Similar to many other municipalities, the City of Toronto has been struggling to protect its employment lands for traditional employment uses, namely manufacturing, office, research, and development facilities. One of the strongest tools that a municipality has to protect its employment lands from other nonemployment uses is the policies set out in its official plan. Although Toronto now has significant powers to prohibit conversion of employment lands to residential uses, the policies relating to the development of employment lands for large-scale retail uses and certain institutional uses have not had the desired effect. As a result, the municipal government is now reviewing these policies, and suggestions to strengthen them with respect to these types of uses have been put forward by the city’s planning division.

Republished with permission.

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