Residential Use: A Glaring Omission in Pickering's Consultant Report on the Future Use of the Former Airport Lands
By: Frank Clayton, Ph.D., Senior Research Fellow
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The recent consulting report prepared for the City of Pickering and endorsed by Council is critically flawed for failing to evaluate a residential-focused land-use option. The three land-use options considered are essentially variations on the same theme - trading off more or less industrial land for more or less park, heritage, and private agricultural land.
It is recommended that the federal government conduct a thorough assessment of the merits of residential use within the context of the shortage of ground-related and comparable housing types in the GTA before it decides on the future of the former airport lands.
As our May 6th blog concluded: "The federal government has a significant one-time opportunity to make a meaningful contribution to improving housing affordability in the Toronto region by comprehensively planning and developing the former Pickering airport land for a new community."
City of Pickering Endorsement – No Residential Development on the Former Airport Lands
The Council of the City of Pickering on May 25, 2026, endorsed the recommendation of a consulting report, "City of Pickering Federal Lands – Land Use Review and Economic Analysis Recommendation Report," for approximately 3,700 hectares (9,300 acres) of land which had been intended for a new airport for 50 years.[1]
The report, prepared by SGL Planning & Design Inc. with support from Parcel Economics and Dillon Consulting Limited, formulated and evaluated three potential land-use options. The three options are similar, trading off more or less industrial land for more or less park, heritage, and private agricultural land.
The Council endorsed Land Use Option 3. Most of the land would be added to the Rouge National Park (2,315 hectares or 5,720 acres) with industrial/employment lands along the 407 corridor being the primary urban use (780 hectares or 1,927 acres). Ten hectares (25 acres) are designated residential – an inconsequential amount. No lands are proposed for privately owned agricultural land. Still, the report notes that agricultural uses would be permitted in the expanded area of the Rouge National Park and land leased from the federal government.
The Missing Land Use – Residential
I should confess my bias. In a recent CUR blog, I argue that the highest and best use of the former airport lands is a residential community on long-term land leases.[2] Residential use is warranted given their prime proximity to the city of Toronto and Pickering's now-developing Seaton Community, with its residential uses and the employment uses south of Highway 407 (the Innovation Corridor), and the GTA's affordable housing crisis.
The City's Request for Proposals required the consultant to examine the opportunities for residential use on the subject lands:[3]
“The consultant will:
- Analyze demographic, housing, employment, and economic trends in the Greater Toronto Area, Region of Durham and the City of Pickering. (p. 22)
- Evaluate the potential for economic growth and job creation under various land use scenarios. This includes:
Assessing market demand for industrial, commercial (office, retail) and residential development. (p. 22)”
Moreover, the report states that the consulting team prepared three land use options that address the Key Themes identified by Transport Canada. Key Themes include:
- Residential development[4]
With the greatest respect to the consulting team, it is difficult to accept that 10 hectares under a single land-use option address the residential key theme identified by Transport Canada.
In fact, the consultant’s own report agrees with this assessment. The report states:
- Land Use Option 1
“No residential development is proposed as part of this option. (p. 37)”
“Does not address residential development Federal Key Theme. (p. 39)”
- Land Use Option 2
“No residential development is proposed as part of this option. (p. 42)”
“Does not address residential development Federal Key Theme. (p.44)”
- Land Use Option 3
“A small area of residential use (10 ha) is proposed adjacent to the Brougham Hamlet. (p. 47)”
“Provides for modest residential growth in Brougham to help revitalize the Hamlet. (p. 49)”
Not only did the report fail to consider residential uses on the former airport lands, but it also recommends to the federal government that, if it is considering significant housing on the lands, it should not do it – put housing elsewhere.
“Other than residential development in Brougham, significant residential development is not recommended on the Pickering Federal Lands. If the Federal Government wants to consider significant housing development, it should be considered elsewhere in exchange for protecting Pickering Federal Lands for long-term agricultural and environmental purposes. (p. 55).
Opinion
The report and its recommendations are critically flawed for failing to evaluate a residential-focused option. The three land-use options considered are essentially variations on the same theme - trading off more or less industrial land for more or less park, heritage, and private agricultural land.
It is recommended that the federal government conduct a thorough assessment of the merits of residential use within the context of the shortage of ground-related and comparable housing types in the GTA before it decides on the future of the former airport lands.
As our May 6th blog concluded: "The federal government has a significant one-time opportunity to make a meaningful contribution to improving housing affordability in the Toronto region by comprehensively planning and developing the former Pickering airport land for a new community."
End Notes
[1] SGL Planning and Design Inc. “City of Pickering Federal Lands - Land Use Review and Economic Analysis Recommendation Report.” May 2026.
[2] Frank Clayton. “The Case for Developing the Former Pickering Airport Lands With Missing Middle Housing.” CUR. May 6, 2026.
[3] City of Pickering. “Request for Proposals for Land Use Review and Economic Analysis of the Pickering Federal Lands.” November 24, 2025.
[4] Transport Canada. “Public Consultation on the Future Uses of the Pickering Lands.” April 17, 2026.
References
City of Pickering (2025). “Request for Proposals for Land Use Review and Economic Analysis of the Pickering Federal Lands.” November 24, 2025. [Online]. Available: https://pickering.bidsandtenders.ca/Module/Tenders/en/Tender/Detail/d0830e21-7200-4a3f-8dd2-27b1d79de107/ (external link) .
Clayton, Frank (2026). “The Case for Developing the Former Pickering Airport Lands With Missing Middle Housing.” CUR. May 6, 2026. [Online]. Available: https://www.torontomu.ca/centre-urban-research-land-development/blog/blogentry107-the-case-for-developing-the-former-pickering-airport-lands-with-missing-middle-housing/.
SGL Planning and Design Inc. (2026). “City of Pickering Federal Lands - Land Use Review and Economic Analysis Recommendation Report.” May 2026. [Online]. Available: https://pub-pickering.escribemeetings.com/FileStream.ashx?DocumentId=7472 (external link) .
Transport Canada (2026). “Public Consultation on the Future Uses of the Pickering Lands.” April 17, 2026. [Online]. Available: https://tc.canada.ca/en/corporate-services/consultations/public-consultation-future-uses-pickering-lands (external link) .