Proposal to build million-square-foot funeral complex in Greenbelt raises concern

Staff with the municipality of Whitchurch-Stouffville have noted the disturbance to the environmentally sensitive Oak Ridges Moraine would be “unprecedented,” and the municipality has raised conservation-related planning issues with the applicant. It is awaiting a revised proposal.

Meanwhile, residents have been quick to raise concerns, particularly the potential impact of such a large funeral development on their rural community and what it could mean for traffic, pollution, neighbourhood character and their water system.

Local resident Nabeel Haque, who lives within walking distance of the proposed development site, emphasized that the community does not have a water treatment plant or municipal water line, but relies entirely on private wells.

“It’s something that needs to be looked at very carefully because the stakes are so high,” he said.

The owner of 12612 and 12586 Woodbine Ave. did not respond to the Star’s requests for comment. However, its planner said at a community consultation in September that the proposal was not made in a “vacuum” and includes hydrogeological and geotechnical studies.

KLM Planning partner Marshall Smith said the applicant, 12612 Woodbine (KD) Corp., is associated with an Etobicoke-based funeral company.

“Lotus Funeral and Cremation Centre has been in business for over a decade,” he said. “They have other locations which provide funeral and cremation services, and this is a natural evolution of their business.”

Moraine, water protection a top concern

The Oak Ridges Moraine is a vital hydrological and ecological part of the Greenbelt stretching about 160 kilometres from the Trent River to the Niagara Escarpment. The application submitted in July seeks to rezone land that is designated an Oak Ridges Moraine “Countryside Area,” where only small-scale development that has minimal-to-no “adverse impact” to surrounding agricultural operations and lands is permitted.

It proposes making the area an “Oak Ridges Moraine Countryside Exception Zone,” explicitly allowing a cemetery, office, columbarium for urns, crematorium, mausoleum, reception centre, service building and chapel.

Haque, who has lived in the area for 13 years, told the Star he doesn’t have a problem with cemeteries in general, noting there is another cemetery directly south of the development site. However, adding more plots where embalmed bodies will be buried is concerning to him, and he believes the municipality should require independent studies to examine the potential impact on water.

“I wouldn’t want it to get to that stage where it’s too late and the groundwater is already polluted. Because then, how do you un-pollute it? Do you dig up all the bodies? I don’t think so,” he said. “Once it’s done, it is done.”

According to Rick Gerber, a senior hydrogeologist for the Oak Ridges Moraine Groundwater Program, the moraine collects rainwater, allows it to infiltrate, and replenishes the aquifer system, which is where well water comes from. It is also where most streams in the region north of Lake Ontario begin, he said.

Gerber explained that a cemetery’s potential impact on groundwater depends on the depth of the water table, soil type and other specifics of the site, including the types of chemicals involved, embalming, whether there are wells, and the direction any contaminants move.

Parking, character among other issues

Several other community members raised concerns with the proposal in written submissions, with some emphasizing its scale.

“The cemetery grounds would become one of the largest single uses in the Gormley, dominant and highly visible in the heart of the community,” one submission reads. “Gormley’s dead will vastly outnumber the living.”

Others emphasized the permanence of a funeral complex and raised concerns about the air pollution from the crematorium, especially as there’s already a crematorium in the area, plus traffic congestion and potential change to the area’s character.

“The Town should ensure that all environmental and public-health requirements have been fully addressed rather than leaving these matters to be resolved after the fundamental land-use permissions have already been granted,” another letter reads.

At the community council meeting, Smith said the existing cemetery near the development site appears to be “quickly approaching capacity” given the number of headstones already there. 

“And there are studies that do demonstrate that cemetery needs is an ongoing concern in the region,” he said. 

He added that several reports were prepared for the proposal, including transportation studies, servicing studies, archeological reports and heritage impact assessment.

Municipality sends back application

In response to the application, municipality staff said in a report that there are several requirements that the proposal does not clearly meet, including “no large-scale buildings and structures.”

The scale and “land disturbance” would be unprecedented in the area, they added.

It’s also unclear how the development would fulfil the criteria of avoiding “large-scale modification of terrain,” how it is meant to serve mainly the local community, and why it can’t be built in an area designated for urban growth, staff said.

Lastly, the proposal doesn’t clearly show that the buildings are designed to avoid harming the area’s “rural character,” the report said.

In an email to the Star, Whitchurch-Stouffville corporate communications supervisor Cassandra Papas shared that the municipality has also requested more clarification on the plans for the cemetery, as the applicant did not submit details on the scope of the graveyard.

Additionally, she said the site falls under the jurisdiction of the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority’s (TRCA), and the applicant must obtain a permit from it in accordance with conservation authority requirements.

Robert Brown, co-chair of the Save The Oak Ridges Moraine (STORM), which tracks development applications in the moraine, said the group is pleased to see the municipality has flagged concerns.

“We’ll be watching to see if it returns to council and what the application looks like at that point in time,” he said.