They recently bought Greenbelt land that was undevelopable. Now the Ford government is poised to remove protections — and these developers stand to profit handsomely.
By the time they have finished building, the developers will have gained a full 20 acres, three of which will be zoned R3, for single family houses. At their prices, they’ll be able to build homes for $100,000.
The Ford government has been slow to address the “suburbanization” of Toronto, with the city’s housing stock increasingly becoming a place where multi-million dollar homes are built and residents never see a house within five kilometres of them.
With the new rules changing, it is possible that at least two of the Greenbelt lands that the developers have purchased will become R3 zones.
In effect, if they build it, the Ford government is saying that those sites are already built. It’s not a decision that the government can reverse by fiat.
The government was responding to comments from Greenbelt residents, who told the government that the site did not have the density and infrastructure provided by a traditional greenbelt site, where it’s possible to build homes.
The city is proposing changes to the Greenbelt that will reduce the area in front of residences by 20% — and change the land use designation from R3 to R2 (or even R1), to make it more accessible and more affordable.
But the Greenbelt itself, which was built over a century ago is under threat. That’s because under the government’s new requirements these lands, or parts of them, would be more developed than ever before.
The Ford government was told that at least two of the three Greenbelt lands the city sold are likely to be designated as R3 by the end of this year.
The city’s process for designating greenbelt lands was so flawed that the city asked Greenbelt Residents Group to review and comment on its proposed new zoning plan.
In late September, the city’s planning board passed the new plan, which recommended R2, R3 and R4 zoning
