Planning staff and Caledon City Council have not agreed on the proposed location for the spiritual center.
At Caledon City Council’s April 16 Planning and Development Committee meeting, councilors unanimously voted to amend the formal plan and zoning ordinance for the proposed spiritual center near the intersection of King Street and Centerville Creek Road. It was decided to reject the proposal.
City Council had previously deferred the matter to its Feb. 13 Planning and Development Committee meeting.
The board’s April 16 action will be submitted to a future board meeting for final approval.
This spiritual center was proposed by Swaminarayan Mandir Vasna Sanstha (SMVS) Canada, a Hindu faith group.
A City of Caledon staff report on the matter said the proposed center was not consistent with the Official Plan of Peel Region and the Town of Caledon.
“This proposal does not represent good planning and is not in the public interest,” the report said. “Council recommends that the application be refused.”
The center was proposed to be built on land currently zoned for agricultural use, so the zoning would have needed to be changed to allow the center.
Kevin Bechard, senior associate at IPS Consulting, which manages SMVS applications, says that throughout the process, applications to the center demonstrate good planning and that significant effort has gone into meeting the necessary requirements. claimed to have been done.
At the April 16 meeting, Bechard said an agricultural impact assessment by IPS Consulting determined that the impact of farmland loss would be “negligible in the overall context.”
Caledon resident Bhavesh Patel started a petition in support of the spiritual center, which has garnered more than 1,300 signatures.
He told the public that he was inspired to start the petition because there is currently no place for Hindu believers to gather in Caledon. He said the center’s proposed location was a beautiful location and the center would fill a much-needed gap in Caledon’s cultural landscape.
Rusi Patel, an SMVS volunteer and supporter of the petition and the center, said the center is open to people of all faiths and that SMVS is a social spirit that seeks to give back to the communities it serves. He said that it is a philanthropic and charitable organization.
Local councilor Mario Russo said he recognizes the need for a spiritual center in Caledon, but there are challenges due to land use.
“It’s very difficult to help right now because it’s not within the city limits and there are all the other land use restrictions and prohibitions,” Russo said. “It’s just not ready, it’s not being served.”
Ward 3 Councilman Doug Maskell said he supports town staff’s recommendation to reject the proposal because Caledon should preserve farmland.
“I don’t think it’s surprising that it would be considered prime agricultural land,” Maskell said. “The best agricultural land we have must be preserved for future generations.”
Local councilor Christina Earley said the proposed center was nice and there was a site somewhere in Caledon, but not on unready farmland.
District 1 Councilor Lynn Kiernan agreed.
“It’s not about what’s important, it’s about where,” she said. “They’re not creating any more farmland and we’re taking advantage of it.”
Zachary Roman, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Caledon Citizen
