New government approvals issued by the province this week will help to fast-track the development of a massive transit-focused community near Lake Simcoe.
On Monday, the Town of Innisfil announced that the Province of Ontario had created a Ministerial Zoning Order (MZO) to designate lands for the Orbit, a master-planned smart city centred around a new GO Transit station.
The MZO, according to the town, will help to expedite the construction of the GO station, as well as the planning process for the project. It also allows the Orbit to “get shovels in the ground faster,” in addition to supporting the town’s economic recovery from the pandemic and secure private investment for the development, explained a media release from the Town of Innisfil.
“Our government is proud to work with our municipal partners to get one step closer to building a new Innisfil GO Station that will provide convenient transit to this growing community – at a lower cost to taxpayers,” said Stan Cho, Associate Minister of Transportation, in the release.
“Through the Transit-Oriented Communities Program, we are building critical, reliable transit that is connected to vibrant, live-work-play communities that benefit individuals, families and businesses,” he added.
The Orbit would be built around 6th Line and the Metrolinx rail line, with construction expected to start as early as 2022. In 2019, Toronto-based architectural firm Partisans was given the contract to create the Orbit, which is being developed by Cortel Group.
The Orbit is said to be designed to prevent urban sprawl, marrying together the town’s existing rural appeal with modern features. Previous reporting by Livabl details that the master-planned, 40 million-square-foot transit hub would accommodate 150,000 people within a variety of housing types.
Over three development phases, the Orbit would be laid out as a series of concentric “squircles” — a combination of squares and circles — that would ripple outwards from the transit centre. A fibre-optic network would be installed throughout the community, alongside a ridesharing transit system, pedestrian-first streets, and a range of public and private amenities.
“The idea is a full-walkable, high-density community that actually captures what it’s like to have that piece of greenspace that everybody typically moves north of Toronto to get,” said Jason Reynar, Innisfil’s former Chief Administrative Officer (CAO), in an UrbanizeThis podcast episode in March. “You sort of move into suburbia because you want your backyard, you want greenspace. So how can we replicate that concept, but with high-density? And so you end up with the vision.”
On Innisfil’s webpage for the Orbit, it’s noted that an expedited planning process is required for the developer to secure construction financing and “to meet the designated time frame for construction.” Council endorsed the MZO draft, which was submitted to the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, Steve Clark, in November 2020 for consideration, the media release states.
“Public consultation prior to and during the pandemic revealed that the construction of the Innisfil GO Station remains a high community priority,” reads the website. “To respond to this, construction will commence as early as 2022, and the Ministerial Zoning Order (MZO) will facilitate the construction of much needed housing and jobs with access to transit, which is of even greater priority during these unprecedented times.”
According to recent reporting by the Toronto Star, the Orbit’s MZO is one of seven issued by Minister Clark over the past two weeks. Since 2018, Premier Doug Ford’s provincial government has issued 53 MZOs.
“Today’s announcement is a good example of how our government is using Minister’s Zoning Orders, in partnership with municipalities, to help get shovels in the ground quickly on important projects that will benefit residents for generations,” said Clark in the release issued earlier this week. “This is an exciting community-building project and I am proud to be able to support the Orbit transit hub.”
The town’s website notes that while an MZO cannot be appealed, the public will have the ability to appeal the Secondary Plan. The MZO is said to include guidelines for how the land immediately surrounding the transit station can be used, including residential, retail, business and affordable housing uses, plus the protection of environmental features such as woodlands and wetlands, as per the media release. The Star’s report noted that the Orbit project has faced opposition from a local environmental group concerned about the potential impacts on Lake Simcoe.
Lands located outside of the immediate transit area will be addressed through the future Secondary Plan, at which time the town says it will consider further community input.
