on vacant lots existing as of the date of proclamation of this Plan
  • agriculture-related uses being farm-related commercial and farm-related industrial uses that are small scale and directly related to the farm operation and are required in close proximity to the farm operation, including grain drying and farm produce storage
  • uses by colleges and universities for agricultural research purposes
  1. Permit lot creation within the Preserve designation where the severed and retained lots are intended for agricultural uses and provided the minimum lot size is 40 hectares (100 acres).
  2. Not permit the creation of residential lots in the Preserve designation.
  3. Permit severances involving the minor adjustment of lot lines provided that non-viable farm parcels are not created, agricultural land is not fragmented and agricultural activities are not adversely affected.
  4. Require that new land-uses, including the creation of lots and new or expanding livestock facilities, comply with the Minimum Distance Separation Formulae.

4.3.2 Hamlets and Clusters

  1. Maintain the Hamlets of Green River, Whitevale, and Cherrywood as residential communities with land-uses that are complimentary to the surrounding agricultural community and economy. Existing Hamlet main streets may develop for a wide variety of purposes, and a range of agricultural services may locate in Hamlet areas that serve the local agricultural community and accommodate local commercial opportunities.
  2. Require that the size and scale of Hamlet development be consistent with the agricultural character of this Plan. Residential growth in the Hamlets of Whitevale, Cherrywood and Green River is restricted to 25% of existing residential units consistent with Rural Settlement Plans. The addition of a residential unit will only proceed if technical studies demonstrate the appropriateness of on-site services.
  3. Allow Rural Settlement Plans prepared within the context of the City of Pickering’s Official Plan to continue to provide the regulatory framework for land-use decisions affecting the Hamlets of Whitevale, Cherrywood and Green River, so long as they are consistent with the goals, objectives and policies of this Plan.
  4. Allow development within existing Residential Clusters to continue to be guided by the policies of the Official Plan of the Regional Municipality of Durham, so long as such policies are consistent with goals, objectives and policies of this Plan.
  5. Not permit further rural subdivisions in the Duffins Rouge Agricultural Preserve.

4.3.3 Infrastructure

  1. Not permit further extension of municipal water and wastewater infrastructure to lands within the Duffins Rouge Agricultural Preserve, except as follows:
    • to facilitate an increase in the capacity of the York Durham Sanitary Sewer
    • where Durham Region Council deems it necessary to deal with a health or environmental problem, and it is financially beneficial to extend municipal services over the construction of a communal system for water supply and/or sanitary sewerage
  2. Recognize the transportation and transit policies in Section 4.5, specifically Policy 3, relating to future transportation connections that occur in the Duffins Rouge Agricultural Preserve, and permit major, multi-lane roads to accommodate regional and inter-regional transportation needs as required. The Plan has limited the number of major, multi-lane road crossings of the Duffins Rouge Agricultural Preserve as much as possible, given forecasted travel demands.
  3. Recognize other uses in the Preserve designation, including: the following:
    • Agricultural Access Roads – Opening of public rights-of-way required to access agricultural lands shall be permitted. There are a limited number of unopened rights-of-way remaining in the Duffins Rouge Agricultural Preserve. These roads shall be opened for agricultural uses only
    • Public Utilities – Utility corridors as required to serve the Development Planning Area shall be permitted
    • Renewable Energy Systems, subject to being designed and constructed so as to minimize impacts on agricultural operations.

4.4 Social, institutional, open space and recreational facilities

The new urban community will require a broad range of social, institutional, open space and recreational facilities, including educational facilities, arts and cultural facilities, parks, recreation centres, health care facilities, childcare centres and places of worship.

Objectives

Specific objectives of this Plan in respect of social, institutional, open space and recreational facilities include the following:

  • provide an appropriate number of facilities and potential locations to meet social, institutional, open space and recreational needs
  • ensure that facility locations are accessible by a variety of modes of transportation
  • ensure that facility locations serve two or more neighbourhoods, wherever possible
  • use facility locations and designs as additional buffers to sensitive ecological areas, thereby reinforcing the environmental integrity of the Natural Heritage System
  • use facilities as gateways into the Natural Heritage System, wherever possible and appropriate, thereby linking the community with the Natural Heritage System, by providing trailheads, shared services such as weekend parking, and other amenities for community residents
  • establish physical connections/associations with the Natural Heritage System to provide education and recreational opportunities
  • facilitate trail and open space linkages in a manner that minimizes impacts on adjacent agricultural activities in the Duffins Rouge Agricultural Preserve

Policies

 facilitate the implementation of these objectives, it is a policy of this Plan to:

  1. Identify, as an update to the City’s Pedestrian and Bicycle Master Plan, an interconnected network of pedestrian, bicycle and multi-use trails throughout the new urban community, which links neighbourhoods, mixed-use areas, employment areas, the Natural Heritage System and facilities. This broad network shall be determined prior to or concurrent with the development of Neighbourhood Plans and policies. The interconnected network should:
    • reinforce the heritage pattern of public rights-of-way that traverse the neighbourhoods and link to the Natural Heritage System trail system via a series of gateways, or trailheads, which are typically associated with social, institutional, recreational and open space facilities
    • link neighbourhoods with social, institutional, open space and recreational facilities, adjacent neighbourhoods, mixed-use areas and employment areas
    • provide sidewalks on both sides of every street, wherever possible, with the exception of streets where swales may be introduced to facilitate greater water infiltration
    • provide links with the existing bicycle system in the City of Pickering, as set out in the Pickering Trails and Bikeway Master Plan, as well as other regional trails, such as those in the Rouge Park
    • provide bike paths and/or bike lanes where possible in both directions on all arterial and collector roads as designated on Schedule 4.
  2. In Hamlets and Residential Clusters, provide sidewalks and/or pedestrian walkways taking into account the elements of the design guidelines set out by this Plan as may be applicable to the rural settlement areas and agricultural areas.
  3. Identify and refine locations for social, institutional, open space and recreational facilities through the Master Environmental Servicing Planning and Neighbourhood Planning processes. The location of all facilities will be based on the following considerations:

4.5 Transportation network

The Central Pickering Development Plan regards a transportation network as including streets, roads and transit lines, pedestrian trails and bicycle paths. The Plan seeks to establish a more effective balance among these various modes – one that reduces travel times and encourages walking.

The transportation network for the Development Planning Area is integrated with the existing and proposed Regional Municipality of Durham transportation network, with a primary objective of defining the best internal (localized) transportation system in Central Pickering to support the broader Regional Municipality of Durham transportation needs.

The Development Planning Area will be served by both major and minor transit corridors. Major transit corridors will have the potential to develop into higher order service in exclusive rights-of-way, and facilitate inter-regional and local travel. Major transit corridors identified on Schedule 4 to this Plan include the Highway 407 transitway (mainline and links), Highway 7, Brock Road, Taunton Road, and Whites Road/Sideline 26. These corridors:

  • provide a direct connection to York and Peel Regions along Highway 407, as well as to major employment and institutional uses near the highway
  • provide a direct connection to the Pickering GO Rail Station on the Lakeshore East GO Rail line along Brock Road, as well as the Highway 2 transit corridor
  • connect to all major attractors and generators of traffic in the City of Pickering along Brock Road and Whites Road
  • connect to a potential future airport to the north of the Development Planning Area.

It is anticipated that bus rapid transit features and technology will be employed along all major transit corridors, commencing initially with bus services in mixed traffic and evolving to buses operating on dedicated facilities, such as high occupancy vehicle lanes or reserved bus lanes.

In addition, GO Transit has identified the Seaton Rail Corridor for possible GO Rail services. This corridor, which includes both the Belleville and Havelock Subdivisions, could serve the new urban community and a potential future airport.

Minor transit corridors facilitate a greater frequency of transit bus service with the opportunity to convert traffic lanes to higher occupancy vehicle lanes or accommodate transit priority measures. Minor transit corridors identified in this Plan include Rossland Road/Sideline 22 and other collector and arterial roads as identified in Schedule 4. The community has been planned such that 90% of residents will be within a 400-metre, (i.e., five-minute) walk of a transit route.

This Plan strongly encourages the use of alternative modes of transportation and includes provision for an extensive pedestrian and bicycle system. Sidewalks, crosswalks and walkways should be provided to create a comfortable and safe pedestrian environment, which supports alternative modes of travel, improves community health, and creates opportunities for social interaction.

In the Duffins Rouge Agricultural Preserve, the main transportation priority is ensuring that farming requirements are met while also providing the necessary infrastructure and mobility to connect residents and agricultural suppliers with the surrounding region. There are certain corridors in the Duffins Rouge Agricultural Preserve, such as 14th Avenue, 5th Concession and Steeles/Taunton Road, that must be preserved for regional transportation functions. Otherwise, existing roads will be retained within their typical 20-metre-wide rights-of-way.

Objectives

Specific objectives of this Plan in respect of transportation, transit, active transportation and the road network include the following:

4.5.1 General transportation

  • Enable the year-round movement of people, goods and services within Central Pickering and the City of Pickering in a manner that is safe, convenient, reliable, and efficient.
  • Create an integrated transportation system, recognizing the inter-relationships among all types of roads and modes of transportation.
  • Ensure the adequate progression of inter-regional transportation infrastructure through connections with Highway 407, the potential future airport and transit corridors as required. To this end, the Province will make efforts to co-ordinate, through provincial ministries, the Regional Municipalities of York and Durham and the City of Toronto, transportation planning and related infrastructure decisions that support a more efficient inter-regional transit and roads network, in recognition of the importance of the movement of goods and people to the economy of the eastern Greater Toronto area. Benefiting development proponents, the Province, the Region of Durham, City of Pickering and neighbouring municipalities may explore opportunities for transportation network improvements during various development phases of the community.
  • Integrate Central Pickering with adjacent communities, by, among other means, supporting transit service delivery that links the Development Planning Area to urban growth centres identified in the Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe, and major transit station areas identified in accordance with the Growth Plan.
  • Link roads with trails and provide safe access for pedestrians, bicyclists and vehicles.

4.5.2 Transit and active transportation

  • Create transportation choices for residents through the Master Environmental Servicing Planning and Neighbourhood Planning processes by providing facilities and corridors for alternative modes of travel, including public transit, walking and bicycling.
  • Provide minor transit corridors throughout the new urban community, such that the majority of residents are within a five-minute walk of a transit route.
  • Provide a road network that is designed for transit service on major and minor transit corridors in order to meet existing and anticipated demand.
  • Protect for transit stations at key nodes to facilitate local transit and inter-regional transit, as well as inter-modal transportation.
  • Facilitate the provision of a local transit system that will serve each neighbourhood in the community.
  • Facilitate the introduction of transit services as development occurs by ensuring, through conditions of plan of subdivision approval, that an interconnected road network is created, with linkages from all parts of the Development Planning Area to Pickering’s urban growth centre as identified in the Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe, and among major transit station areas identified in this Plan.

4.5.3 Road network

  • Ensure that Neighbourhood Plans define a street structure based on a modified grid that provides a high degree of permeability, access to key locations (parks, natural features, public use facilities, landmarks), and supports pedestrian and bicycle movement.
  • Design roads to meet operational and safety requirements, with right-of-way dimensions reduced wherever possible to promote intimate streetscapes and neighbourhoods with a sense of place.
  • Incorporate, where appropriate, narrow lanes, on-street parking, and central medians in the road design to encourage slow-moving traffic through residential areas and mixed-use neighbourhood centres.
  • Recognize in the Neighbourhood Planning process that streets are valuable open spaces that should be designed to link the open space system.
  • Locate street trees and boulevard landscaping through conditions of plan of subdivision to provide shade, contribute to neighbourhood character, and help reduce water runoff.
  • Reduce the amount of commuting through the agricultural communities using traffic management measures.
  • Accommodate the movement of slower-moving farm vehicles/equipment on the roads within the Duffins Rouge Agricultural Preserve.

Policies

In order to facilitate the implementation of these objectives, it is a policy of this Plan to:

  1. Determine the precise location of a future GO Transit Station, conceptually located on the west side of Brock Road north of the C.P. Rail line as shown on Schedule 4: Transportation Network, through an environmental assessment;
    • Should the environmental assessment result in the identification of alternate location(s), the station location(s) may be moved without amendment to this Plan
    • Upon identifying the station location(s), re-examine the abutting land-uses to ensure an appropriate mix and intensity of land-uses is permitted.
  2. Require the development of a liveable, transit-oriented community with mixed-use and higher-density development along transit spines.
  3. Require the development pattern throughout Central Pickering to accommodate transit routes, pedestrian and bicycle networks, and alternative transportation facilities (including park and ride, car pooling, bicycle storage areas, bus bays and accessible transit stop pads) in order to encourage and maximize the use of public transit within the City of Pickering and between neighbouring municipalities, from the earliest stage of development. Provision shall be made for commuter parking areas to accommodate transit stations and service transfer sites over time.
  4. Recognize that the new arterial road connections shown as dashed lines on Schedule 4 are approximate and that the alignment, right-of-way width, classification, intersection spacing and structure location and design may change through the required environmental assessments of the new road connections. As part of those environmental assessments, the following matters shall be considered:
    • The appropriate location, structure design and intersection spacing for the Third Concession Road westerly extension over the C.P. Rail line and West Duffins Creek
    • The feasibility from an environmental, engineering and cost perspective of the Sideline Road 24 extension north of Taunton Road to the southerly east-west Collector Road
    • The location and structure design of the Whites Road to Sideline Road 26 connection over West Duffins Creek including consideration of both a free standing structure south of the Taunton Road bridge and a structure adjacent to or connected to the existing Taunton Road bridge. In the event that Whites Road/Sideline 26 follows the alignment set out in Schedule 4 of this Plan, subject to completion of the required environmental assessment, the existing portion of Whites Road immediately south of Taunton Road may be re-designated as a Collector Road without amendment to this Plan; and
    • The appropriate location, structure design and intersection spacing for the Whitevale Road bypass over the West Duffins Creek
  5. Plan for the construction of two Highway 407 interchanges at Sideline 26 and Sideline 22. The timing for the construction of the interchanges will be based on a needs assessment conducted as part of the Master Environmental Servicing Plan in consultation with the Ministry of Transportation and the 407 ETR Concessions Company. Interchanges at Sideline 26 and Sideline 22 and resultant spacing of the interchanges must meet applicable design, safety and operational standards, and any other applicable approvals.
  6. Match right-of-way widths with known functional requirements wherever appropriate and feasible to reduce environmental impacts.
  7. Protect the heritage characteristics of existing Sideline and Concession Roads (e.g., Sidelines 34, 32, 30, 28, 26, 24 and 22 and Concession Roads 3, 4 and 5) in the Duffins Rouge Agricultural Preserve and in the Natural Heritage System as much as possible by:
    • where feasible, incorporating existing roads and lanes as lower order roads in the Development Planning Area, thereby avoiding the loss of their existing heritage character through widening
    • where widening is unavoidable, doing so in a manner that protects, incorporates and/or commemorates key heritage characteristics
    • recognizing the unique heritage character of the Whitevale Road corridor from the Whitevale Hamlet to the Whitevale Road bypass (west of Sideline 22), and to this end, during the preparation of Neighbourhood Plans adjacent to this corridor:
      • integrating new development along this corridor in a manner that is compatible with existing cultural heritage value or interest of the landscape, properties and structuresdetermining an appropriate road cross-section, traffic management measures and accessibility that are compatible with the character of this corridor
      • considering measures such as lower rights-of-way widths, a pedestrian oriented streetscape and the reduction of motorized vehicular traffic, as a way of conserving heritage attributes, context and character of this corridor
      • considering the recommendations of any Whitevale Road Corridor Heritage Conservation Study undertaken by the City of Pickering
    • providing road cross-sections that feature drainage ditches instead of curbs, wherever possible, and taking into account transit service, pedestrian movement and compact urban form considerations, thus helping to extend the visual character of rural roads into the new neighbourhoods
    • aligning Brock Road to the east to meet the possible Highway 407 interchange subject to the necessary approvals being obtained, pending the outcome of the Highway 407 East Environmental Assessment, and preserving the existing Brock Road alignment and providing local access to and from the highway near the Hamlet of Brougham
    • protecting and maintaining character-defining elements, such as treelines and hedgerows, associated with traditional road allowances, wherever feasible.
  8. Allow for the introduction of laneways that are designed to provide access to the rear of residential and commercial lots. Laneways may serve residential and mixed-use areas.
  9. In order to achieve a compact development pattern, efficient use of land and a pedestrian oriented streetscape and to limit impacts on the Natural Heritage System and significant cultural heritage features, incorporate minimum rights-of-way widths in the preparation of Central Pickering’s Neighbourhood Plans.

    These rights-of-way widths should, where feasible and appropriate, be at the lower end of the ranges identified for roads by the City of Pickering and Regional Municipality of Durham. Notwithstanding this policy, transit corridors on Type A arterials must be protected for six-lane cross-sections, including two dedicated transit lanes, and transit corridors on Type B arterials must be protected for a four-lane cross section, including two lanes for high occupancy vehicle use or transit priority measures.

    Should it be determined that a wider right-of-way width is necessary through the Neighbourhood Planning process to accommodate safety or transit objectives, it is a policy of this Plan to require that sufficient design and landscape detail be provided of the road cross-sections to achieve the creation of a high quality public realm, with particular emphasis on ease of pedestrian movement along and across the road.
  10. Consider, during the preparation of Neighbourhood Plans, the potential for areas around highway interchanges; GO Stations; all major transit areas; and park and ride areas, to accommodate more intensive land use activities and higher densities over time in order to support increasing transit service levels. Provision shall also be made for the identification of intensification corridors.
  11. Require that the Province, in making transportation infrastructure investment decisions that impact on the Development Planning Area, consult with affected municipalities to maximize the opportunity for aligning provincial and municipal capital priorities, within the context of achieving the intent of the Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe.
  12. Permit, as a condition of the approval of Neighbourhood Plans, the requirement for an analysis of travel demand sensitivity to determine that the transportation network, intersection capacity, level of service and community design objectives of this Plan will be achieved.
  13. Support the timely completion of the environmental assessment for the easterly extension of Highway 407 beyond Brock Road in Durham Region, recognizing that previous studies have recommended the extension of Highway 407 from Brock Road to Highways 35/115.
  14. Acknowledge the importance of required transportation network improvements outside of the Development Planning Area for the successful implementation of the Plan and its role in helping to realize the Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe, 2006, recognizing that progressive development of such external transportation infrastructure would occur with the build-out of the Development Planning Area.
  15. Permit, without an amendment to the Plan, the re-designation of Highway 7 from a Freeway, as shown on Schedules 2 and 4 of this Plan, to a Type A Arterial Road, in the event that responsibility for this road shifts from the Province to a municipality.

4.6 Servicing

The Central Pickering Development Plan provides for a network of stormwater, water supply, wastewater, and utility services for the new urban community. Schedule 5 of this Plan identifies a servicing system framework for water supply and wastewater. The Watershed Plan for Duffins Creek and Carruthers Creek, prepared by the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority, provides specific recommendations that shall be implemented at the watershed level through the Master Environmental Servicing Planning and Neighbourhood Planning processes.

Objectives

Specific objectives of this Plan in respect of servicing include the following:

  • protect groundwater quality and quantity
  • protect and improve surface water quality, wherever possible
  • maintain the natural hydrologic cycle and function of the watersheds
  • prevent increased risk of flooding and stream erosion
  • address existing servicing deficiencies within the Central Pickering service area
  • provide stormwater, water and wastewater services that are efficient, make logical use of existing infrastructure, and minimize lifecycle costs
  • promote co-ordinated public and private utility planning and infrastructure design

Policies

In order to facilitate the implementation of these objectives, it is a policy of this Plan to:

  1. Prepare a Master Environmental Servicing Plan detailing the functional servicing requirements for the entire Development Planning Area. As part of the Master Environmental Servicing Plan, a phasing plan shall be prepared for the construction of major community facilities, transportation links and stormwater, water and wastewater servicing that promotes a balanced live/work relationship and the provision of such facilities and services at the earliest feasible stage of the community development process.
  2. Servicing of the lands shall be phased to reflect a cost-efficient and logically sequential extension of infrastructure within the Development Planning Area. This may include the extension of servicing to the designated Prestige Employment Lands during the initial development phases in order to ensure a balance of both residents and jobs as the community builds out.
  3. Notwithstanding Policy 2, require that the phasing plan prepared as part of the Master Environmental Servicing Plan address the early servicing of Prestige Employment areas so as to permit an appropriate balance of employment opportunities in conjunction with the development of the residential neighbourhoods.
  4. In order to anticipate and mitigate the potential impacts of land use changes on ground and surface water resources, require, prior to the approval of the first phase of development and servicing of land, the following matters be addressed, to the satisfaction of the appropriate approval agencies, through the use of a three-dimensional groundwater flow model:
    • quantification of the sensitivity of the affected aquifers, aquitards and groundwater-fed wetlands and streams in relation to proposed land use changes in the Development Planning Area
    • identification of the relationship between land use changes and local and regional groundwater recharge dynamics and path flow regime
    • where necessary, provision for the mitigation of potential development impacts (including de-watering, run-off, stream base flow reduction and potential sources of contamination) on private wells, groundwater flows and stream and wetland water quality and quantity through the establishment of quantitative and/or qualitative hydrogeological targets or performance standards that shall be integrated into development proposals
    • where necessary, identification of requirements for the on going monitoring of groundwater conditions and contingency strategies for mitigating negative impacts that may be identified over time. Preparation of this analysis shall be undertaken in concert with the preparation of the Master Environmental Servicing Plan, be the responsibility of the affected development proponent(s), and take into account the 2003 Watershed Plan for the Duffins Creek and Caruthers Creek prepared by the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority
  5. Require submission of functional servicing plans prior to draft subdivision approval. The functional servicing plans shall indicate how targets established in the Master Environmental Servicing Plan and Neighbourhood Plans will be achieved. The preparation of functional servicing plans shall address the sustainability of adjacent or potentially impacted wetlands by exploring additional stormwater management facilities or site-specific management alternatives upstream of wetlands.
  6. Recognize that the servicing system framework identified in Schedule 5 is a preliminary design and the alignment of linear facilities, location of pumping stations and reservoirs, crossings of the Natural Heritage System and other design components may be revised through the required environmental assessments or Master Environmental Servicing Plan.
  7. Explore the use of sustainable technologies in the capture, conveyance and treatment of storm runoff. Consideration shall be given to the planning of certain areas of development to fully embrace an ecological framework for development and the associated infrastructure design that would support it.
  8. Permit stormwater management ponds in all designations. Principles to be considered in the planning and design of such systems include:
    • stormwater ponds are not permitted in environmental features, such as wetlands and woodlots, or on the Lake Iroquois shoreline
    • stormwater ponds should be off line
    • stormwater ponds should avoid subwatershed drainage diversion
    • stormwater ponds should provide an appropriate buffer adjacent to the closest environmental feature
    • discharge to a wetland should be by direct out-flow
    • stormwater ponds should maintain the pre-development water balance of wetlands
    • stormwater ponds should be naturalized using native species
    • stormwater ponds should balance groundwater infiltration for their catchment areas to the greatest degree possible
    • stormwater ponds should treat water runoff from roads
    • non-urban road design/cross section standards should be considered to treat water run-off locally
  9. Consider the following principles during the planning and design of transportation and public utilities corridors, recognizing that new crossings of the Natural Heritage System, are required to meet the transportation and infrastructure needs of the new community:
    • avoid road and public utility crossings of the Natural Heritage System, wherever possible
    • co-locate unavoidable crossings of the Natural Heritage System with other road or public utility crossings
    • where roads and public utilities must cross the Natural Heritage System where there is no existing crossing, locate the corridor within agricultural lands, meadows or successional communities
    • locate corridors through significant natural features only where it is demonstrated that no reasonable alternative exists
    • where intrusions into significant natural features do occur, make all reasonable attempts to minimize the intrusions and their impacts and to locate such intrusions along peripheral areas of features to avoid fragmentation of the Natural Heritage System
    • cross valleys at their narrowest points, wherever possible
    • Where culverts are used, utilize oversized box culverts placed below grade to provide aquatic and terrestrial linkages
    • ensure that the types of crossing structures as determined by the Master Environmental Servicing Plan maximize the preservation of natural habitat and permit natural animal movement
    • convey surface runoff to adjacent tablelands and not discharge from structures to the valleylands below.
  10. Plan and install all public and private utilities approved for installation by the municipality on an integrated basis and use joint trench (es) and concurrent installations, wherever possible.
  11. In order to reduce streetscape clutter, where feasible, integrate, group or combine public and private above ground infrastructure. Consideration should be also given to the use of joint utility poles and buried hydro facilities. Utility providers shall be required to provide innovative methods of containing utility services on or within streetscape features such as gateways, lamp posts and transit shelters.
  12. Require the installation of private and public utilities as early as possible in the development approvals process in order to minimize disruption to the community.
  13. Ensure that roadway lighting and outdoor lighting associated with development related to all land uses are directed to eliminate or minimize, to the extent possible, direct light trespass, glare or up light.
  14. Recognize that hydro uses will have primacy of use on hydro corridors.

4.7 Employment

Balanced residential and employment growth in Central Pickering is intended to create an economically and fiscally sustainable community in the long term. The Central Pickering Development Plan establishes the location and anticipated built form of employment uses in the Development Planning Area.

The Plan’s flexibility in respect of the built form and range of employment uses in identified employment areas is intended to respond to changing business preferences and methods of production, which have brought a wider range of uses into employment areas over the past twenty years.

In Central Pickering, an added locational influence is the potential future airport, which may generate economic activity and demand for employment lands. The designation of employment lands in Central Pickering reflects this influence, with prestige employment areas located in proximity to the potential future airport and interchanges on Highway 407.

This Plan encourages the establishment of a high-speed, broad-band telecommunications network that links, over time, all homes, businesses, institutions and facilities in the Development Planning Area with the City of Pickering and the Greater Toronto Area, and allows for information, knowledge and skills to be widely shared and disseminated.

This Plan also accommodates a range of “population-serving” jobs that include personal services, retail employment, and institutional employment, such as the education, health care, and government sectors. Population-serving employment is typically dispersed throughout a community, as part of the fabric of residential and mixed-use areas. As such, the built form of population-serving employment will vary widely, from large retail areas to home-based personal service businesses.

These uses will be located in various areas of the community, depending on the nature of the activity.

Objectives

Specific objectives of this Plan in respect of employment include the following:

  • attract and sustain high quality employment opportunities that reflect the needs of the Central Pickering community, the City of Pickering and the Regional Municipality of Durham
  • provide sufficient opportunity for employment in the Development Planning Area to be balanced with population, with a ratio of approximately one job for every two residents
  • designate suitable employment lands for prestige employment uses in areas of high highway exposure and in proximity to the potential future airport
  • facilitate entrepreneurial employment and home-based employment by providing a range of opportunities for small businesses to grow and expand in appropriate settings within the new urban community
  • ensure that employment areas are easily accessible by vehicle, transit, bicycle and on foot
  • ensure that large employment uses adjacent to residential uses are adequately screened and/or separated by appropriate buffers to provide a visual barrier
  • separate employment uses generating substantial truck movements from residential uses, in order to minimize truck traffic through residential neighbourhoods
  • plan for a community that will accommodate 30,500 jobs by 2031 and 35,000 jobs in the long-term.

Policies

In order to facilitate the implementation of these objectives, it is a policy of this Plan to:

  1. Promote the potential for a strong live-work relationship by accommodating employment opportunities as follows:
    • primarily in mixed-use areas and employment areas as designated on Schedule 2 to this Plan
    • in institutional facilities and minor commercial nodes in all residential areas
    • as home occupations in all residential areas
  2. Require high performance standards for development and site design in the employment areas.
  3. Ensure that employment areas are readily accessible by alternative modes of transportation, including vehicular, transit, bicycle and pedestrian.
  4. Require, as a means to promote the timely marketing and disposition of provincially owned lands, the completion of a Highway 407 Economic Development Study prior to or coincident with the preparation of the first development proposal for an employment area within the lands designated for Prestige Employment. This study shall:
    • identify the priority location(s) within the Prestige Employment area for servicing, including transit
    • identify the range of permissible uses, considering the long-term compatibility of these uses with the potential future airport
    • evaluate the potential opportunities and constraints for the integration of a university/ college campus site, which is highly accessible by roads and served by transit, within or immediately adjacent to the employment lands. Specific consideration shall be given, in this regard, to the lands generally south of Highway 407 and adjacent to Brock Road
    • establish appropriate zoning and design performance standards (to be implemented by the City of Pickering), including for transit-supportive facilities and road cross-sections
    • identify the appropriate interface between the new land-uses and the Hamlets of Green River and Brougham, which may include buffering, performance standards and land-use restrictions. In particular, identify the preferred uses for the parcels of land located on the west side of Sideline 16, north of Highway 407 and south of the Hamlet of Brougham
    • identify the nature and form of employment uses that are expected to locate in the lands designated Prestige Employment to determine appropriate lot sizes and performance standards and transit service requirements, and to ensure that transit service can be provided to all major office and institutional uses. Consideration shall be given to identifying precincts for large and small employment parcels
  5. Allow appropriate retail and commercial uses in the following designations, as provided for in the City of Pickering’s Official Plan: Low Density Areas, Medium Density Areas, Local Nodes, Community Nodes, Mixed Corridors and Prestige Employment. Large format retail warehouses are not permitted in Prestige Employment areas.
  6. Provide retail and service commercial uses in the new urban community to serve the needs of residents and businesses, such that sufficient retail and commercial uses are planned to meet local needs, in forms and locations consistent with the objectives and policies of this Plan for urban design.
  7. Identify and provide through the Neighbourhood Planning process, a hierarchy of retail and commercial uses for the new urban community that addresses, among other matters, city and region-wide market demand and supply considerations, and the City of Pickering’s Official Plan policies with respect to the primacy of Downtown Core and Special Purpose Commercial Uses.
  8. Require the City of Pickering and the Regional Municipality of Durham to work co-operatively with affected landowners in the Development Planning Area to assess and rationalize, through the preparation of a Seaton Retail Market Analysis Study, to be carried out in conjunction with the preparation of the first Neighbourhood Plan, the appropriate amount of retail floor space to serve the population in the Development Planning Area.

    In the event that it is determined that revisions are required to the size and locations of major retailing land uses within the urban community, these findings may be incorporated in the Neighbourhood Plans, without the need for an amendment to this Plan, provided the goals, objectives and policies of this Plan are met.

4.8 Housing and mixed-use

The Central Pickering Development Plan provides for a range of housing types and densities in the new urban community. Most of the building forms should be planned to relate directly to grade, and have a direct relationship to public streets. While the built forms are anticipated to be modest in scale, densities should be significant enough to support an active community and street life, including neighbourhood shops, social facilities and parks, as well as public transit.

Housing and mixed-use areas occupy parcels of tableland located within the new urban community and surrounded by the Natural Heritage System. These parcels are irregularly shaped, reflecting the natural topography of the area. As most parcels have been defined by existing drainage patterns, each falls within a single watershed.

The Plan anticipates the development of fifteen urban neighbourhoods in Seaton, one of which is associated with the existing Hamlet of Whitevale. The neighbourhoods range in size from approximately 40 to 80 hectares and each will accommodate from 3,000 to 5,000 persons. Generally speaking, neighbourhood boundaries can be reached in a five-minute walk, equivalent to 400 metres from their respective centres.

The urban community should be capable of growing and changing over time. Certain areas may remain vacant until the markets for higher-density housing begin to emerge – typically later in the development period. Other areas will be designed to accommodate lower-density mixed-use developments at the outset, but intensified later to meet anticipated changing demands for higher densities.

Objectives

Specific objectives of this Plan in respect of housing and mixed-use include the following:

  • develop urban areas that create a sense of community, promote social interaction, and are aesthetically pleasing
  • provide for an adequate range of housing opportunities that respond to existing and future needs and characteristics of the anticipated population in terms of form, location, size, cost, and tenure
  • plan for a community with a population of 61,000 residents by 2031 and up to 70,000 residents in the long-term
  • create a transit-supportive community from the earliest stages of development by establishing a minimum density for residential development
  • develop mixed-use areas, which support a mix of higher-density residential uses in association with related commercial and institutional uses, and can be intensified over time

Policies

In order to facilitate the implementation of these objectives, it is a policy of this Plan to:

  1. Require the establishment of appropriate neighbourhood phasing strategies prior to permitting residential development.
  2. Establish the following net residential maximum and minimum densities, expressed in dwelling units per net hectare:
    • local nodes: over 40 and up to and including 80
    • community nodes: over 80 and up to and including 140
    • mixed corridors: over 40 and up to and including 140
    • low density area: over 25 and up to and including 40
    • medium density area: over 40 and up to and including 80
    • high density area: over 140 and up to and including 250
  3. Define the term “net residential density” as the total number of dwellings per hectare of net residential site area, and the term “net residential site area” as the total area of land within a development proposal that is designated for residential and ancillary purposes by this Plan, which, for draft plans of subdivision, includes the total residentially-designated area of all residential lots in the plan, but excludes public roads and widenings, public parks, non-developable land, school sites and similar public land areas. For the purposes of this Plan, “development proposals” must be prepared for entire neighbourhoods.
  4. Prepare a strategy prior to the approval of Neighbourhood Plans detailing the means to achieve a 25% target of new residential units in housing forms considered affordable to low and moderate-income households. The strategy shall identify appropriate housing forms and shall be implemented through the Neighbourhood Plans. Contribution to the 25% target may vary by neighbourhood.
  5. Require Neighbourhood Plans and policies to be prepared for each of the fifteen neighbourhoods. Neighbourhoods may be combined for the purpose of the neighbourhood plan approval process and shall include:
    • preparation of a pedestrian and bicycle systems plan based on the overall network developed through the Master Environmental Servicing Plan
    • consideration of the previously completed archaeological and heritage assessments
    • identification of drainage boundaries and stormwater management system/facility locations, type, preliminary sizing and discharge quantity, quality and sedimentation targets based on the findings of the Master Environmental Servicing Plan and functional servicing plans
    • identification of detailed community facility requirements
    • identification of environmental sustainability measures within select neighbourhoods
  6. Base detailed planning through the Neighbourhood Plans, plans of subdivision and site planning on the following principles:
    • creation of a compact neighbourhood structure with an appropriate mix of land-uses to serve local residents and visitors
    • integration of commercial, residential, and employment uses – both horizontally and vertically – to ensure that neighbourhood centres are popular and active destinations, supported by transit and proximity to open space
    • provision of a range of lot sizes within blocks to encourage a variety of housing types and sizes, and to maximize flexibility and options for future intensification particularly within mixed-use nodes and corridors
    • consideration of pedestrian requirements for safety and comfort in the location and design of transit stops, day care centres and community facilities
    • provision of the highest development density at the neighbourhood centres
    • provision of variations in the design of blocks and streets around natural elements such as woodlots, creeks and topography, to enhance views and achieve a distinctive neighbourhood character
    • permission for individual lot sizes to integrate elements of the surrounding natural and cultural heritage
    • making the garage a subordinate element of residential development as part of the zoning and subdivision approval processes
    • Where appropriate, providing for laneways to support alternative garage locations
    • ensuring that surface parking areas are not dominant features of mixed-use development
  7. Require Neighbourhood Plans to make provision for the realization of this Plan’s objectives for higher density, transit supportive development by:
    • facilitating the early introduction of transit services, alternative transportation facilities and retail and service uses to accommodate residents’ needs
    • setting achievable targets for the construction of higher density residential uses along transit spines
    • providing for financial incentives for the creation of higher density and/or affordable housing, such as reduced development charges and building permit and planning approvals fees
    • encouraging development intensification over time
  8. Require consideration of alternative means of providing for social, recreational or cultural amenities that enhance the quality of the natural or built environment and/or reflect sustainability benchmarks developed under this Plan.