November 12, 1998
To:Chairman and Members, Etobicoke Community Council
From:Karen V. Bricker, Director, Community Planning, West District
Subject:Places of Worship in Industrial Zones
Purpose:
To review the financial and land use implications of Zoning By-laws which permit Places of
Worship in industrial zones.
Financial Implications:
This report assesses the impact on the City's tax base of permitting Places of Worship in
industrial zones due to their tax exempt status.
Recommendation:
It is recommended that:
(1)Places of Worship continue to be permitted in industrial zones in the Etobicoke Zoning
Code.
(2)the Provincial Tax Assessment Office be requested to review their approach to the
assessment of large new religious centres with substantial accessory uses to determine if any
parts thereof should be assessed separately as a tax generating use.
(3)the Etobicoke Zoning Code be reviewed and compared with the Zoning By-laws of the
former municipalities of the City to assure that consistent and adequate parking standards for
Places of Worship are applied throughout the industrial zones of the City.
Background:
On March 23 and 24, 1998, the Urban Environment and Development Committee had before
it a request from the Etobicoke Community Council directing the Commissioner of Urban
Planning and Development Services to examine by-laws that permit church uses in industrial
zones because of the impact on the tax base. The Committee referred the matter to the
Commissioner for consideration as part of the 1998 City Planning Work Program.
Staff have reviewed the by-law provisions for such uses and the approaches of other former
municipalities in the City and note that many of the former municipalities have recently
amended or are considering amendments to their Zoning By-laws to permit Places of Worship
in industrial zones/employment districts. As the fiscal concern about Places of Worship
locating in industrial zones appears to be a localized issue, the Executive Director of Planning
has directed this report to the Etobicoke Community Council for consideration.
Discussion:
Place of Worship Defined:
Recently, the term "church" has been replaced in City zoning documents with the term Place
of Worship in order to reflect the multi-denominational character of the City. A Place of
Worship is generally defined as lands or buildings used for religious assembly and worship by
an association which is a charitable organization permanently organized for the advancement
of religion and for the conduct of religious worship, services or rites. Such facilities often
include accessory uses related to the operation such as, auditoriums, gymnasiums, cafeterias,
day care facilities, nursery schools, private schools, meeting rooms, administrative offices,
and residences for clergy.
Zones Permitting Places of Worship:
A review of City zoning by-laws indicates that although Places of Worship are generally
permitted in all residential zones and most commercial zones, the same does not apply to
industrial zones/employment districts throughout the City. For these zones, a distinctive
pattern exists with the former three inner municipalities of East York, Toronto and York
generally not permitting Places of Worship in industrial zones and the three outer areas of
Etobicoke, North York and Scarborough permitting Places of Worship in most industrial
zones/employment districts, subject to certain conditions. A more detailed description of the
zoning regulations for the six former municipalities is described in Table 1, attached.
In the former City of Etobicoke, Places of Worship have been permitted uses in industrial
zones since the 1940's. A recent review of the industrial provisions of the Zoning Code
completed in 1995, maintained the as-of-right status of Places of Worship in industrial zones.
The former City of North York introduced Places of Worship into some industrial areas in
1988, as a result of recommendations made by the Mayors Task Force on Places of Worship.
The Task Force was created as a result of public concern with the development of new Places
of Worship in residential areas. The Task Force's final report recommended, among other
things, that Places of Worship be permitted in some additional commercial zones and some
industrial zones to provide alternate locations for Places of Worship. North York initiated a
second study to review the appropriateness of Places of Worship in industrial zones in 1994.
A comprehensive study was undertaken which included a public consultation process, a
Public Meeting and input from a large number of religious organizations. The study
concluded that Places of Worship are generally appropriate uses in industrial zones, and
recommended that Places of Worship should be permitted in all industrial zones with certain
development provisions controlling maximum building size, separation distances and parking
requirements to minimize impact on industrial areas.
The former City of Scarborough reviewed the issue of permitting Places of Worship in
industrial zones /employment districts in 1994. Planning studies which resulted in
amendments to the City's Official Plan and Zoning By-laws recommended that Places of
Worship be permitted in Employment Districts along arterial roads to provide opportunities
for the kinds of Places of Worship that are being built today.
Evolution of Places of Worship:
A review of the pattern of existing church development, prior church studies and recent
applications within the City for Places of Worship has demonstrated that the use is continually
evolving with larger facilities, expanding services and functions and different locational
needs. The evolution of Places of Worship can be broken down into four phases and described
as follows:
In phase one, lands for Places of Worship were normally set aside during the subdivision
process in developing residential communities to serve the local congregation. These lots were
on average 0.4 hectares (1 acre) in size and developed with the traditional form of churches of
the Judeo/Christian faiths which served the local population and required sites internal to the
neighbourhood. These facilities were relatively simple in nature with assembly halls, and few
accessory uses consisting of basement halls, meeting rooms and perhaps living quarters for
the pastor of the church.
The second phase involved the introduction of new Places of Worship into established and
mature residential communities. Establishing these facilities often involved new infill
development within or at the periphery of the residential community to be served. Site size
remained constant and facilities remained relatively single purpose in nature with the religious
assembly hall being the main focal point of the facility with some minor accessory uses.
During the third phase, Places of Worship were facing a relative shortage of possible sites
within developing residential communities and they were having difficulty establishing new
facilities within established residential areas and sites. Therefore, new denominations and
smaller institutions at the start-up phase began to seek out and accept diverse, non-traditional
sites. Commercial strips and industrial malls or buildings were selected and often leased as
low cost alternatives to residential sites. In some cases, religious facilities no longer needed to
be located near a residential area as membership was regional in nature and the congregation
was drawn from a number of communities. These facilities needed larger sites to
accommodate more parking and larger buildings. Accessibility and the traffic capacity of
abutting roads also became important site selection considerations.
The current trend in the development of Places of Worship has been large religious centres.
These facilities have a regional emphasis and draw their congregation from a large area. The
role these facilities play is much more than that of an assembly hall for religious gatherings.
They become cultural and ethnic centres for their congregations, providing a wide range of
functions, services and accessory uses. Such facilities need large sites with good accessibility.
Important site selection criteria for religious centres normally include land cost, accessibility,
road traffic capacity, transit, and the size
of the site in order to accommodate all buildings and sufficient parking. Accessory uses
within such centres, can include, auditoriums, gymnasiums, cafeterias, day care facilities,
nursery schools, private schools, meeting rooms, administrative offices, TV broadcasting
facilities, residences for clergy, book stores, and financial services. Use of these facilities
often occurs throughout the week which extends heavy use periods beyond the traditional
Sunday or weekend periods.
Number/Size of Establishments:
Provincial Assessment Data and City of Toronto Employment Survey information would
indicate that there are approximately 1, 175 Places of Worship in the City. Approximately 224
or 19 percent of these Places of Worship are located within industrial zones/employment
districts, the majority of which are located within the three former municipalities of North
York (34 percent), Scarborough (23 percent) and Etobicoke (16 percent).
Information developed for the former City of North York would indicate that the Places of
Worship have been growing at a rate of about 6 percent per year from 1986 to 1994. The
majority of this new growth (46 percent) has been occurring in industrial zones.
A review of recent applications for Places of Worship in industrial zones/employment
districts, as contained in the Planning Applications Tracking System (PATS), would indicate
that such facilities are getting larger with a gross floor area of between 198 m² to 16 795 m²
(2, 100 sq. ft. to 180, 800 sq. ft.) and an average gross floor area of 2 800 m² (30,000 sq. ft.).
These are being built on larger sites which range in size from 0.3 hectare to 6.0 hectare (1 acre
to 15 acres) with an average size of 1.8 hectares (4.5 acres).
The Provincial Assessment Act:
The assessment of lands for tax purposes is a Provincial responsibility. Historically,
institutional uses such as Places of Worship, public and separate schools, universities, public
hospitals and incorporated, non-profit charitable institutions have been exempt from paying
land tax as a result of the benefits they provide to society in general.
The treatment of Places of Worship from a land tax perspective is specifically defined in
Section 3 of the Assessment Act (R.S.O. 1990, c. A.31), as amended by Bill 149. The Act
states that all property in Ontario is subject to assessment and taxation with certain
exceptions. Section 3(3) sets out the following exemption: "A place of worship and the land
used in connection with it and a churchyard, cemetery or burying ground owned by a church
or religious organization or leased to it by another church or religious organization". In effect,
the Act as interpreted by the provincial assessment office exempts Places of Worship and the
lands and buildings used in connection therewith from paying any taxes on their lands,
provided the lands are owned by the religious organization or they are being leased from a
religious organization. The tax exempt status for religious centres, with a number of accessory
uses, would still apply unless a defined space is permanently set aside and leased out to a
taxable operation.
However, Places of Worship which lease lands from a taxable owner are subject to land tax.
Such Places of Worship would be taxed at the residential rate, notwithstanding their location
in an industrial or commercial zone, as they are not deemed a business use.
Given the trend towards large religious centres with a multitude of accessory uses and large
tracts of land, it may be appropriate to petition the Province to review how these operations
are treated from a tax perspective, and to determine if in fact relevant portions thereof should
be assessed as a business use which could be taxed. Although such an approach would not
likely generate a significant amount of revenue, it could assist the City in reducing the lost tax
revenue stream associated with Places of Worship developed in industrial areas.
Cost/Benefit Analysis:
From a purely fiscal perspective, there is a potential cost to permitting Places of Worship in
industrial zones/employment districts, as a result of their tax exempt status in certain
situations. By occupying land in industrial areas, Places of Worship may be reducing
opportunities for the development of tax paying, employment generating activities.
Conservative tax estimates based on the former areas of Etobicoke, North York and
Scarborough would suggest that at a minimum, the City could be losing $50,000 per acre, per
year (1996) in tax revenue (excluding school tax portion) from industrial lands which are
occupied by tax exempt Places of Worship. However, these estimates assume that the
industrial land converted to institutional use would have been occupied or developed by a
viable industrial operation, which is not always the case.
The Economic Development Division and Royal LePage estimates that the City currently has
1 722 000 m2 (18,536,000 sq. ft.) of vacant industrial space and 607 hectares (1,500 acres) of
vacant undeveloped industrial land upon which to generate employment, industrial
development and industrial tax revenues. Given the available supply of industrial land, Places
of Worship which locate in industrial areas are not expected to significantly reduce
opportunities for other employment activities or become a detrimental drain on the tax base.
In addition, given the financial constraints faced by most religious organizations, Places of
Worship do not generally compete against industrial businesses for the purchase of prime
industrial properties.
The Official Plan policies of the former municipalities recognize the importance of
institutions and the role they play in the broader community. Places of Worship provide
services and facilities to the general public on a local, city-wide and regional basis much like
hospitals, schools and government facilities. More particularly, they provide and serve the
broad educational, cultural, recreational, social and religious needs of existing and future
residents, workers and visitors. These services augment and have become an important
component of the City's social service and educational system.
Many of the new centres developed today are directly linked to existing and newly established
and emerging ethnic cultures of the City. In these instances, Places of Worship are making
their facilities available for planned activities which benefit and assist these groups.
Although it is not possible to quantify the financial and social benefits that institutional uses
provide to the community and City as a whole, there is no question that there is a demand for
these valuable services and facilities which are provided to residents of the City by charitable,
non-profit organizations without municipal assistance.
Land Use Issues:
As indicated previously, the current trend in Place of Worship development is in large
religious centres with an assortment of accessory uses and longer hours of operation extending
beyond the typical weekend period. Any change that would prohibit Place of Worship
development in industrial areas would likely place a greater emphasis on residential and
commercial areas for such development. Accommodating such Places of Worship in
residential areas would likely generate significant concerns regarding noise, traffic and
parking impacts during large gatherings and special functions. By continuing to permit such
uses in industrial areas, the City would be providing appropriate alternative locations which
would minimize potential conflicts with residential zones.
The land use issues which normally arise when Places of Worship are proposed in industrial
areas are traffic and parking related. Traffic issues regarding road capacity can often be
resolved as the transportation grid serving industrial areas is usually quite good and peak use
times for Places of Worship do not generally coincide with the peak use time of industrial
uses. Parking supply is often an issue because Places of Worship in industrial areas place
more emphasis on the car as a mode of transportation. This combined with the regional
emphasis of these facilities would suggest that adequate parking provisions are important to
prevent parking from spilling off-site. Parking problems associated with Places of Worship
may deter other employment generating uses from locating in close proximity or within the
same multi-unit industrial building or complex. Therefore it becomes important, especially in
industrial areas, that parking requirements are both adequate and consistent throughout the
City to limit off-site parking impacts and to deter any over concentration of facilities in areas
which have lower parking requirements.
Conclusions:
Places of Worship are permitted by existing Zoning By-laws in industrial zones/employment
districts within the former municipalities of Etobicoke, North York and Scarborough, subject
to certain conditions. Recent trends would suggest that there is a land use demand for Places
of Worship in industrial areas, particularly for large religious centres and smaller facilities
with a regional emphasis. Under current Provincial legislation, such facilities would be
exempt from paying land tax and as such represents a cost to the City, as a result of the loss in
potential industrial land tax.
In staff's assessment of the situation, existing Zoning By-laws allow the land use demand for
Places of Worship in industrial areas to be met in an acceptable fashion. Staff would not
recommend any change to the Etobicoke Zoning Code or any further locational restrictions
which would shift the demand for the development of Places of Worship to commercial or
residential areas where impacts may be less acceptable. However, in order to ensure existing
industrial areas are protected from unacceptable parking impacts, staff recommend a review of
existing parking standards in the Etobicoke Zoning Code to assure adequacy and consistency
throughout the City. In addition, staff recommend that the Provincial Tax Assessment Office
be requested to review their current approach to the assessment of large new religious centres
with substantial accessory uses to determine if any parts thereof could be assessed separately
as a tax generating use.
Contact Name:
Paul Zuliani, Telephone: (416) 394-8230 Fax: (416) 394-6063
Area Planner, Community Planning, West District
Karen V. Bricker, MCIP
Director, Community Planning, West District
Table 1
