Official Plan amendment proposed for community built around future GO Station

By Zachary Roman

Plans for a community built around a future Caledon GO station and transit hub were presented to Caledon Council and the public this week.

On January 10, Glen Schnarr and Associates Inc. presented at a Caledon Planning and Development Committee Public Meeting on behalf of the Bolton Option 3 Landowners Group (the applicant).

The applicant has been working on plans for a community, to be titled Caledon Station, set to be built North of King Street between Humber Station and Gore Roads.

An amendment to the Town of Caledon's Official Plan would be needed for this community to become a reality.

The applicant is seeking the official plan amendment to “establish a mixed-use community with a range of residential, commercial, open space, institutional, environmental, and transit hub uses, and to establish related land use policies for the community.”

The land the community would be built on is 450 acres in size, and currently has agricultural and rural residential uses. There are natural heritage features such as watercourses and wetlands on the land. According to a Town of Caledon staff report, the new Region of Peel Official Plan designates the lands as “Urban System” and “2051 New Urban Area.”

The applicant was required to refer their proposal for consultation from a variety of different sources.

Caledon's Parks Department said the proposed community must have at least five per cent of its land dedicated as parkland. Caledon's Engineering Department said the community's connection to the future GO station is paramount. Caledon's Energy and Environment staff said any development in the community should align with the Town's green development standards, and planning staff said an increase in pedestrian pathways, cycle paths and public transit will be required.

The Dufferin Peel Catholic District School Board and Peel District School Board both noted planned school site sizes might be insufficient, and that schools should be planned to be built next to future municipal parks.

The Toronto and Region Conservation Authority said wetlands on the subject land need to be evaluated, and that the future community must not have any negative impacts on wetland features.

The plans presented by the applicant at the public meeting showed a variety of land uses in the proposed community, most notably medium-density and low-density residential.

These uses take up a large portion of the planned community. Other land uses included in the secondary plan are commercial, parkland, mixed-use, a GO transit hub, institutional, employment, open space, an elementary school(s), a secondary school, environmental policy areas, and more.

Those interested in viewing the entire plan proposed by the applicant can view the documentation provided for the January 10 meeting at the following web address: caledon.ca/en/government/agendas-and-minutes.aspx.