Background Report - Town of Georgina

TOWN OF GEORGINA, SUTTON SECONDARY PLAN REVIEW STUDY
BACKGROUND REPORT
Greenbelt Area
Source: Places to Grow: Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe, Schedule 4, Ontario 2005
In the absence of the Regional work, the Growth Plan indicates that by the year 2015 and for each year thereafter,
new growth shall be accommodated through a minimum of 40% “intensification” within the built-up area and
that new greenfield development shall achieve a minimum density of 50 persons/employees per hectare.
In discussing these Growth Plan requirements with Region of York representatives, it is anticipated that in Georgina,
given its more rural and small town context, both intensification and minimum density requirements may be
adjusted to permit somewhat less intensive development patterns. This approach has not yet been confirmed,
nor have the new adjusted requirements been articulated.
York Region Official Plan (2007)
The purpose of the Region Official Plan is to provide “policies that will help guide economic, environmental and
community-building decisions affecting the use of land” and to “help coordinate and set the stage for more detailed
planning by the area municipalities.”
The York Region Official Plan (Map 5: Regional Structure), identifies a large portion the Secondary Plan Study
Area as Towns and Villages. The Official Plan, in Section 5.4 Local Centres, identifies Sutton as a Local Centre
with the objective of “providing a concentration of residential, business, institutional and human service activities
for the surrounding community” and further explains that mainstreets such as Sutton’s “have long served
the needs of the surrounding settlements and agricultural communities.” In addition, Section 5.2 Community
Building notes the Region’s focus on growth management and “encourages additional development within the
existing urban areas” and indicates that Local Centers “are also prime locations for infill and intensification, but
at a smaller scale.”
The Planning Partnership • LGL Limited • Poulos & Chung • SCS Consulting • Cushman & Wakefield LePage | July 2008
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