The Ontario government has been asked to use a Minister’s Zoning Order to permit a three-storey place of worship on a residential street in Beaches–East York, bypassing the City of Toronto’s own planning process.
The request was posted to the Environmental Registry of Ontario by the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing on September 1. The public comment period runs 30 days and closes October 1.
The property is 63 Barker Ave in Ward 19, a lot of roughly 311.8 square metres with 7.6 metres of frontage, currently zoned Residential Semi-Detached. The proposal would renovate and expand an existing one-storey building dating to the 1920s into a three-storey place of worship with a residential unit for clergy.
The relief sought from the residential zone provisions is substantial. It includes maximum lot coverage of 70 per cent, or 220 square metres; a maximum height of 13 metres, with minaret or steeple elements permitted to 18 metres; a floor space index of 3.0 times the lot area; a minimum front yard setback of zero metres; side yard setbacks of 0.5 and 0.4 metres; a rear yard setback of 10 metres; and parking and bicycle parking requirements reduced to zero spaces.
The request also seeks an exemption from site plan approval and from provincial planning policies, under sections 47(4.3)(a) and 47(4.0.1) of the Planning Act.
Minister’s Zoning Orders are a provincial power that can set aside municipal zoning and, in most cases, the appeal rights that normally attach to a planning decision. That makes the 30-day comment window the main opportunity for neighbours and the city to be heard on the record.
Comments can be filed through the registry notice, ERO number 026-0880, until October 1, 2026.
