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The Quarry Lands - Frequently Asked Questions
What is Concerned Citizens of Quarry Lands Development (CCQLD)?
In July 2003, Birchcliff residents were stunned to learn that a 1455-unit high rise development was being planned for the Quarry Lands without any public consultation or notice. Hundreds of angry residents turned out at a hastily organized meeting at Fallingbrook United Church and from that meeting the CCQLD was born. The CCQLD is an incorporated, non-profit residents' group with a board of directors and approximately 300 members. CCQLD has been working for the past seven years to ensure that any development of the Quarry is compatible with the surrounding community, is based on modern-day planning principles and takes into consideration the serious environmental sensitivity of the site.
Who owns the Quarry lands?
The Quarry is a 20 hectare (49 acre) parcel of land situated east of Victoria Park Avenue, west of Clonmore Drive, north of Gerrard Street and south of the CN rail line. The land is mostly vacant except for a few commercial businesses along Gerrard Street and to the east of Victoria Park Ave. The largest property owner is private developer The Conservatory Group, which operates under the name Gerrard Clonmore Developments (GCD) and owns 7.5 hectares on the eastern portion of the Quarry. GCD proposes to build on its land a high rise complex with 1455 units and seven towers as high as 27 storeys. The City of Toronto owns the second largest property, 6.7 hectares on the western portion of the Quarry, which includes the land currently used as a driving range. There are also seven other landowners holding smaller sections of property on the Quarry Lands.
How are the Quarry lands zoned?
The lands were designated and zoned for High Density Residential uses in 1968. The zoning on lands owned by GCD allows approximately 1,450 units in seven towers and is still in force today. These land use permissions were implemented, in part, in recognition of the planned Scarborough Transportation Corridor, to be located immediately to the north of the lands. This corridor was incorporated into both the Metropolitan Toronto and Scarborough Official Plans and was to provide for a high-speed link (rail or road) between downtown Toronto and areas to the east of Metro. The Scarborough Expressway was scrapped in 1974 after it was determined there was no need for it.
What’s wrong with GCD’s development proposal?
The high-rise tower proposal would result in a density seven times greater than the surrounding community. Furthermore, it would result in fragmented development across the Quarry Lands with no comprehensive plan to address community needs. The GCD development is opposed by area residents, local politicians and notably the city’s planning department, who have said there are “much better” options than one based on zoning from the 1960s.
Why can't the City of Toronto just rezone the land?
When the new Official Plan was passed by City Council in 2002, the Quarry Lands were designated Mixed Use, which allows for a broad range of residential, commercial, institutional, parks and open space uses. The land owned by the Conservatory Group, however, is governed by a 1979 decision by the Supreme Court of Ontario obliging the borough of Scarborough (now the City of Toronto) to issue building permits.
What is the Birchcliff Quarry Lands Study?
The City of Toronto initiated the Birchcliff Quarry Lands Area Study in 2006 to develop a framework for planning a new neighbourhood on the full 49-acre Quarry parcel in the context of the New Official Plan. In addition to addressing environmental concerns, the goals were to integrate a potential Quarry Lands development into the broader community as well as study infrastructure, the capacity of local roads, and the need for parks and community services. A working group of stakeholders and interested community members was established and contemplated numerous development scenarios for the full Quarry Lands site. The working group process was put on hold in late 2008 to enable direct discussions with GCD, arising out of a standstill agreement between the City and GCD through proceedings at the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB).
Why is the Ontario Municipal Board involved?
In 2006, GCD filed a rezoning application with the City of Toronto to reduce the size of the units in the proposed towers. City Council directed staff to review the application concurrently with the Birchcliff Quarry Lands Study. In 2007, the developer appealed to the OMB. Another issue before the OMB is a filed site plan application for one of GCD’s planned tower blocks. In late 2008, GCD and City representatives agreed to defer the hearing via a standstill agreement to permit discussions of a comprehensive development plan for the entire parcel of land. A committee was struck with the participation of GCD, city planning staff, Build Toronto, councillors Brian Ashton and Sandra Bussin, CCQLD and other community members. The discussions failed to result in agreement among the parties, and the OMB heard the appeal in late February 2010. Groups that argued against GCD included the City of Toronto, Toronto Region Conservation Authority, CCQLD and two other community groups, Our Community Speaks and East Beach Community Association. A decision by the OMB is pending and expected soon.
What are the environmental concerns?
The Quarry got its name because the land was used to quarry sand and gravel in the 1940's and 1950's. From 1954 - 1960, the land was used as an unregulated municipal dump.
In 2006, the City of Toronto commissioned environmental testing on its parcel of land and retained Decommissioning Consulting Services Ltd. (DCS) to do the assessment. DCS found that the site contains large tracts of "fill materials" which are impacted with heavy metals such as arsenic, boron, beryllium, copper, lead and zinc. These contaminants exceed Ontario residential standards.
In the mid-1980's barrels of xylene were unearthed during the building of a small mall and 16 buried drums of xylene and other contaminants were discovered elsewhere on the property during construction of a storm sewer. The DCS report revealed small areas of "magnetic anomalies" which could suggest more isolated buried drums, but more intrusive investigation would be required.
Varying levels of organic vapours including methane gas have been measured emanating from the land. This would need to be mitigated by an engineered venting system.
The groundwater table is surprisingly of good quality except for a small area where dioxins and furans are found, but the levels do not exceed allowable limits set by the Ontario Ministry of the Environment.
According to DCS, the Quarry is suitable for residential construction but the land would need to be remediated and an Environmental Risk Assessment would have to be undertaken. However, Build Toronto recently disclosed that a significant portion of city-owned lands is so unstable that for all intents and purposes it cannot be remediated for development.
The proposed development is also located on the site of a wetland identified under Ontario Regulation 166/06. The Toronto Region Conservation Authority (TRCA) conducted an assessment that identifies the Quarry as an important contributor to the natural heritage system with the City of Toronto. According to TRCA, the Quarry includes uncommon oak forests and supports some species of conservation concern. TRCA recommends that a Natural Heritage Impact Study should be conducted.
An independent environmental report commissioned by CCQLD recommended that before any comprehensive development takes place, the community insist on a full Environmental Risk Assessment over the full lands under consideration, with public participation and a detailed Risk Management Plan; updated Environmental Site Assessments to conform to new provincial standards; inclusion of Environmental Impact Statements from all developers; and the establishment of a Brownfield Trust Fund to ensure maintenance of risk management measures.
What is the history of the Quarry lands?