Port Lands Official Plan Modification

The Port Lands occupy an area of 325 hectares (800 acres) along Lake Ontario southeast of downtown. In 2017, City Council adopted a planning framework and the Port Lands Official Plan Modification (OPM) to the Central Waterfront Secondary Plan, to guide the transformation of this area from predominantly industrial uses to new mixed-use communities with 21,000 to 31,000 new residents. The TDSB has identified the need for new elementary and secondary schools to support these emerging communities.

TLC was a party to the Port Lands OPM Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT) hearing to ensure that the OPM includes appropriate policies to facilitate new TDSB school sites to serve these new communities. TLC and City staff successfully worked together to resolve the TDSB’s issues through policy modifications to the OPM. Phase 1 (land use) modifications were approved by the former Local Planning Appeal Tribunal (now OLT) in April 2021. Modifications addressing the remaining issues (Phase 2) were approved by the OLT in July 2022. The Port Lands OPM, as modified, provides the permissions and flexibility needed for the TDSB to design schools for future communities in the Port Lands, including an elementary school in each of the three mixed-use communities, and an opportunity for secondary school programming.

TLC will be involved in the detailed planning of each of the future precincts of the Port Lands.