Lands may be rezoned to permit trade school near Mapleton
Council, staff discussed rezoning during Oct. 13 public meeting
MAPLETON – A new trade school may be coming to 7877 Wellington Road 8, beside the Marspan Home Hardware about 2km southeast of Mapleton.
Owners are looking to rezone the two-acre (0.8-hectare) property, which is occupied by a heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) operation, to permit the school.
The existing zoning restricts the use to the current HVAC operation only.
“This use is relocating and the owners would like to remove the restriction to allow the building to be repurposed for other potential industrial uses,” states an Oct. 13 report to council from planner Linda Redmond.
The current owners intend to sell the buildings and property, the report notes, and are looking to change the zoning to M1, which would permit a broad range of industrial uses.
According to the report, M1 zoning is “generally applied where full municipal services are available [and] would permit a greater range and intensity of industrial uses than may be appropriate for this rural location.”
“Permitting the full range of uses under the standard M1 zone could introduce uses with a scale, intensity of servicing requirement that may not be compatible with the surrounding agricultural uses are or available rural servicing,” the report continues.
Instead, township planners suggest removing the existing site-specific provisions associated with the current use and place the lands in a ... rural industrial zone (RIN) with a site-specific exemption to permit the trade school.
“This zoning would permit an appropriate range of dry industrial and limited commercial uses,” planners state in the report.
“These uses are characterized by operations that do not require significant quantities of water or generate significant amounts of effluent and are therefore compatible with rural servicing conditions that rely on private water and sewage systems,” the report continues.
Redmond said “there’s a proposal for a small trade school to be operated out of part of the building, which I think is a very appropriate location for this type of commercial school, specifically for trades.”
The new zoning would include a site specific exemption, she noted, permitting only a trade school, not any other kind of school.
Wellington county planners support this approach and recommend township staff “consider limitations to the definition of ‘commercial school’ as it applies to this zoning amendment to only allow a trade school ... Additionally, the township may wish to consider rezoning the lands to [RIN] to reflect the private services on the property while allowing more uses on the lands and aligning with other rural industrial lands in the township.”
“This approach would recognize the long-term employment function of the property while ensuring that future uses remain appropriate for the rural location and available servicing,” Redmond states in her report.
“It would also provide for greater flexibility for the future use of the property without introducing the full range of urban industrial uses permitted by the M1 zone.”
No one from the public spoke at the meeting and no members of council had questions or comments.
