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Originally Posted by WhipperSnapper
This area has been identified as employment lands. Several residential development including this site have been squashed because of it. Has nothing to do with the current site specific zoning.
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Yes, it has nothing to do with the current zoning. That's exactly what I said. You seem to be arguing that if you allow even one residential building in this district that floodgates will be opened to turn it into another Cityplace. That's not the case at all; the province has the power to keep that from happening. A plan with a healthy mix of commercial and residential could be approved.
Quote:
Originally Posted by niwell
Yep, this was tightened up at the Provincial level too when the PPS was updated. At this point it would not be an easy process to convert from employment lands and there are specific OMB cases in the area that set a precedent. As mentioned though there's plenty of both existing residential and new proposals that are literally within a short walk of the site.
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The Growth Plan policies prohibiting residential in employment areas aren't intended to be an iron clad ban on converting employment areas to non-employment uses. In fact, the Plan has specific criteria for employment land conversions. In certain situations employment lands can be and are being converted under those criteria. It could be argued that a plan with, say, a couple thousand units of residential mixed in with the office buildings would still protect the land for employment (office) uses.
The Growth Plan also has policies requiring complete communities and a mix of uses. While office uses do locate in business parks, they tend to concentrate in Urban Growth Centres (downtown, Yonge & Eglinton, Vaughan Centre, etc.), which are required to have a mix of uses including residential. East Harbour, despite being in an old industrial area, will more closely resemble the Urban Growth Centres than any office park, and will have more office and retail space than many of them. These Centres are required to have a mix of uses specifically because of the issues that have been brought up.
On a more general level, the fact that the East Harbour site is surrounded by residential and mixed neighbourhoods doesn't really help the vibrancy of the business district itself. Almost all business districts criticized for being lifeless are surrounded by residential uses. A mix of uses is required in the district, not nearby. Even the Financial District at King & Bay has some residential in it. Even more so in Southcore, which is much more central than East Harbour.