A Secondary Plan:
- Adapts and implements the objectives, policies, land use designations and overall planning approach of the City’s Official Plan to fit with local contexts.
- Establishes local development policies unique to an area that will guide growth and change in that area.
- Promotes a desired type and form of physical development in a specific area.
- Guides public and private investment.
Secondary Plans apply to areas where significant redevelopment is expected.
Secondary Plans establish local development policies to guide growth and development in defined areas of a city where major physical changes are expected and desired (source: City of Toronto Official Plan, 2007). It is a valuable planning tool that should be considered for the the North West Triangle (and points north) in Ward 18. Secondary Plans are developed for parts of the city that include large areas of underutilized land that would benefit from suitable redevelopment; areas targeted for major public or private investment (we would hope); and areas where development is occurring, or proposed, at a scale, intensity or character which necessitates a reconsideration or reconfiguration of local streets, blocks, public works, open spaces or other public services or facilities. What should not happen in an area such as the North West Triangle is for the City to approve all new development on a site-by-site basis without a comprehensive understanding of how all development parcels fit together as a cohesive whole, with the appropriate pre-determined massing, density, built form, public realm and public services, among others. A Secondary Plan for the North West Triangle would express the details of the plan for the neighbourhood in a ‘statutory’ document that is legal and defensible when challenged in front of City Council or appeal bodies such as the Ontario Municipal Board.
Active 18 has asked the City to develop a Secondary Plan for both the Triangle lands and now the lands North of queen street – including the Price Chopper lands. York University Masters of Environmental Studies did their thesis on potential secondary plans. 