BRADFORD — Unwilling to be left up a creek, a developer is looking to maximize a section of Bradford’s Highway 400 employment land while also improving the natural habitat.
During a recent public meeting, a report and presentation from town planner Madeline Luker explained Bond Head Properties Eight is asking for amendments to the town’s Official Plan and zoning bylaw in order to realign a creek and increase the amount of land available to develop employment blocks on 2183 Sideroad 5.
Two tributaries of the Fraser Creek run through the property — one through the centre and another through the northwest portion — and connect near the southern portion, with the developer proposing to run them along outside to free up room in the middle.
“It’s net improvement to the health of the creek,” Mayor James Leduc said. “It’s going to help us clean it up and we’ll get beautiful trees and beautiful landscaping there ... It’ll be a gorgeous place to work and enjoy the nature.”
Beyond natural benefits, the change would also make the property more efficient for development and benefit the town by generating more industrial tax dollars, according to Keith MacKinnon, who along with Lauren Dynes, both of KLM Planning, appeared on behalf of the developer.
Coun. Joseph Giordano was supportive of the concept and said the new alignment “makes sense.”
“This is the type of stuff that we actually need in our town,” he said. “This is a great way of maximizing the space.”
Coun. Ben Verkaik represents the area and asked how many of the existing trees would be impacted and if there are any plans to replace them, but MacKinnon said the answers were likely to come as part of more detailed plans in future.
The process involves redesignating which portions are considered Highway 400 land industrial/commercial (Area C) and which are considered environmental protection under the Official Plan, as well as updating the zoning for those sections accordingly to and from environmental protection (EP) and 400 industrial/commercial (400C).
Typically, the town doesn’t permit realigning natural features such as creeks, chief administrative officer Geoff McKnight said, unless it can be demonstrated the change offers a net ecological benefit, such as increasing the length of the waterway and/or increasing the amount and diversity of vegetation and habitat. It’s a principle they developed in conjunction with the Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority (LSRCA).
The process is similar to one council approved on May 2, 2023 for the Highlight Motors property to the north, through which the creek also flows and which is expected to share a matching realignment to the east.
In addition to the 23 hectares of 2183 Sideroad 5 northwest of the interchange with Highway 400 and Line 5, Bond Head Properties Eight’s application also applies to .89 hectares of the property directly south, known as Part of Lot 6, Concession 5.
Council agreed on Sept. 5, 2023 to trade the smaller property to DG Group, in exchange for land near the Auld Kirk at 3380 Line 6, as well as near the Bond Head water tower for the proposed Bond Head fire station. That deal is nearing finalization, according to the report.
DG Group initially appealed the zoning and official plan amendments for the Highlight Motors property, but the appeal was dismissed shortly after based on changes to provincial legislation, according to staff.
MacKinnon explained Bond Head Properties Eight is currently working with its neighbour trying to ensure the timing of the realignments will be simultaneous across both properties.
The Bond Head Properties Eight properties may have previously been used for agriculture, but are currently vacant, and the property at 2183 Sideroad 5 has about 306 metres of frontage along Sideroad 5, while the portion of Part of Lot 6, Concession 5 is landlocked.
The land is surrounded to the north by the partially vacant Highlight Motors property, to the east by Highway 400 and more partially vacant land slated for employment uses, to the south by a single residential property and the rest of Part of Lot 6, Concession 5 with another tributary, and to the west by agricultural land.
At the time of the meeting there were no objections from internal departments or external agencies, according to Luker. However, the LSRCA noted they are still in the process of their own technical review.
Coun. Peter Ferragine, who's also an LSRCA board member, said the town needs this type of investment in the Highway 400 employment land.
“I’m sure that the conservation authority is going be on top of this and it’s all going to be done properly,” he said.
No comments from the public had been received up to the meeting and no residents commented during the meeting either.
Council is not expected to make a decision until after staff provide a future report based on both the public feedback and the developer’s response.
Until council does make a decision, residents can still request information or provide feedback about planning files D09-25-01 (official plan amendment) and D14-25-06 (zoning bylaw amendment) by contacting the community planning office at 905-778-2055, ext. 1402, or mluker@townofbwg.com.