Legal Services Department - Town of Caledon

REPORT DP-2012-081
In the fall of 2008, the South Albion Bolton Employment Land and North Hill supermarket
Settlement Boundary Expansion study began. The study considered several potential
sites for the supermarket development. In October 2009, Council held a Public Open
House on the preferred options for the supermarket boundary expansion. In September
2010, the Town applied for a Regional Official Plan Amendment (ROPA) for the
employment and supermarket boundary expansion (ROPA 10-002), based on the
Wyndcliffe lands providing the North Hill site for the new supermarket.
As part of the South Albion-Bolton Community Plan process, the Town retained a
professional consultant to evaluate the retail potential for the South Albion-Bolton area
as part of the Bolton Commercial Policy Review. In early 2007 a Retail Commercial
Demand Study was released and the final report recommended Bolton could profitably
absorb 40,000 square feet of retail grocery use with an additional 20,000 square feet of
complementary retail development.
In a report to Council on April 17, 2007, staff were directed to implement the
recommendations of the Retail Commercial Demand Study and initiate a study to identify
a site for a supermarket to serve the Bolton North Hill. Within this directive, Council
passed a recommendation (W-168-2007, attached as Schedule ‘C’) to support the North
Hill supermarket store. It is within this context, the Town’s Official Plan can support both
supermarkets to proceed without a Commercial Impact Study.
Un-used Supermarket Square Footage in Bolton
At the time of the Bolton Commercial Policy Review Study, the consultant included all
the potential planning applications in Bolton. One of these applications included a Site
Plan application on behalf of Loblaw’s to amend the previously approved site plan to
allow the construction of a 153,145 square feet retail grocery store with a 22,487 square
feet mezzanine. This application has been inactive for the past five (5) years. A request
was sent to the applicant regarding closure of the file.
Based on the Commercial Policy Review Study, and given that the Loblaw’s application
has no approval status, there is currently 26,000 square feet of un-used supermarket
space available in Bolton.
Penretail Application
The Penretail zoning by-law amendment application was received on June 22, 2011,
deemed complete on July 15, 2011, with a planning recommendation report on June 12,
2012. Pursuant to Section 34 (11) of the Planning Act, 120 days of the application has
expired, and the right to appeal exists.
At a meeting on June 12, 2012, Town Council considered the zoning application.
During the meeting, a number of concerns were raised by Wyndcliffe Development Inc.’s
legal counsel with respect to the proposed North Hill Supermarket and the subject
application. These concerns included an objection to planning staff’s recommendation
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