If you’re a regular E-Blast reader, you’ve likely seen me promote community meetings for the Renew Sheppard study several times over the past few years. This comprehensive plan has been in the works since before the pandemic, and will guide growth and development along Sheppard Avenue East and surrounding neighbourhoods from Bayview Avenue to Leslie Street. After years of detailed research and consultation with our community here in Don Valley North, City Planning is ready to present the Renew Sheppard East Secondary Plan to North York Community Council this coming Tuesday. Let’s look at exactly what this plan entails and what it means for our neighbourhoods.
The Renew Sheppard Plan was set in motion by Councillor David Shiner back in 2018, before his ward and mine amalgamated. Councillor Shiner was preparing for his retirement from City Council and looking at what he should draw attention to in Bayview Village and Bayview Woods-Steeles before his departure. After representing the neighbourhood through almost 20 years of developments approved and built according to the 1999 Sheppard Subway Corridor Secondary Plan, Councillor Shiner moved a motion at City Council to review the plan and update it to guide future growth in the best way possible for the community.
The resulting study, Renew Sheppard, shows just how important it was that this review happen. While growth has been happening across the City, Renew Sheppard tells us that 55% of housing units within the Secondary Plan area were built between 2001 and 2021. That is a lot of change in 20 years. By comparison, the percentage for similar areas in other parts of Toronto was 24% for the same time period. Toronto’s Official Plan really drove that phenomenon. It called for intensification along transit avenues, so our neighbourhoods along Sheppard have grown at a similar rate to downtown and midtown.
The study has taken a long time to produce because Provincial planning policy has been an ever-shifting sand beneath the feet of municipalities since Premier Ford was elected in 2018. It’s important to note that not all of the policy changes were purely political. There’s no question that Premier Ford set out to make things faster and easier for developers when he was elected, but we must acknowledge that he is faced with an unprecedented housing availability crisis across the province.
One upside to the lengthy review process is that it has given staff the opportunity to consult with our community several times throughout the plan’s development. City Planning staff first engaged with our community on this plan early in 2020, before the pandemic hit. We had a fantastic turnout at that first meeting, and I saw similar enthusiasm for the official community engagement launch that took place in March 2022. There were a couple of Community Open Houses in 2023, with the most recent held in September 2024. Don Valley North has truly helped shape this plan every step of the way.
So, what exactly does this plan entail? It outlines a new planning framework for the secondary plan area along Sheppard Avenue from Bayview Avenue to Leslie Street, replacing portions of the Sheppard East Subway Corridor Secondary Plan that was penned in 1999. The updated policies in Renew Sheppard promote sustainable, transit-oriented, and pedestrian-friendly communities. This plan also ensures we are meeting all updated Provincial policies, which is a mandatory requirement.
Here is an overview of the main focuses of this plan:
Complete Communities: Establish mixed-use areas with diverse housing options, jobs, and services.
Transit-Supportive Growth: Promote higher density near transit stations (Bayview, Bessarion, and Leslie subway stations).
Sustainability: Enhance green spaces, improve climate resilience, and reduce car dependency.
Improved Mobility: Expand pedestrian, cycling, and transit networks with new streets and trails.
Public Realm Enhancements: Create vibrant, walkable streets and open spaces, including the Sheppard Promenade and Green Loop.
I know that there is a wide range of opinions on population and job growth within our community. Growth can be hard to adjust to when it’s right in your own backyard, but we have to acknowledge that growth is happening and must keep happening to keep our neighbourhoods liveable for future generations. City Planning is asking us to move forward with intentionality so we can get this local growth right.
You hear the word “intentionality” more and more these days. In this context, intentionality allows us to preserve the environmental and heritage elements we love because we’re putting them top of mind as we navigate the growth coming to our neighbourhoods. It has been amazing to see so many residents in our community come out to meetings with intention to find productive solutions together.
At its core, Renew Sheppard is a list of detailed amendments to the Toronto Official Plan specific to our stretch of Sheppard. You can read the amendments in full in Attachment 2, but I’ve boiled them down here:
Land Use Changes: Some areas north and south of Sheppard are amended to allow mixed-use developments and institutional zones where they were previously restricted to neighbourhood homes only.
Development Framework: Renew Sheppard organizes the previous secondary plan map into seven “Character Areas”, including zones for tall buildings near transit, zones for mid-rise development, and green areas.
Public Amenities: The plan calls for the expansion of parks, community facilities, and public art through future development applications.
Mobility Improvements: The plan calls for the creation of new public streets, mid-block connections, and multi-use trails in conjunction with future development applications.
Infrastructure Upgrades: Renew Sheppard shows the serious need to address sewer and water capacity to accommodate future growth. This will be more challenging now that municipalities collect fewer dollars in development charges due to Provincial policy changes. We will continue to advocate to the Province to ensure that growth pays for growth.
There is no question that Renew Sheppard is a very impactful piece of policy. What is important to remember is that the impact of a secondary plan is spread over time. In the initial Sheppard East Secondary Plan, the big change came from the Canadian Tire Lands proposal. Many current Don Valley North residents weren’t around to see the old Canadian Tire facility on the 401 or its window display showing all the tires they sold, from giant tractor tires right down to the smallest bike tires.
I have heard from some residents who are concerned about how this plan will impact their properties in the short term. There are some homes identified on maps in the Renew Sheppard Secondary Plan as sites for future parkland or potential roadways. Some residents are worried that approving this plan will force changes to their property, and that they will be required to move or sell their homes. I want to provide absolute reassurance and clarity: there is absolutely nothing in this plan that imposes changes to anyone’s property or compels them to leave their property. The only way your property could be changed is if you or a future owner willingly decides to sell. These designations do not mean that the City is planning to purchase your home or make changes to your property. While we can't control who sells to a developer, we can use this policy framework to build the community we want to see.
We know that under Provincial policy, growth will continue along Sheppard Avenue. What’s important is that we have a solid plan in place to ensure that we grow in the most liveable and sustainable way possible for our community. Renew Sheppard acknowledges that there is still work to do to create the neighbourhoods we want to enjoy. We need to push hard to increase green space, secure public realm enhancements, and build school capacity for the hundreds of new families who now call Don Valley North home. It also acknowledges that yes, there is still room to develop units of housing that are so needed in Toronto right now.
Thank you to each and every resident who participated in the Renew Sheppard community meetings and helped shape the final plan we will see presented next week. Together, we will get growth right in Don Valley North.