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A residential developer is proposing to use Minister’s Zoning Orders to fast-track approvals for a long-term plan to build 1,000 to 2,000 housing units in the burgeoning community of Dundalk.
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Shakir Rehmatullah, president of Flato Developments, presented a conceptual plan to Southgate council on Jan. 19 and at a virtual public information session Jan. 27. Construction could take 20 or 25 years, he said in an interview.
The conceptual plan includes three blocks of land to the north, southeast and west, which extend beyond the current settlement area, for which he’s applied to both the province and municipality for Minister’s Zoning Orders to expedite applications and studies, Rehmatullah said.
If granted, those orders can’t be appealed.
Rehmatullah has built about 400 homes in Dundalk so far, with completion of an 80-unit rental building for people 55-plus due within months, he said. He also has an 830-unit residential subdivision proposed in Owen Sound, across from Georgian College.
Ontario Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Steve Clark has said he favours using MZOs more often to expedite construction of housing because there’s a housing crisis.
But last year Ontario’s auditor general, Bonnie Lysyk, pointed to a lack of guidelines for use of MZOs, noted they no longer have to be consistent with provincial land-use policy, and the current government has issued a lot more of them.
The MZO process shouldn’t be a concern, Rehmatullah said. “I am seeing that this government is seeing ways to cut the red tape.”
He said getting moving faster would help keep home prices down, given building costs keep rising. With the MZOs granted, he could start building one to three years sooner, he said.
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Asked if he needs the township’s endorsement of his MZO requests, Rehmatullah said “We want to do it in a nice manner, in a friendly manner, and we will only do it with the blessing of the township.”
He said Flato is just following the township’s own wish for a new school, for which the company is providing land, affordable housing and rental units.
He noted the plan also includes industrial and commercial uses. Some of the lands to be rezoned would continue to belong to the town, which it could sell. New jobs would be created, he said.
“So I think we need the growth, we complain about not having jobs. We complain about not having affordable housing, we complain about not having rental housing, we complain about not creating more economic things to help the community.
“Here’s our chance to do it. And we all should be working together.”
He vowed to come up with a plan that will be “loved and respected by the township, by the county and by the residents of Dundalk and Southgate.” He said if the MZOs are approved, next he would need an official plan amendment and would follow the draft plan approval process, with statutory public meetings.
“That’s why I’m saying we have a long way to go.”
Rehmatullah said people at first thought his project was too much and happening too fast. But he said he came to council with his entire, long-term proposal just to be transparent.
Southgate Coun. Michael Sherson spoke emphatically against more development in Dundalk, during the presentation to council Jan. 19, where he said it was too much, too fast.
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“I grew up in town here and seeing how the development has grown,” he said in an interview. “Nothing has come down in price. Everything has gone up in price.” He said he doubts many local people paid local wages could afford a home in Dundalk.
“So as you add another subdivision, now you’re going to add another water tower. Our wastewater is getting to the point that we’re going to have to expand out there. And that’s going to cost millions of dollars.”
Even if the development is staged over 15 to 25 years, “it just seems that it is a lot to take on for a small town,” Sherson said.
Indeed, Southgate Mayor John Woodbury in November asked Premier Doug Ford for help paying for growth-related infrastructure.
Sherson noted he municipality bought a new plow truck but has no building to put it in. A new building for it may be needed, then another fire truck, he suggested. About a dozen employees have been added in the past four years, he said.
The lone grocery store in Dundalk and few fast food places can’t meeting new residents’ needs either, he said.
“All the infrastructure that we’re putting in place is for the growth,” Sherson said. “But they’re wanting more services, they’re wanting more, they’re wanting more. At what cost to every resident here?
“I know that they say that development helps lower the cost of everything. But we’re not at that point yet. We haven’t seen it. And if we spend all this money on infrastructure, and the houses don’t come, you still have to pay for it.”
Rehmatulla said those amenities will come, and that development charges would pay for necessary infrastructure, not the municipality.
Dundalk developer's big plans involve provincial fast-track request - Owen Sound Sun Times
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