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TO: |
Mayor and Members of Council |
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FROM: |
Jim Baird, Commissioner of Development Services Valerie Shuttleworth, Director of
Planning & Urban Design |
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PREPARED BY: |
T.
J. Lambe, Manager, Policy and Research Division |
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DATE OF MEETING: |
2003-May-20 |
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SUBJECT: |
Federal Airport Zoning Regulations
for the Pickering Airport Site |
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RECOMMENDATION:
That the report entitled Federal Airport
Zoning Regulations for the Pickering Airport Site dated May 20 2003, be received;
And That the Minister of Transport be advised:
And That the
Minister of Transport be requested not to bring the AZR for the Pickering
Airport Site into effect until Transport Canada and the Town of Markham have
identified mutually agreeable mechanisms for the implementation of the Airport
Zoning Regulations in regard to Town-owned facilities and development
approvals;
And That a copy of this report be provided to
the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority as information.
PURPOSE:
This report describes the Airport Zoning
Regulations (AZR), to be enacted by the Federal Government on lands surrounding
the Pickering Airport Site and recommends a response from the Town of Markham.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
The Federal Government, through Transport
Canada has prepared and will be approving Airport Zoning Regulations (AZR) that
will apply to lands surrounding the Pickering Airport Site, including lands
within the Town of Markham. The AZR are intended to ensure that the use of
these lands will be compatible with the safe operation of aircraft and a
possible future airport on the site. The AZR would restrict the establishment
of certain new land uses that are not considered to be compatible, but provide
that some uses may be permitted if the risk they represent can be effectively
mitigated. Uses restricted by the AZR that exist, or are approved for
construction, at the time of approval of the AZR are permitted to continue.
Some of the uses to be restricted that
represent a possible bird hazard are common in the urban area of the Town, and
some are uses typically owned by the Town, specifically parks, community
centres and storm water management ponds. Staff believes that the Town can
continue to work with Transport Canada to develop appropriate mitigation
techniques to permit these Town uses to continue to be established in areas
where the AZR restrictions will apply. Staff further recommends that the AZR
should not come into effect until the work to identify mitigation requirements
and appropriate techniques to mitigate has been completed.
The period for formal consultation regarding
the AZR set by the Federal Government closes on June 11 2003. Council must provide any response from the
Town prior to that date.
BACKGROUND:
In July 1998 the Minister of Transport
announced that the Government had initiated regulatory action to have the
federally owned ‘Pickering Lands’ declared to be an “airport site” in
accordance with the provisions of the Aeronautics Act. This declaration was the
first step in a process to introduce Airport Zoning Regulations (AZR) on lands
surrounding the airport site to ensure that the use of these lands would be
compatible with a possible future airport on the site.
Following a lengthy period of discussion with
municipalities in which lands that would be subject to the proposed AZR are
located, the declaration of the ‘Pickering Airport Site’ was finally published
in August 2001.
The authority for the Federal Government to
make laws with respect to aeronautics is established through the federal Aeronautics
Act. Paragraph 5.4(2)(b) of the Aeronautics Act states that the
Governor in Council may make regulations for the purpose of:
“preventing
lands adjacent to or in the vicinity of an airport or airport site from being
used or developed in a manner that is, in the opinion of the Minister,
incompatible with the safe operation of an airport or aircraft”
Since 1999, there have been
continuing discussions among representatives of Transport Canada and a number
of the municipalities in which there are lands that will be subject to the AZR.
These discussions have been organized through a Stakeholders Committee,
comprised of participating political, community and staff representatives, and
a Technical Committee of staff. These discussions have focussed on the form and
content of the AZR, which is dictated to a significant extent by the
requirements of the Aeronautics Act, and on the processes used to implement and
ensure compliance with the AZR.
In May 2001, the Development
Services Committee received a staff report advising that an ‘alternate
approach’ to administering and enforcing the AZR through direct involvement of
the affected municipalities, that had been under discussion, would not be
pursued, and that Transport Canada would be proceeding to establish and
implement the AZR. In November 2002 representatives from Transport Canada made
a presentation to the Committee describing the draft AZR and the planned
process of consultation through to approval.
The draft AZR were published on
April 12 2003 in the Canada Gazette initiating a formal 60 day period of public
consultation. Open Houses hosted by Transport Canada have been scheduled in
each affected municipality. The Open Houses in Markham were held on April 30
and May 3 2003. The formal consultation period will end on June 11 2003.
Commentary regarding the regulations must be submitted prior to the end of the
consultation period.
The Pickering Airport Site
comprises approximately 18 500 acres located in the Towns of Markham and
Uxbridge and the City of Pickering. The portion within Markham comprises
approximately 4,500 acres. In April 2001, prior to the final declaration of the
Pickering Airport Site, the Minister announced that the Greater Toronto Airport
Authority (GTAA) would assume responsibility for determining the need for, and
planning for, a possible airport at the site. A planning process for the site
was initiated by the GTAA in 2002 and is ongoing. Once the planning process is
complete the Federal Government will determine if an airport will be
constructed on the site. The Federal Government, not the GTAA is also fully
responsible for the preparation and implementation of the AZR; this work is
undertaken by Transport Canada.
DISCUSSION:
AZR are established for lands surrounding airports to ensure that the lands are not used or developed in a manner that is incompatible with the safe operation of the airport or aircraft using the airport. The AZR encompass three types of restrictions:
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restrictions on the height of buildings,
structures, objects and natural growth to maintain obstacle-free airspace for
safe manoeuvring of aircraft and to maintain the operational integrity of the
airport,
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restrictions on electronic interference with
communications and aeronautical facilities, and
·
restrictions on land uses and activities
attractive to birds that may cause a hazard to aviation safety.
The AZR are comprised of a text, a series of
maps and a schedule of the affected lands. Following approval by the Privy
Council, the AZR document is deposited on the title of each affected property.
A draft “Guidance Document” prepared by Transport Canada for information
purposes, provides an overview of the AZR
(Appendix ‘A’). The draft “Guidance Document” was previously circulated
to members of Council for information in April, prior to the Open Houses held
by Transport Canada. A map showing the area of land in Markham affected by the
AZR is attached as Appendix ‘B’.
The AZR restrictions on height and electronic
interference are defined in terms of ‘obstacle limitation surfaces’ that relate
to the location of the airport runway surfaces. There are defined
‘take-off/approach’, ‘transitional’ and ‘outer’ surfaces (Appendix ‘B’). These
surfaces define the lower limit of the airspace that must be kept obstacle
free. Landowners and tenants are prohibited from allowing any object to
exceed the allowable heights established in the AZR relative to these surfaces.
Height restrictions are expressed in metres above sea level and relate to an
airport reference point established in the Regulations. The airport reference
point is a fixed location defined in the AZR to which measurements established
in the Regulations are related.
Restrictions on land uses and activities that
cause interference with communications or signals to and from aircraft, or any
facilities providing services relating to aeronautics, are defined relative to
the ‘outer’ surface. Landowners and tenants are prohibited from allowing
uses or activities that cause such interference.
Other restrictions on land uses are identified in terms of the potential of the use to attract birds that represent as a potential hazard to safe aircraft operations. The provisions of the AZR relating to bird hazards are based on a study of potential bird hazards associated with the Pickering Airport Site completed for Transport Canada in 2002. The study identifies categories of risk and factors that define the relative attractiveness of land uses, but does not specifically identify for each use that is characterized as a potential risk, the specific circumstances that create the attraction, nor the specific requirements to mitigate the attraction, and therefore the hazard.
The lands subject to restrictions on use are defined by a Bird Hazard Zone, which in the draft AZR extends approximately 15 kilometres from the airport site. The AZR do not identify specific uses to be restricted; these are identified in the “Guidance Document” (Appendix ‘A’). For the purpose of implementation, the Zone is divided into Primary and Secondary portions, with a wider range of uses identified as prohibited in the Primary portion of the Zone. The boundaries of the Primary and Secondary Bird Hazard Zones are shown on the map included as Appendix ‘B’. A significant portion of the lands within the Town’s Urban Area, including lands currently being developed, are located within the boundaries of the defined Bird Hazard Zones.
Based on discussion with staff from Transport
Canada, it is understood that uses/activities existing, or approved
for construction, at the time of approval of the AZR, that are identified as
prohibited by the AZR, will be grandfathered. It is also understood that mitigative measures may be
employed to reduce the degree of risk or hazard associated with a restricted
use, and if the degree of risk or hazard is reduced to an acceptable level, the
use may be permitted. This information
is identified in the draft “Guidance Document”. The Guidance Document does not
however, provide information regarding why each prohibited use is attractive to
birds, or appropriate mitigation measures.
The attractiveness of uses such as recreation centres, restaurants or shopping malls and to a lesser extent parks and schoolyards, may relate to their potential to generate food waste that could provide an attractive food source for birds. This potential can be significantly mitigated through indoor garbage storage (as is common for new commercial and institutional buildings in Markham) and regular removal of garbage from outdoor containers, public areas or parking lots where it might otherwise be available to birds. The attractiveness of uses such as parks, golf courses and storm water management ponds may relate to the presence of large open areas of grass and/or water that may offer locations for resting, or ‘loafing’, on a regular basis. It is possible that the extent to which these locations become part of the birds’ pattern of movements may also present a risk, particularly if the locations reinforce regular movements that conflict with those of aircraft.
It is anticipated that mitigative techniques will be required if these uses are proposed to be established within the Bird Hazard Zone. Suitable techniques would need to be identified by proponents in consultation with Transport Canada and the Town and incorporated through the process of development approval. In the case of Town owned/operated uses it will be necessary to ensure that the mitigative techniques are applied and accepted, prior to the Town taking the uses into its ownership or control.
Part II
Implementing the Airport Zoning Regulations
Mitigation
Guidelines Should be Established
Municipal representatives have requested that Transport Canada provide specific information regarding why each prohibited use is attractive to birds and to produce guidelines indicating how the risk associated with such new uses can be mitigated through ‘best practices’, in order that the uses might continue to be established within the Bird Hazard Zone.
To date, Transport Canada has only prepared a draft guideline for one prohibited use, storm water management ponds. Staff has reviewed the draft and determined that some aspects of the design of storm water management facilities that it recommends conflict with established practices that Markham has pursued, in consultation with the Province, the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority and the development industry over many years. These aspects include restrictions on the use of aquatic and cover vegetation, and requirements for barrier fencing and netting that are not consistent with the integrated ecological, engineering or design objectives for storm water facilities that all parties have worked to achieve.
The Minister of Transport should be requested to direct his staff to continue to work with Markham and other concerned municipalities, affected by the AZR to develop a clear understanding of the hazards and mitigation requirements associated with land uses restricted by the AZR and not to enact the AZR until this work is completed.
Changes to Town Approval Procedures Required
Possible Revisions to Town Planning Documents
Staff is working with the Legal Services Department to determine if any revisions to Town planning documents, including the Official Plan and zoning by-laws would be appropriate. Although the Town is not required to amend its various planning documents, there may be value, as a service to the general public, in identifying lands to which the AZR apply, through, for example, a notation on zoning or official plan schedules or maps.
Conclusion
The proposed Airport Zoning Regulations for the Pickering Airport Site are intended to ensure that potential conflicts between land uses surrounding the site and aircraft operations associated with the site will be safe. The implementation of the AZR will rely on the continuing cooperation between the Federal Government and other levels of government, in particular the municipalities within which the AZR will take effect.
The AZR provide for restriction on land uses that attract hazardous birds, but also for the mitigation of hazards to permit certain uses to be established. The AZR and associated documents do not however, provide sufficient information for municipalities to plan appropriately or to effectively contribute to the implementation of the Regulations. The Minister of Transport should be requested to direct that the necessary work to ensure that appropriate and agreeable mitigation guidelines for restricted uses should be completed, prior to the enactment of the Regulations.
FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS:
There are no financial considerations at this
time.
BUSINESS UNITS CONSULTED AND AFFECTED:
Within the Development Service Commission the
Planning Engineering and Urban Design Departments have been consulted. The
Legal Services Department has been consulted. The draft Guideline Document
(Appendix ‘A’) has been circulated to the CAO and Commissioners for
information.
ATTACHMENTS:
Appendix ‘A’ Draft of The
Pickering Airport Site Zoning Regulations Guidance Document TP14026E
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Valerie Shuttleworth, M.C.I.P., R.P.P. Director of Planning & Urban Design |
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Jim Baird, M.C.I.P., R.P.P. Commissioner of Development Services |
Q:\Development\Planning\MISC\MI182
Transport Canada\DSCAZR182report6.doc
