The City of Oshawa invites residents, businesses and stakeholders to provide input on the land use study of General Industrial (GI) Zoned Lands in the Northwood Business Park.

In the Oshawa Official Plan, the area known as the Northwood Business Park is generally bounded by Taunton Road West to the south, the Oshawa/Whitby boundary to the west, Highway 407 East to the north, and the west branch of the Oshawa Creek corridor to the east. In 2016, City Council adopted an Official Plan Amendment that, among other matters, rebranded the Northwood area from an Industrial Park to a Business Park.

Oshawa City Council passed an Interim Control By-law on February 24, 2020 prohibiting the (re)development of lands zoned GI within the Northwood Business Park for one year to undertake a land use study. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Provincial suspension of certain legislative timelines, the Interim Control By-law period has been extended to August 24, 2021.

The land use study is reviewing the appropriateness of the GI zoning which currently applies to two areas of the Northwood Business Park (refer to the shaded areas on the map):

• the northern portion of 918 Taunton Rd. W.; and,
• a portion of 1455, 1515 and 1517 Thornton Rd. N.

Community members are invited to provide their feedback by viewing a virtual presentation and completing an online feedback form at www.connectoshawa.ca/northwoodlandusestudy. Community members who prefer to complete the feedback form on paper are asked to call Service Oshawa at 905-436-3311 during regular business hours.

The key tasks of the land use study consist of:

• Reviewing the relevant Provincial and Regional policies, the Oshawa Official Plan, Zoning By-law 60-94 and existing and planning land uses in the area.
• Reviewing relevant Local Planning Appeal Tribunal decisions.
• Consulting with The Regional Municipality of Durham and other appropriate agencies and departments.
• Reviewing the history of the Northwood area, including a review of all existing studies.
• Making recommendations, as necessary, for amendments to the City’s existing land use planning policies and zoning regulations to more effectively guide future development on the lands currently zoned as GI in Northwood Business Park.

To learn more, visit the Land Use Study of General Industrial Zoned Lands in Northwood Business Park webpage on oshawa.ca.

Feedback will be received until 4:00 p.m. on Thursday, October 15, 2020 and will be considered in a future report to the Development Services Committee.