A Secondary Plan moving through City Council right now would open 1,600 hectares of farmland in Pickering's northeast to a community projected to eventually hold 72,000 people — land that sits outside the Greenbelt, and outside the city's existing built-up area.
The Northeast Pickering Secondary Plan covers land bounded by Highway 7, Eighth Concession Road, Westney Road, and Lake Ridge Road. Unlike Seaton, which extends outward from Pickering's existing built-up city, this parcel sits apart from it — within a largely rural landscape, functioning more like a separate satellite community than a natural extension of the city residents already live in.
The Region's Envision Durham Official Plan, approved by the Province in December 2024, designates this land as a future "2051 Urban Expansion Area." City Council received a recommendation report on the Secondary Plan's Official Plan Amendment in March 2026, and the file continues to move through the planning process.
Advocates and community groups — including First Nations representatives seeking a clear, independent, region-led environmental assessment process — have urged Council to slow down: to complete environmental impact and cost studies, and to secure real consultation, before advancing the plan any further.
This land doesn't connect to Pickering's existing neighbourhoods, roads, or services the way a normal boundary expansion would. It would need to be built essentially from scratch.
Seaton's own approved plan allows for 21,000 housing units, and fewer than 10% have been built to date. There is no shortage of already-approved land to grow into first.
Rights-holding First Nations have asked for a transparent, independently led environmental assessment process before this file moves further — a request that hasn't yet been met.
As Mayor, I will not support advancing the Northeast Pickering Secondary Plan until independent environmental assessment and full costing are complete, and until First Nations consultation is resolved on terms they've actually agreed to — not rushed to fit a council timeline.
More broadly: I will not support any planning application, official plan amendment, or infrastructure extension — water, sewer, or road — that brings land beyond Pickering's pre-2022 settlement boundary closer to development-ready status, regardless of which level of government proposes it.
Pickering has 21,000 approved housing units still available in Seaton, with less than 10% built out. Growth belongs there first.
Pickering's growth belongs in Seaton, built out the way it was planned — not pushed onto farmland the city hasn't finished studying.Doug Cornell · Built for What's Next