Request for a Minister’s Zoning Order for a long-term care facility at 10228 McCowan Road, City of Markham

A Minister’s Zoning Order (MZO), made pursuant to clause 47(1)(a) of the Planning Act, regulates the use of land and the erection, location and use of any building or structure on the land, and prevails over the existing municipal zoning by-law to the extent there is any conflict.

The Minister is considering requests from the Minister of Long-term Care and Mayor of Markham to make an enhanced Minister’s Zoning Order for the lands at 10228 McCowan Road in the City of Markham.  The site is approximately 2.0 hectares in size and is located on the west side of McCowan Road, north of Major Mackenzie Drive East.  See link to location map below.

The site is currently occupied by an existing rural residential dwelling and some associated small farm buildings and vacant land.  The subject lands are currently designated in the Region of York’s official plan as Urban Area and Community Area, and in the City of Markham’s official plan as in Countryside, and are zoned as Countryside, Countryside Exception One, Greenway One and Greenway Two in the city’s zoning by-law 2024-19.  For clarity, the lands proposed for the zoning order are adjacent to, but not located in, the Greenbelt Area.

At this time, the feasibility of appropriately servicing these lands for the near-term implementation and construction of the proposed uses remains subject to ongoing assessment. The Ministry is seeking additional information that may help inform this assessment.

The requested Zoning Order seeks to permit a long-term care home with a capacity of 256 beds as well as 800 attainable life-lease and rental housing units for seniors across three 15-storey tower buildings.

Specifically, the requested Minister’s Zoning Order seeks the following exceptions to the requirements of by-law 2024-19 that apply to the subject lands:

• permit a long-term care home, in addition to:
  • a retirement home
  • a seniors residence
  • an institutional use
  • use of a building or part of a building as a place of worship, and
  • an accessory use, building or structure.

As well, the requested Minister’s Zoning Order asks for exceptions to the requirements of the City of Markham’s Zoning By-law 2024-19 including minimum front and rear yard setbacks, other lot line setbacks and setbacks for underground structures, distances between buildings, minimum and maximum heights, maximum floor space index, maximum number of stories, gross floor area exclusions, vehicular and bicycle parking ratios.

The Mayor of Markham requested the Minister to use his enhanced authorities pursuant to clauses 47(4.3)(a) and (b) of the Planning Act to remove site plan approval and require the landowner enter into one or more agreements with the City of Markham dealing with matters listed in subsection 47(4.4) of the Act on the subject lands.

This zoning order was requested due to the time required to update the City’s Official Plan to recognize the subject lands as being within Markham’s Future Urban Area as well as the need to address the shortage of seniors’ accommodation and expedite the building of long-term care beds in the community.

To help ensure decisions are made in a transparent manner and support government priorities, the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing(MMAH) is seeking feedback on whether this request should be considered and any additional information that may help inform a decision.