City enters into agreement to move Scarborough Bluffs West plans towards Environmental Assessment stage
By MATTHEW STEPHENS
A motion to apply the Environmental Assessment Act to the Scarborough Bluffs West Project (SBWP) has left some local residents worried about the future of the Beach’s eastern lakefront area.
The motion by Scarborough-Guildwood Councillor Paul Ainslie called for Toronto’s City Manager to enter into an agreement with the Ontario Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP) as a co-proponent with the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority to apply the Environmental Assessment Act to the project.
Covering an area of the Lake Ontario shoreline from Bluffer’s Park in Scarborough to the east and the beach area at the foot of Silver Birch Avenue in the Beach to the west, the project has a number of aims including enhancing shoreline protection and improving public access to the area. According to the City of Toronto, the project will consider providing a “connected trail system while exploring the feasibility of a shoreline trail” in the area.
“A month delay in executing the agreement would result in several months delay to the project, particularly given narrow windows for public and agency consultation (i.e. summer/seasonal holidays),” said Ainslie on his reasons for making the motion.
Ainslie first made the motion at the April 23/24 Toronto Council meeting, but it was deferred to the May 21/22 meeting at the request of Scarborough Southwest Councillor Parthi Kandavel.
in a statement sent to Beach Metro Community News, Kadavel’s office said he called for the deferral in April in order to allow more time to consult with community members.
“The Councillor is committed to a rigorous process for the Environmental Assessment of the Scarborough Bluffs Project. The motion was initially deferred to May by Councillor Kandavel as it was imperative that the community and the Councillor had ample time to reflect and consult on the nature of the motion brought forward by the TRCA,” said the statement.
“As a result, the Councillor put in a motion to ensure that the project would undergo the most rigorous environmental assessment, known as a Comprehensive Environmental Assessment. The second part of the motion ensured that the results of the completed Comprehensive Environmental Assessment would be sent to the City Council before submitting it to the Ontario Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks.”
At the May meeting, Toronto Council approved the motion.
Ainslie’s motion sought to secure an agreement between Toronto’s City Manager and the MECP on the grounds that “Toronto and Region Conservation Authority already signed off on the agreement, and the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP) has asked that the city to do so as well in order for the work to continue.”
Originally referred to as the Scarborough Bluffs West Revitalization Project, discussions on plans for the area have been ongoing since 2021.
Toronto Council requested the TRCA include the project in the 2022 budget process, and it officially began in November of 2023 with several rounds of study and consultation throughout the following year. In July 2024, a draft Terms of Reference report was released for public comment and agency review.
After reviewing the draft in the fall of last year, the MECP sought to confirm whether future design options would meet the province’s updated 2024 Environmental Assessment Act regulations, which require at least one kilometre of altered shoreline and four hectares of lakefill for a Comprehensive Environmental Assessment (CEA) to be completed.
The SBW team responded by stating that not all future design alternatives would meet those explicit provincial requirements, considering the goal of the project was to explore a wide range of reasonable options.
The SBW team requested to voluntarily continue the CEA process to ensure a high standard of “technical analysis and thorough public consultation” similar to other waterfront projects, and to adhere to the requirements of the City of Toronto’s Official Plan.
“The work which needs to be done under the EA process is mandatory…. but. There is also a voluntary component, to ensure everything is done by the TRCA to the highest possible standard,” said Ainslie.
Despite receiving approval from the MECP to proceed with a voluntary agreement allowing them to continue through the CEA process, approval from both TRCA and the City of Toronto as co-proponents of the project was still required, he said.
Although subject to changes, the SBWP plan could include an eastward extension of the paved waterfront trail to the R.C. Harris Water Treatment Plant. That idea has sparked disapproval amongst some area residents worried about increased pedestrian traffic and the future of the existing off-leash dog section of the beach near the foot of Silver Birch Avenue.
“If the paved multi use trail is extended from the foot of Silverbirch Eastwood through Balmy Beach and around the waterworks, we would lose our sandy shoreline between Silverbridge and NurseWood. We would lose or require major modifications to our current off-leash beach,” said a concerned local resident in an email to Beach Metro Community News.
Some East Toronto residents feel they have been left in the dark regarding both Toronto Council’s recent decision regarding the Environmental Assessment Act agreement, and the SBW project’s public consultation process.
However, in an email to Beach Metro Community News, Ainslie said there have been numerous opportunities for public input and consultation.
Ainslie said more than 167 landowners have been engaged, and that several public meetings have taken place since the project’s conception, including two consultation rounds with the public, three Public Information Sessions, two Canadian Association of Geographers meetings, one pop-up event, one additional resident meeting, and eight formal Indigenous consultation notices.
In a Beach Metro Community News article from November 2024, residents expressed concern the extended trail could potentially disrupt natural spaces and result in “unforeseen impacts on traffic and local ecosystems” and called for “transparent and robust” Environmental Assessment (EA) of the project’s proposals.
According to a schedule sent to Beach Metro Community News by Ainslie, the SBW project is still in its early stages, with the “earliest possible Notice of Commencement of EA phase” set for September 2025. The first round of public consultation for the EA phase is scheduled for October/November of 2025.
Once the Environmental Assessment is completed, city staff will work with the TRCA and MCEP to report their findings to the City’s Infrastructure and Environment Committee before sending a final assessment to the province.
For more information on the Scarborough Bluffs West Project, head to https://www.toronto.ca/community-people/get-involved/public-consultations/infrastructure-projects/scarborough-bluffs-west-revitalization/.
EDITOR’S NOTE: This story has been updated from the one originally posted to include information from Scarborough Southwest Councillor Parthi Kandavel.
