Overall, the Town is…

Overall, the Town is supportive of the recent changes, particularly as they could assist the Town of Innisfil implement its vision for the Innisfil Mobility Orbit and development around the future Innisfil GO Station. This could occur through a Ministerial Zoning Order (MZO) for the Orbit, which has been requested by the Town of Innisfil Council and endorsed by the County of Simcoe Council in November, 2020. The Town of Innisfil provides the following comments for the Province to consider:

Inclusionary Zoning
The Town of Innisfil is supportive of the recent enhanced authority of the Minister to require the development of affordable housing units through inclusionary zoning. In these instances, the Province should specify the percentage of housing units that must be constructed as affordable, while also specifying the range of affordable rent and/or and price thresholds. These thresholds, when implemented through an MZO, should be specified in consultation with the local municipality and informed by local affordable housing needs identified in local or regional strategic plan or housing strategy.

Site Plan Control
The Town of Innisfil is also supportive of the use of implementing site plan control through an enhanced MZO to streamline development and secure sustainable design that aligns with key local planning objectives. The Town interprets Section 47 as providing enhanced opportunities to Section 41 in matters of sustainable design. The Town has developed key sustainability principles for the design and construction of the Orbit community and securing these principles in the scope of development agreements is one circumstance where this enhanced authority could be particularly helpful.

This enhanced authority could also be helpful in streamlining the site plan process by ensuring all parties commit early in the process to an expeditious timeframe of key deliverables thereby providing certainty for all parties investing in this future transit oriented community.

The Town looks forward to working with the Province on the use of these enhancements that would streamline appropriate development and secure the sustainable design and construction of the Orbit transit-oriented community through a potential MZO for the Innisfil Mobility Orbit.