Pickering City Council unanimously passed a resolution at Monday night’s meeting, requesting that Steve Clark, the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, revoke the Minister’s Zoning Order (MZO) 607/20 from the lands located west of Squires Beach Road.
Last year, the city requested an MZO from Minister Clark to facilitate the siting of one of Canada’s largest fulfillment centres at Durham Live. This project would have generated tens of millions of dollars in development charges and millions of additional dollars in annual tax revenues, while bringing over 2,000 new jobs to Pickering. This development would have only moved forward on the condition that the Toronto Region and Conservation Authority and the developer (Amazon) reach an agreement on a 1:1 wetland compensation and re-creation plan.
However, with Amazon’s recent announcement that it is no longer considering the Pickering site for its fulfillment centre, and with this significant, one-of-a-kind opportunity lost, Pickering Council did not want to see the disturbance of these wetlands and effectively closed the door to any potential future development at that site, said a council statement.
The MZO remains in place east of Squires Beach Road for the balance of the Durham Live site, which will ensure that major components of the project such as the film studios, waterpark, boutique hotel, residential apartments (including 150 affordable housing units), restaurants, shops, and other attractions will proceed, the statement said.
As Pickering and Durham Region recover from the ramifications of the pandemic, Durham Live will inject over $1 billion into the local economy, while also creating over 10,000 new jobs for residents.
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