Caledon officials announce Town received Greenbelt lands as ‘gifts’ from 11 developers

“It's totally predictable…they’re trying to regain social capital after losing public trust.”

Democracy Caledon president Debbe Crandall is not buying the claims being made by Mayor Annette Groves, her council allies and senior staff, who are trying to put a positive spin on the gifting of Greenbelt lands by 11 developers waiting for a huge windfall. 

Groves has been under fire for more than a year, after she brought forward bylaw changes out of the blue using controversial strong mayor powers, without any public consultation, to support roughly a dozen individual applications to build 35,000 homes in total on some of the most sensitive parts of the largely rural municipality, a move that could more than double its population. 

“They’ve been questioned about transparency, about the site alteration bylaw, about developer influence. This was meant to shift the narrative, to make it seem like they’re protecting what they’ve actually put at risk,” Crandall said of the recent announcement regarding the Greenbelt lands suddenly being handed over to the Town, which Groves is trying to spin as a huge win for Caledon. Her move last year, as pointed out by planners and land use experts, will do unprecedented damage to the Greenbelt, if the planned sprawling subdivisions are eventually erected, right next to the protected corridor, the largest of its kind in the world. It is now under threat, as bulldozers might soon render the surrounding greenspaces and agricultural lands unrecognizable, if the developers get their way.

In 2024, Groves pushed through the developer-led plan, supported by a majority of her fellow councillors, to rezone 12 properties in the Town, much of it greenspace, farmland and portions of the Greenbelt, to facilitate the construction of 35,000 new homes.

The original bylaws to change the zoning were drafted for Mayor Groves by Quinto Annibale, a development lawyer with Loopstra Nixon who was also representing one of the builders who stands to gain from the rezoning. She failed to disclose this. The Town has failed to explain how this is not a conflict of interest.

The approval was done without the proper studies, with limited public consultation, and despite opposition from the Region of Peel which labelled the rezoning as “premature” and noted it would cost billions of dollars to build the necessary infrastructure; while the provincial housing ministry also warned that the bylaws did not conform to legislation and policies under Queen’s Park’s authority.

The mayor has since embroiled herself in further controversy, including pushing forward a request from a developer to dump fill into Caledon’s Swan Lake, and flipflopping her stance on Highway 413, which she now supports, despite vehemently opposing the controversial project while a Caledon councillor. 

Now, residents are calling out Groves, questioning the motive behind her framing of the 11 parcels of Greenbelt land being handed back to the Town, and her claims that it is somehow a victory. The lands never would have been in question, if they had remained fully protected, prior to the rezoning Groves pushed, which might have potentially led to the destruction of the greenspaces, and could still place them in jeopardy if areas immediately surrounding them are bulldozed.  

On October 1, the Town of Caledon announced that it had “secured” 11 parcels of Greenbelt land (379.87 acres) from developers connected to the 12 approved zoning amendments. One of the properties did not include portions of the Greenbelt. 

“This is a strong example of how the Town can take strategic action to proactively secure and protect Greenbelt lands,” Groves said in a statement. 

A breakdown of the Greenbelt land parcels being given to the Town of Caledon and the current owner.

(Town of Caledon)

The Town promised that these parcels will be “permanently protected from development and will be stewarded by the Town for ecological conservation, public recreation, and long-term community benefit.”

“These lands were already protected, undevelopable, and of no value to developers — yet the Mayor claimed they’re worth $38 million. That’s absurd,” Crandall pushed back in a statement. 
 

Caledon residents are not buying claims by Mayor Annette Groves regarding lands in the Greenbelt, and question if she is simply trying to save her political career.

(Democracy Caledon/Facebook)

She called the announcement “greenwashing” in the October 6 statement.

“They've had a lot of people questioning their actions, so the timing of this, given that they've worked on this for a year, the timing on this is surprising,” Crandall told The Pointer.

Crandall says the push by senior officials, led by Groves, to approve fill dumping at the rehabilitated former aggregate pit, Swan Lake, along with the introduction of a new Site Alteration By-law, and the public backlash that followed, has “hurt them”.

With public comments for the new bylaw having closed on October 6 and the bylaw set for Council review on October 28, she said many residents were left questioning who was overseeing the revisions and compiling feedback, especially with Domenica D'Amico, the Town’s commissioner of engineering, public works, and transportation, out of office until October 14.

(Anushka Yadav/The Pointer)

On October 7, Town staff presented a report linking the conveyance of Greenbelt parcels to the Town’s approval of the 12 controversial zoning by-law amendments passed in June and July last year. According to the report the land transfers were “secured” as part of development agreements, with all but one of the 12 parcels located within the Greenbelt.

Critics say the announcement involves different motives: the lands were originally under provincial protection and have been handed back to the Town as a political gesture, all while development continues just metres away.

All 11 parcels identified in the Town of Caledon’s announcement fall within the Greenbelt or Environmental Policy Area (EPA), as confirmed in Schedules A and B of the Town’s staff report. The lands were already protected under the Greenbelt Plan or designated as regulated floodplains and valleylands, meaning they were never eligible for residential or industrial development. Several of the parcels, particularly those in the north Bolton area, sit along the Humber River system, functioning as natural heritage corridors and stormwater buffers rather than buildable land. Others, located near Kennedy, Heart Lake, and McLaughlin Roads along Caledon’s growth boundary, consist of undevelopable fragments tied to subdivision or draft plan approvals, lands developers were required to convey to the Town as part of standard planning processes, not voluntary conservation gifts.

(Town of Caledon)

Map of the 12 parcels of land approved for rezoning.

(Town of Caledon)

The Town has been in a legal battle with Democracy Caledon since December 5, 2024, when the organization filed a notice of application with the Ontario Superior Court of Justice challenging the Town’s approval of zoning amendments that would allow nearly 5,000 acres of farmland and countryside to be rezoned for the construction of 35,000 new homes, almost triple Caledon’s provincial housing target under Bill 23.

Both the Region of Peel and the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA) have raised serious concerns, warning that the approvals were “premature” and lacked environmental and infrastructure studies, and failed to meet provincial density guidelines.

Nine of the 12 parcels, the Region noted, were not needed to meet housing targets. Senior regional staff also warned that the cost to build the necessary infrastructure for the 35,000 homes would bankrupt Peel, or would require massive property tax increases to support new roads, water mains, sewer systems, police and fire buildings, community centres, libraries and all the other locally funded needs.

According to Peel Region staff, for just a third of the proposed homes water infrastructure would cost $6.2 billion alone and another $6.7 billion for wastewater for approximately 12,000 homes.

Property taxes could double or triple, potentially forcing residents to relocate. Officials warned the Town’s finances could take decades to recover.

Instead, on March 26, Groves, along with her newly appointed CAO Nathan Hyde, announced the use of Strong Mayor powers to pre-zone land for the construction of thousands of residential units that would “transform” Caledon despite widespread community opposition and without full Council support. 

All council members except Dave Sheen, Lynn Kiernan, and Christina Early voted to approve 11 of the 12 zoning by-law amendments, with Nick de Boer declaring a conflict of interest following legal advice, and the final by-law was approved shortly afterward.

The move came just over a year after Groves was granted Strong Mayor powers under provincial legislation in February 2023.

During this period, she also made headlines by firing Caledon’s CAO, Carey Herd, and overseeing a mass exodus of senior management, either through resignation or termination, which resulted in an unprecedented loss of institutional knowledge and experience. 

She also hired lawyers with ties to developers involved in the rezoning process including Loopstra Nixon.

On March 25, 2024, the council agenda included Strong Mayor Powers Direction to Council and Staff from Loopstra Nixon lawyer Quinto Annibale, written pursuant to instructions from Mayor Groves to give direction regarding 12 Zoning Bylaw applications and clear instructions on how to proceed. 

Loopstra Nixon is a law firm representing one of the developers seeking to develop on one of the 12 proposed parcels.

The Pointer asked the Town of Caledon to explain why staff continue to claim the 12 zoning amendments were essential to meeting provincial housing targets, despite the Region of Peel’s own reporting stating that Caledon already had sufficient land zoned to achieve those targets.

The Town referred to a previous press release, which stated it would be “vigorously defending” the rezonings and accused Democracy Caledon of using scare tactics to mislead residents.

The Town previously asserted the bylaws were approved in accordance with provincial and municipal legislation and “in keeping with all procedural requirements” of the Planning Act and Municipal Act even though Groves’ use of her Strong Mayor Powers cut public consultation to the bone and completely disregarded standard urban planning practices. 

Democracy Caledon’s legal counsel, environmental lawyer David Donnelly, argues the rezonings violated Section 24 of the Ontario Planning Act, which prohibits passing bylaws that don’t conform with Official Plans. He says they should be “quashed” under Section 273 of the Municipal Act.

Even Victor Doyle, an urban planning expert who helped design the legislation that created the Greenbelt, said in his decades of planning experience, he had not seen anything like the plan before.

Ontario’s former minister of municipal affairs and housing, Paul Calandra, detailed his own concerns in a letter sent to Groves and the Town Clerk last year.

“Because the proposed Zoning By-law Amendments would permit development within the protected corridors (for the GTA West Highway, also known as the 413 Highway), passage of the proposed Zoning By-law Amendments, particularly for [six of the land parcels Groves wants to approve for development] would be inconsistent and not conform with provincial and regional policy directions.”

The Pointer asked if Town officials stand by their original position in light of the Region of Peel’s comments and requested an updated response referencing the Region’s concerns, but received no reply by the time of publication.

To Crandall, a few red flags jumped out in the latest announcement regarding the Greenbelt parcels: why did the Town issue its press release and make a public announcement before council even had “a chance to see the [staff] report and ask questions?”

At the October 7 meeting, Councillors Christina Early and Lynn Kiernan pressed staff on who actually owns the land, and who would bear the costs of environmental cleanup or contamination if found.

Staff confirmed that the lands have not yet been transferred and the developers remain owners until the subdivision registration process is complete. Despite the Mayor’s public claim that the Town “secured” the lands, they remain outside the Town’s asset inventory.

Further complicating matters, staff also said developers would cover the costs of environmental studies and potential remediation, obligations that typically fall on the landowner. 

“So do we own them or not?,” Crandall wondered. 

“The details of the agreement need to be examined…we need to get a copy of the agreement…it’s not available to the public.”

Councillor Tony Rosa defended the move, saying the conveyances give the Town “control” over Greenbelt lands that could be vulnerable to future provincial policy changes. 

“We now own them, therefore, we now control them. And I think we need to also be reminded that…there is going to be a Greenbelt review, and that's on the horizon, which means that now it's in our ownership, we control the destiny, not necessarily the province, and what could happen in the future,” Rosa said.

“This was an early Christmas gift with a big red bow.”

Crandall rejected that framing, arguing that the announcement’s timing, just as the Town faces mounting scrutiny over its planning decisions, was no coincidence.

“This is about regaining political capital,” she said, after Groves and her supporters on council and among senior staff took their cues from the developers last year, infuriating Caledon residents who have since vowed to remove the mayor and her allies in next year’s election.

Section 51 of Ontario’s Planning Act allows municipalities to require the conveyance of land for parks or public recreational purposes as a condition of subdivision approval, typically up to five percent of the total area for residential developments, or two percent for commercial or industrial ones. This policy ensures that municipalities can acquire lands for public use without incurring costs, provided the lands are suitable for such purposes.

As a result, it is “standard practice” for municipalities, including the Town of Caledon, to acquire protected Open Space Lands such as natural heritage features, floodplains, and valley lands at no cost. 

The Town’s commissioner of planning and development services, Eric Lucic, said that while this is true, Greenbelt lands are different because “for the most part, there isn’t provincial jurisdiction to require the dedication on Greenbelt Land, so it’s always effectively a negotiation. In this case, we’re getting a greater amount of land than we typically do.”

Crandall says only five of the rezonings actually involve land conveyances of protected Greenbelt parcels. 

“It is categorically wrong for staff to imply that this ‘gratuitous conveyance’ of land could not have been achieved if the Mayor had not pre-zoned 12 parcels of land in advance of proper land use planning,” she noted.

“This continued reference by staff to ‘gratuitous conveyance’ and the misleading statements regarding the 12 zoning by-laws are unprofessional and could be construed as being politically biased, considering staff are expected to be politically neutral.”

Early asked if developers were still required to provide parkland, or if the Greenbelt lands would substitute for it. 

“The lands are [a] little different in that there is some capacity to provide recreational opportunity. It is different, this land than natural heritage, so there's permissions under…the provincial rules that allow certain land uses that might not otherwise be allowed in a natural heritage feature area to occur in these areas,” Lucic responded.

“With that said, we do have the intention of also picking up parkland, so in effect, it's like, there's additional lands that we might have amenity for. We ultimately don’t know the details on those lands.”

Ultimately, Council voted unanimously, directing staff to integrate the 11 Greenbelt parcel nto key strategic studies, including the proposed Community Facilities Needs Assessment, the Active Transportation Plan, and the Natural Heritage and Urban Forest Plan. Council also directed staff to initiate a natural heritage analysis to determine feature limits and associated vegetation protection zones on the lands.

After the October 7 general committee meeting, The Pointer asked Crandall if she still saw the conveyances as greenwashing.

“Absolutely,” she said without hesitation. 

“I've listened to the questions, and I've listened to the answers. And I can't say that there is a clear understanding of why this was announced as it was.”

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