There is no requirement to post this notice on the Environmental Registry of Ontario, but we wanted to hear your thoughts. Thank you for your feedback.
This consultation was open from:
January 21, 2025
to February 20, 2025
Decision summary
On August 29, 2025, the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing filed a Minister's Zoning Order (with conditions) with the Registrar of Regulations as Ontario Regulation (O. Reg.) 205/25 in the City of Markham. The Minister of Long-term Care requested that the Minister consider making the Zoning Order, which was supported by Markham's Mayor.
Decision details
A Zoning Order, made pursuant to clause 47(1)(a) of the Planning Act, regulates the use of the land and the erection, location and use of any building or structure on the land. The Minister's Zoning Order was made based on a request from the Minister of Long-term Care and supported by the Mayor of the City of Markham.
O. Reg. 205/25 applies to approximately 2 hectares of land at 10228 McCowan Road in the City of Markham. While the western half of the property is located within the Greenbelt Area (Protected Countryside), the Zoning Order does not include any lands within the Greenbelt Area. See Location Map below.
Ontario Regulation 205/25 will facilitate a new 256-bed long-term care facility along with a range of individual and shared housing opportunities for seniors across three tower buildings, comprising over 800 living units and 192 private/charitable beds.
O. Reg. 205/25 also provides relief from the City’s zoning by-law with respect to building setbacks, building heights, amenity areas, landscaped areas, gross floor area, floor space index, and vehicle and bicycle parking requirements.
Please note, in accordance with the s 47(1.0.1) of the Planning Act, the Minister has imposed conditions on O.Reg 205/25 with respect to the preparation of an acceptable water and wastewater servicing strategy and the completion of archaeological assessments for the subject lands. As a result, O.Reg 205/25 is suspended until the Minister is satisfied these conditions have been, or will be fulfilled.
Pursuant to the subsection 47(4) of the Planning Act, and except for the purposes of section 24, the Minister deemed this zoning order to be a by-law passed by the council of the City of Markham.
Effects of consultation
All comments received were taken into consideration prior to a decision being made.
The Ministry received one submission through the ERO registry that was not supportive of MZOs in general, noting they override residents concerns.
The second submission was received directly through email, from the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA), which noted the western portion of 10228 McCowan Road overlapped with their regulated area due to the presence of a wetland, watercourse, and floodplain of the Rouge River watershed, noting the wetland is identified by the province as provincially significant. As such, the proposed development may require a permit in accordance with the Conservation Authorities Act.
Supporting materials
View materials in person
Some supporting materials may not be available online. If this is the case, you can request to view the materials in person.
Get in touch with the office listed below to find out if materials are available.
12th floor
777 Bay Street
Toronto,
ON
M7A 2J3
Canada
Connect with us
Contact
mmahzoningorders@ontario.ca
12th floor
777 Bay Street
Toronto,
ON
M7A 2J3
Canada
Original proposal
Why consultation isn't required
Part II of the Environmental Bill of Rights Act, 1993 does not apply to proposals to make a Minister’s Zoning Order (MZO) under subsection 47(1) of the Planning Act, or to amend or revoke an MZO under subsection 47(8) of the Planning Act.
Although not required, the ministry is providing public notice of this request for consultation.
Proposal details
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.
Supporting materials
View materials in person
Some supporting materials may not be available online. If this is the case, you can request to view the materials in person.
Get in touch with the office listed below to find out if materials are available.
16th floor
777 Bay Street
Toronto,
ON
M7A 2J3
Canada
Comment
Commenting is now closed.
This consultation was open from January 21, 2025
to February 20, 2025
Connect with us
Contact
mmahzoningorders@ontario.ca
12th floor
777 Bay Street
Toronto,
ON
M7A 2J3
Canada
Comments received
Through the registry
1By email
1By mail
0