August 19, 2023 Hon. Steve…

August 19, 2023

Hon. Steve Clark, Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing
Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing
17th Floor – 777 Bay Street
Toronto, Ontario M7A 2J3

RE: ERO #019-7195
Draft Growth Allocations and Settlement Area Boundary Expansions
2236 Highway 2, Clarington
TBG Project No. 22935

The Biglieri Group Ltd. (“TBG”) represents the owner of lands known municipally as 2236 Highway 2 Clarington, ON (the “Subject Site” or “Site”). On behalf of my Client, Baghai Digital, to provide commentary on the Regional Municipality of Durham’s Adopted Official Plan, and to request support for 10 hectares of the the Subject Site to be included as part of the settlement area of Bowmanville.

The Subject Site is on the north side of Highway 2, directly east of Highway 418, on the west side of Maple Grove Road (Figure 1). The Site is approximately 22 hectares (54 acres) with a broken frontage of approximately 150 m along Highway 2. The Subject Site is partially within the Hamlet of Maple Grove and is immediately west of the proposed expanded urban boundary of Bowmanville.

The surrounding land uses include:
North: Natural environment area and agricultural uses.
South: Durham Region Police Headquarters.
East: Residential uses, large-scale commercial.
West: Farmland, residential uses, Highway 418.

We applaud Regional Staff and their consulting team on extensive amount of work that they undertaken as part of this Municipal Comprehensive Review process. While we recognize that the overall Growth Numbers have been provided by the Province, we are also aware that the growth numbers provided are minimums. We generally support the urban boundary expansions that have been proposed as part of this process and are requesting that 2236 Highway 2 be included in the urban proposed urban boundary expansion of the Municipality of Clarington.

 
Figure One: Property Location

The Settlement Boundary Expansion that was approved by Regional Council for the Town of Bowmanville in the Municipality of Clarington sees the boundary moved west to Maple Grove Road along the north side of Highway 2 and to include the Durham Regional Police Headquarters on the south side. Our Client’s property is immediately west and north of the approved expansion areas. As identified, the property is 22 hectares (55 acres) in size, but the request is to include only 10 hectares (25 hectares) within the urban boundary as the remaining 12 hectare (30 acres) area is impacted by natural heritage features and is not suitable for development.

Water and sewer services are available along Highway 2 to the south, which were installed to provide services to the Durham Regional Police station located immediately south of the property. Access to the site can be provided from Highway 2 and from Maple Grove Road.

Highways 407, 418, and 401 are all within minutes of the property, with Highway 418 being 3 kilometres to the west, or an approximately 3 minute drive. The new Bowmanville GO Train Station will be located 3 kilometres to the east, with the construction slated for completion in 2024. The GO Bus network currently provides connection to Toronto from Bowmanville. Local transit routes are located 500 metres to the east along Highway 2, and Durham Regional Transit Line 902A, which provides inter-city transit, runs directly in front of the property and provides connection to the Oshawa GO station.

The proposed area for inclusion has been provided as Figure 2. The request for inclusion of these lands within the urban boundary of Bowmanville is to allow for the development of 500-550 affordable housing units, being a mix of stacked townhouses and carriage houses. We recognize that additional planning approvals will be required to implement this development, however, the intent is to see construction and occupancy of dwellings prior to the 2031 target the Province has state for the creation of 1.5 million new homes. The property is close to highways, transit, commercial plazas, schools, recreational facilities, making it ideally suited for inclusion in the urban boundary, and for the development for affordable housing.

Figure 2: Development Area for Inclusion

In support of the development of the property, preliminary engineering, traffic, and environmental reviews of the property have been completed.

The preliminary traffic and environmental reviews have been provided and conclude that:
• the servicing (water and sewer) that is available along Highway 2 will need minor upgrades, but can provide servicing for the proposed development;
• there will be no traffic impacts associated with the development of the lands; and,
• the limits of the environmentally sensitive lands have been identified and development will only occur on the 4 hectares that are unconstrained by environmentally sensitive lands.

Based on the infrastructure that is available, and the preliminary reports that have been prepared, servicing construction could commence immediately, with housing construction in 2024 and 2025. This timeline will provide the much-needed housing that the Premier has identified and will help to achieve the goal of 1.5 million new houses by the year 2031.

We respectfully make this submission for the inclusion of these lands as part of the urban boundary. Should Regional Staff want to discuss further, we are happy to meet. Preliminary Engineering, Traffic, and Natural Heritage investigations have been completed and can be discussed with Regional Staff should they desire.

Sincerely,

Rachelle Larocque, BES, M.Sc., MCIP, RPP
Senior Associate