Housing, a hospital or both? Councillors in GTA township raise concerns about future of Greenbelt land

Elected officials in a Greater Toronto Area township worry a possible deal that could see a developer donate Greenbelt land for a new hospital will also lead to unwanted residential development in the same area. 

As part of its recent proposal to open up sections of protected land for housing, the province is planning to carve out a parcel from the Greenbelt in the Township of King and redesignate an adjacent area of the Oak Ridges Moraine from agricultural to "settlement area." Doing so would open up both areas, located about 50 kilometres north of Toronto, for development.

King's council unanimously opposed the zoning change and voted to push the province to use the Greenbelt area for a planned expansion of Newmarket's Southlake Regional Health Centre. That resolution stated that the landowner would provide the necessary land for the hospital site for a "nominal fee."

But two of the seven councillors are concerned they will end up with not just a hospital, but also a subdivision they don't want. Their unease shows how some local leaders feel trampled by the Ford government's recent push to meet its goal of building 1.5 million new homes by 2031. 

"There is no need for housing at that location," said King councillor Avia Eek, who represents the ward that includes the area.

"To have to make a deal to say, 'Yeah, we'll take the hospital and you can develop the land,' I think that's not very nice." 

Councillor Debbie Schaefer said the farmland is likely to be lost to urban sprawl.

"The property owner has recently bought this property for $80 million and so it's not going to sit there and be farmland," she said. "I've read nothing to suggest that he would be that kind of philanthropist to say that we're going to have the most expensive farmland in the world."

Records show the landowner paid $80 million for 278 hectares of farmland in the Greenbelt a little more than a month before the housing minister announced it would be opened for development. 

Barb Steed, executive vice-president of clinical services at Southlake Regional Health Centre, said the hospital is expanding to a two-site model because its existing site in Newmarket is overcrowded.

"Just to meet the needs that we're serving right now, we should be 89 per cent bigger than we are. So our need is great," she said.

Southlake received a $5 million provincial grant to plan a new site earlier this year. Steed said the hospital would require up to 40 hectares but hasn't settled on a location yet.

"We would ideally be as close to this site as possible for logistics and what's best for patients." 

The land in King is located on a vast expanse of farmland across from a Newmarket subdivision. It includes areas designated as "protected countryside" and "natural heritage system," two of the highest levels of Greenbelt protection.