Green Ontario Oak Ridges Moraine

The Oak Ridges Moraine is a ridge that runs from the Niagara Escarpment across the top of the Greater Toronto Area and across to Port Hope and Cobourg in Northumberland County.

It is the headwater for the rivers that flow south through the Toronto region and into Lake Ontario, and north into Lake Simcoe. It a valuable groundwater recharge area for these rivers and the surrounding natural areas, and the source of drinking water for more than ten communities. It is an unbroken wildlife corridor stretching 160 kilometres long with an average width of 13 kilometres.

The Moraine is also the new frontier for urban development in the Greater Toronto Area. It is an important test for Ontario's planning system.

The challenge is twofold:

Protect the significant features and ecological function of the moraine;

Create healthy communities within the region; ones that are resource-efficient, human-centred, and self-sustaining.

INDEX

Latest Update

Major Activities

What Else Could be Done?

Individual Action
Key Players and Links

Introduction | Formal Strategies | Factsheets | The Eco-Tool Box

Saving
the Oak Ridges Moraine

Protect the Moraine with Smart Growth! See our Smart Growth section for details.

The Oak Ridges Moraine

map courtesy of Save the Oak Ridges Moraine

The Oak Ridges Moraine is the headwaters for rivers and creeks that cover an area from Oakville to Cobourg and Toronto to Barrie.

Update

Development still stalks the Moraine (March 6, 2002)

According to a recent article in the Toronto Star, moraine lands that were part of the promised protected area may still be developed under a provincial zoning order that will give developers an automatic right to build and will supersede all other requirements (including planning applications, public hearings or possible Ontario Municipal Board appeals).

...the province is preparing to wrap up several months of intense, closed-door negotiations with developers and Richmond Hill planning staff by releasing new maps and regulations that outline where moraine
development can and cannot take place.

The proposed regulations would give developers the right to build 7,495 new housing units — including 4,870 near Leslie St. — on lands in Richmond Hill the province pledged would be protected, sources say.

Developers would also have the right to build as many as 5,825 single family housing units in Seaton, the proposed community to be built in Pickering, as part of a land swap agreed to in principle last fall. An additional 3,350 homes that had previous approval would also be built in Richmond Hill south of
Stouffville Rd.

In total, sources say developers will be given permission to build more than 16,000 new units: about 10,850 in Richmond Hill and 5,825 in Seaton.

Source: The Toronto Star, Page B1, March 6, 2002

Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Act Passed (December 13, 2001)
The provincial government has passed the Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Act to protect 100 per cent of natural and water resource features on the Moraine, preserve agricultural land, and focus development in approved settlement areas. A clause in the legislation would prevent sensitive core and linkage areas from ever being diminished.

As part of the deal to protect the Moraine, the government has proposed almost 440 hectares of environmentally sensitive land on the Moraine would be secured and protected. This is being accomplished through land donations and exchanges for provincially owned developable lands off the Moraine, in particular the agricultural land held by the provincial government in the Pickering area.

For details, see the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing's website on the Oak Ridges Moraine. Here are some of the key reports you'll find there...

Proposed Plan Released for Public Consultation (August 15, 2001)
The Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing has released the recommendations of an expert Advisory Panel on the Oak Ridges Moraine, and set up four public consultation meetings:

Central East (Uxbridge) Tuesday, August 28, 2001, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Uxbridge Arena, 291 Brock Street West
West (Caledon East) Wednesday, August 29, 2001, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Caledon Community Complex, 6215 Old Church Road
Central (King City) Wednesday, September 5, 2001, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
CIBC Leadership Centre, 12750 Jane Street
East (Coburg) Thursday, September 13, 2001, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Lions Community Centre, 157 Elgin Street East

The report recommends dividing the moraine into four zones

Natural core areas containing large concentrations of key natural features, significant hydrological areas and complex landforms;
Natural linkage areas comprising woodlots, wetlands and rural lands that link natural core areas with each other and with other natural corridors, such as the river valleys north and south of the moraine;
Countryside areas where rural and agricultural land uses take place; and
Settlement areas made up of lands approved for urban land uses.

News Release
Share Your Vision for the Oak Ridges Moraine (pdf file)

Development Freeze on the Oak Ridges Moraine (May 17, 2001)
The provincial government announced a development freeze on the Oak Ridges Moraine and has promised to develop a long range plan within six months.

The Oak Ridges Moraine Protection Act will stop municipalities from adopting or approving official plans, official plan amendments, zoning bylaws or plans of subdivision involving land on the Oak Ridges Moraine; stop anyone from applying for an official plan or zoning bylaw amendment or plan of subdivision approval involving land on the Oak Ridges Moraine; and stay development applications before the Ontario Municipal Board involving lands on the Oak Ridges Moraine, and prevent the OMB from issuing orders with respect to such applications.

See: http://www.mah.gov.on.ca/inthnews/backgrnd/20010517-2e.asp for details.

FON proposes an ORM Greenways Plan (May 2001)
The Federation of Ontario Naturalists have released their proposal for the protection of the moraine. The Greenways Plan would be developed under the Province's Planning and Development Act and it would identify protected areas and wildlife corridors.

See http://www.ontarionature.org/issues/orm.html for details

Durham, Peel, and York Regions release proposals for the ORM (May 10, 2001)
"The Oak Ridges Moraine - Proposals for the Protection and Management of a Unique Landscape, May 2001" paper is a collaborative effort by the Oak Ridges Moraine Partnership, which includes the Regions of Durham, Peel and York, the Counties of Simcoe, Peterborough, Dufferin and Northhumberland, the City of Kawartha
Lakes, the nine Conservation Authorities having jurisdiction on the Moraine (also called the Alliance) and three Province of Ontario Ministries (MMAH, MNR and MOE).

See http://www.region.york.on.ca/services/planning/environment/environ.html#3 for details

Other Major Activities

Even with the Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Act, it will require a lot of work and diligent citizen intervention in the planning process to ensure that the moraine remains protected. Here are some of the current activities with respect to the protection and/or development of the Oak Ridges Moraine:

The Planning Act
Regional Strategies
Citizen Action
Conservation Easements

1. The Planning Act
The provincial government has thus far entrusted the protection of the moraine to the provincial planning process. The protection of Oak Ridges Moraine under the Planning Act boils down to:

	a Provincial Policy Statement
	Municipal Plans (and plan amendments)
	Appeals to the Ontario Municipal Board

The Provincial Policy Statement
The Planning Act requires that municipalities "shall have regard to" the requirements set out in the Provincial Policy Statement. This is generally considered to be a weaker statement than the former requirement that municipal plans "shall be consistent with" provincial policy.

The Provincial Policy Statement says that "natural heritage features and areas will be protected from incompatible development (2.3.1)", but also that "development and site alteration may be permitted in... significant woodlands south and east of the Canadian Shield; significant valleylands south and east of the Canadian Shield; significant wildlife habitat; and significant areas of natural and scientific interest if it has been demonstrated that there will be no negative impacts on the natural features or the ecological functions for which the area is identified" (2.3.1b).

The notion of "no negative impacts" is a big loophole that allows developers to argue that their particular development will have not significant impact. It points to the weakness in planning at the lot level and by individual development proposals.

Municipal Plans
There are a number of municipalities with jurisdiction over planning decisions in the Oak Ridges Moraine, including both upper tier regional governments and local municipal councils. Each municipality is required to develop an Official Plan to guide land use and development. The Official Plan can be amended through an Official Plan Amendment (OPA), which allows for property owners to request changes in municipal zoning and development restrictions.

Contact information on each of the regional municipality and local municipalities can be found on the Municipal Affairs and Housing website, on the Greater Toronto Area page

Region of Peel
Region of Peel has a State of the Environment section, but no sections dedicated to the Moraine

www.town.caledon.on.ca

York Region
See also Natural Environment Issues, York Region.

www.city.vaughan.on.ca
www.town.aurora.on.ca
www.town.eastgwillimbury.on.ca
www.town.georgina.on.ca
www.city.markham.on.ca
www.town.newmarket.on.ca
www.town.richmond-hill.on.ca: Oak Ridges Moraine Updates
Whitchurch-Stouffville
www.township.king.on.ca

Region of Durham

Region of Northumberland No web site is available

City of Toronto: the City of Toronto has a major stake in the protection of the headwaters for the rivers that flow through Toronto and down to Lake Ontario. The city has set up an Oak Ridges Moraine page on its web site.

Ontario Municipal Board Hearings
The Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) is an independent, quasi-judicial administrative tribunal. Its principal function is to resolve appeals from decisions made by Ontario municipalities or other decision makers, either in pre-hearing procedures or by holding public hearings.

The OMB web site contains no information on upcoming hearings. For details on the Richmond Hill hearings, go to the Richmond Hill ORM page.

2. Regional Strategies
Regional strategies don't carry any more weight, but they are useful in that they provide a long-term, ecosystem perspective. Four recent reports indicate that the Moraine has been well-studied, but that the strategies have not been carried out:

A draft Oak Ridges Moraine Strategy was published by the Ministry of Natural Resources in 1994. The strategy was never finalized and it has no effect on the current planning process. It is not currently available in print or on the internet.
The Greater Toronto Services Board (now defunct and replaced by the Greater Toronto Area Smart Growth Panel) published "A GTA Countryside Strategy" which addressed the need to promote compact, resource-efficient housing and community development in the Greater Toronto Area. It is a good starting point, but it carries little weight in the planning process.
The Oak Ridges Moraine: Towards a Long-Term Strategy (September 1999) (available in pdf format): developed by staff of the Regions of York, Durham and Peel
"Space for all: options for a Greater Toronto Area greenlands strategy" (commonly know as the Greenlands Strategy) was written by Liberal MPP Ron Kanter in 1990 and published by the government of Ontario.

3. Citizen Action
Several groups are campaigning for the protection of the Moraine:

	Save the Oak Ridges Moraine (STORM)
	Federation of Ontario Naturalists: ORM page
	Earthroots: their campaign can be found at www.oakridgesmoraine.com
	Wildlands League
	Sierra Club (Eastern Canada Chapter)

4. Conservation Easements
Some of the Moraine's more sensitive areas are already being protected through conservation easements and purchases -- a total of 13,283 hectares or 32,822 acres according to the Regional Municipalities paper on the Oak Ridges Moraine (page 35).

	The Nature Conservancy of Canada is working to acquire 999 year conservation easements on privately-owned lands on the Moraine.
	The OakRidges Moraine Land Trust is a new, charitable organization set up to acquire and protect significant sites on the Moraine.
	Regional Conservation Authorities manage the bulk of conservation lands, over 8,800 hectares (21,800 acres).

What Else Could Be Done?

Stop urban sprawl.

Strengthen the planning system to encourage more compact, resource efficient communities. (See also our factsheets on Smart Growth and urban sprawl)

Individual Action

Take a Hike...

Take a stand!

Visit the Moraine

See what all the fuss is about.

take a drive along the moraine. Count the billboards that advertise instant communities in natural settings.
take a hike on some of the Oak Ridges Trail (map) See the Oak Ridges Trail Association or Save the Oak Ridges Moraine for details.

Take a Stand

Participate in OMB hearings. Contact Save the Oak Ridges Moraine for details.

Be supportive

Join one of the groups below and lend a hand where you can.

Key Players

Provincial Government	Municipal Affairs and Housing: A special section has been set up on the Oak Ridges Moraine. See also the websites of individual MPPs who are working in support of the Moraine: Mike Colle, MPP Eglinton-Lawrence -- has set up MoraineWatch to monitor development activity. Marilyn Churley, MPP Broadview-Greenwood
Agencies	Ontario's Conservation Authorities are mandated to protect the watersheds of southern Ontario. Nine agencies have joined together to work for the protection of the Oak Ridges Moraine. See their December 6, 2000 media release for details.
Environmental Organizations	Save the Oak Ridges Moraine (STORM) OakRidges Moraine Land Trust Federation of Ontario Naturalists: ORM page Save the Rouge Valley System Earthroots: has set up www.oakridgesmoraine.com as part of their campaign for the Moraine Sierra Club (Eastern Canada Chapter) Wildlands League Ontario Nature Trust Alliance Oak Ridges Trail Association
Business Associations	Urban Development Institute: "A Question of Balance" is the UDI's position paper on the moraine, in which they say: "UDI/Ontario and its members acknowledge that the Oak Ridges Moraine is a prominent landform with unique environmental characteristics. However, our members also wish to note for the record that the growth expectations of the Greater Toronto Area must be recognized and balanced accordingly with the ecology of the Moraine".
Companies	While there's quite a few developers active on the moraine, few of them have web sites. Here's a list of some of the developers currently Jay-M Holdings (see Globe and Mail article) Lebovic Enterprises Limited (see Mike Colle photos) Yonge East Consortium -- Bond Lake Investors Inc. and 1133373 Ont. Ltd. (see Toronto Star article) Yonge West Consortium -- (the Oak Ridges Farm Co-Tenancy, Drynoch Estates Ltd. and Falconi and Thompson (see Toronto Star article)
Professional Associations	Ontario Professional Planners Institute: "OPPI urges the development of a provincial policy to address the entire Moraine. This policy must provide a framework to clearly define areas to be protected; areas suitable for controlled, environmentally sensitive development or resource use; and areas that can support managed growth" (OPPI Position Paper, June 5, 2000).


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See also the Green Ontario factsheets on Urban Sprawl and Conservation Lands

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