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Work plan for Illegal Land Use Task Force approved

February 6, 2025   ·   0 Comments

By ZACHARY ROMAN

Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

The battle against illegal land use in Caledon continues. 

On February 4, Caledon Council approved a 2025 work plan for the Town’s Illegal Land Use Task Force (ILUTF).

The ILUTF’s goal is to identify and address illegal land use through enforcement, policy change, and education. Community members were appointed to the task force in October 2024, and the task force has met three times since then.

“In these initial meetings, community representatives were provided an overview of the prevalence and impact of illegal transportation depots in Caledon; the typical process to enforce compliance; and the provisions of the Zoning By-Law that are specific to transportation depots, which is the group’s immediate focus,” reads a report from Town Staff.

The representatives were also advised of the increased enforcement powers the Town continues to advocate to the Province for: the ability to physically bar entry to properties; an increase to the maximum penalty amounts for individuals (to $50,000) and corporations (up to $100,000 and $50,000 for each day continued); and the ability to include all charges, fines, orders, notices, prohibitions, injunctions, and court-imposed fines on the title of a property.

The 2025 work plan lays out priority areas for the ILUTF to work on, including: advocacy; communication, education and community engagement; enforcement and compliance; and land-use planning. 

In the area of advocacy, the ILUTF will work to secure meetings with the Attorney General, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, and Dufferin-Caledon MPP, with a specific goal of advancing the aforementioned enforcement powers. 

“This additional authority is imperative to deterring illegal activity,” reads the staff report. 

The ILUTF also plans to create a fact sheet to support community-led advocacy efforts. 

In the areas of communication, education and community engagement, a major development is an interactive map on the Town of Caledon’s website where users can browse reported cases of illegal land use. 

When it comes to enforcement and compliance, the ILUTF will look to use Caledon’s bylaws to hold bad actors accountable. 

“As part of the proposed work plan, the ILUTF will be looking to update the Fill, Woodland Conservation, and Property Standards Bylaws from an enforcement lens,” reads the staff report. 

The ILUTF’s work on land-use planning will centre around the completion of a trucking strategy and “an update to the Town’s Zoning Bylaw so that appropriate locations and standards are identified for transportation depots in our community.”

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