Places of Worship in Industrial Zones
The Etobicoke Community Council recommends the adoption of the following report (November 12, 1998) from
the Director of Community Planning, West District:
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 0.4hectares (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 180,800sq. 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 1722000 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, Area Planner,
Community Planning, West District
Telephone: (416) 394-8230, Fax: (416) 394-6063