The Official Plan Application (OPA) for the Northeast Pickering Secondary Plan, has faced community pushback, with an activist Mike Borie, claiming that he is “an overtaxed and underrepresented Pickering resident for 46 years.”
According to Borie, who attended the Statutory Public Meeting on November 10 to express his opposition to what he termed as the developer-driven proposal. He described it as a “textbook example of urban sprawl” that will cause significant, irreversible harm to residents and the land itself.
In a recent CTV televised interview MPP Peter Bethlenfalvy stated that Pickering has exceeded its housing target by 174% and the existing Seaton area remains largely undeveloped.
Reject the OPA
Borie urged the chair, planning staff, fellow delegators and residents to reject the OPA for the following reasons:
Severe and Unacceptable Financial Burden on Taxpayers: The plan is not financially viable without further increased taxation. The total growth-related capital program for the city is estimated at $1 billion. Only about $505 million will be recovered from development charges (DC). This leaves a remaining balance of some $498 million that must be funded through non-DC sources—This shortfall will inevitably be covered by existing taxpayers through higher property taxes and increased municipal debt, siphoning funds away from maintaining current, aging infrastructure. Developers will not cover the full costs.
“The Seaton Recreation Complex & Library, meant to serve these growth areas, will add an estimated tax levy increase of 11.71 per cent over 20 years, costing the average homeowner around $255 extra per year.” There have also been concerns that infrastructure and amenities will not be able to keep pace with the proposed housing development, leaving early residents without necessary services for years.
There is also a catastrophic flood risk to the plan to pave over the headwaters of Carruthers Creek. The creek acts as a natural sponge. The Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA) study has said that there is a 77 per cent greater risk that development of these lands will significantly increase stormwater runoff and directly raise the flood risk for thousands of existing homes downstream in Pickering and Ajax.
The plan involves removing approximately 1,600 hectares of vital green space, prime agricultural land, and critical habitat for endangered species like the Redside Dace. This species is listed as Endangered by both the federal (under the Species at Risk Act) and provincial (under the Ontario Endangered Species Act) governments. Developing over this land according to Borie, will lead to significant and permanent environmental damage.
Expansion Not Needed Now
Borie goes on to state that the expansion into Northeast Pickering is simply not needed at this time. He instead proposes an alternative. “We should prioritize intensification and completing the planning for Seaton before sacrificing more greenfield land.”
Resident are also afraid that this move will further the food insecurity with the loss of farmland that would come with the Northeast Pickering Development.
Borie also claims that the process has failed to appropriately respect and engage with the Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation (MSIFN), on whose traditional and treaty territory this land sits. Leaders have stated that proceeding without genuine consultation on these contested lands is “morally and constitutionally wrong,” and we must pause until treaty rights are properly addressed.
Pickering Mayor Kevin Ashe has proclaimed that there is a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the MSIFN. According to the MSIFN this memorandum is not an agreement to develop Northeast Pickering Lands but only and agreement to further talks, said Borie. Chief Kelly LaRocca of the Mississaugas of Scugog has stated more than once that they are opposed to development of these lands without an agreement with all indigenous groups involved.
Indigenous Consultations
There is no public record of all other indigenous groups involved in the broader Williams Treaties (which also cover the area) explicitly supporting the development. The focus in public records has been on the concerns raised by MSIFN as the most local and vocal rights holder regarding this specific plan.
According to Borie “the process has felt rushed and developer-led, and all councilors and the public deserve full financial data before making such a monumental decision”.
He adds that the exact total added costs for education, fire, and policing for the Northeast Pickering Secondary Plan are not publicly detailed as a single, itemized sum. These costs are handled by different levels of government and covered through a combination of development charges, tax revenues, and provincial funding models.
In summary, he said the new development may harm the environment, risk residents’ safety, burden them with massive debt, and ignore the community’s responsibilities regarding Indigenous consultation.
The proposed development of the Northeast Pickering lands is being advanced by a collective of developers organized under the Northeast Pickering Landowners Group (NEPLG). Members manage some 51 per cent of the parcels within the secondary plan area.
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Mike is totally correct in his assessment of this proposed development!