Innisfil town council was recently updated on the Mobility Orbit transit-oriented community, which has been described as a “sustainable, balanced and future-focused” community planned around a new GO train station.
Council was told that work is ongoing to develop the Orbit ‘vision’ and a preliminary design for the GO station, but there is still a level of uncertainty. There is still no development agreement signed with Cortel Group, which owns the land, and the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing has yet to respond to the town’s request for a ministerial zoning order (MZO) to fast-track development of the land, which is located on Line 6 outside of the Alcona settlement boundary.
Councillors were told a number of planning steps are happening concurrently.
The master concept site plan, establishing the land uses, intensification and build form within the transit-oriented community zone (a circle within 225 metres of the new GO station) is under development by the Orbit technical design review team, consisting of town and agency staff, and shared consultants, while at the same time there is a review of the GO station preliminary design.
The preliminary design is expected to be completed as early as the first week in July. A complete site-plan submission is expected in the third quarter of 2021. Construction of the GO train station is set to begin in 2022, pending "other approvals."
A request for proposals (RFP) for an Orbit Potential and Innovation Plan (OPIP), spelling out means of reducing carbon emissions “from design to construction to living,” incorporating smart technology and developing affordability, walkability, and a sense of place in the Orbit, will go out this month. The work of translating the Orbit Vision into policies through the OPIP should begin this September, with completion scheduled early in 2023.
The update, presented by Orbit director Tim Cane, also introduced a “sustainability checklist” to be achieved through the site-plan review process and development agreements. The checklist includes protection of water resources, building culture and “community wellness,” creating a resilient community, focusing on sustainable management of resources, and reducing carbon use.
Third-party verification, through LEED certification or other programs, is identified as necessary for environmental quality control, “while at the same time providing the flexibility for developers to achieve these targets,” the report stated.
The process calls for a development agreement with Cortel Group to be in place prior to the design of the GO station. However, due to the complexities of the situation “no agreement has been reached to date,” council was told.
Council is also waiting on the MZO.
“The council-endorsed draft MZO, if approved by the ministry, requires the developer to proceed through a site-plan control process and associated agreements to secure future development on the Orbit lands consistent with the Orbit vision," the report states.
One of the proposals presented in the report also calls for consideration of a 'district energy system' (DES) for the Orbit to provide shared thermal heating and cooling from a centralized source.
The DES would eliminate the need for individual buildings to have their own boilers, chillers and cooling systems, and could facilitate a switch to non-carbon sources in the future, including redirected waste heat from the nearby wastewater treatment plant, and geothermal energy
The shared system could reduce carbon-dioxide emissions by 372 tonnes per year once fully implemented, but it comes with a high price tag. The report suggested a cost of $74 million to implement the system in the compact inner core of the Orbit and $170 million for the full 425 hectares of the Orbit.
The report acknowledged there would be no positive return on the investment until 2038 and recommended that staff look into the possibility of grants.
Coun. Ken Fowler asked if the use of thermal waste from the wastewater treatment plant would reduce the heat pollution of Lake Simcoe.
Cane said it would by “siphoning" off the heat produced by treated effluent. He also acknowledged that the DES would, at least initially, rely on carbon-based fuels such as natural gas.
“Yes, we’re starting off a little more carbon-intensive than we’d like to,” said Cane, adding the system could be converted to an alternative energy source in the future.
“I was quite impressed with the report,” Mayor Lynn Dollin said when council unanimously voted to receive the information and support the idea of a DES for the Orbit, adopt the sustainability checklist, and ask the minister to include the checklist in an MZO.
“It begins to feel real to me,” Dollin said.
However, the mayor also warned: “The minister may choose to do nothing.”
More information on the Mobility Orbit is available at www.innisfil.ca/orbit and www.getinvolvedinnisfil.ca/go.
