Report says Billy Bishop airport expansion could impact thousands of homes along waterfront

The battle over Billy Bishop Airport continues tonight with critics of the Ford government's plan hoping the federal government will step in.

A new report from city staff is warning that any expansion of Billy Bishop airport could result in major adverse impacts on housing, congestion, the environment and the waterfront as a whole.

According to the report, some 86,000 planned residential units are currently within areas where existing flight procedures influence airspace. But a proposed extension could mean 94,000 units impacted within the new flight path.

Those units are located across the downtown waterfront, the Port Lands and south Etobicoke.

The changes could mean limiting building heights or constraining development potential in areas slated for future population growth.

Existing residents would also be impacted, increasing the number of residents under flight paths by around 25 per cent.

An expanded airport could have impacts on noise, air quality, and the usability of outdoor space, such as balconies, as well as home values, the report says.

The report responds to a request made in April by the city’s Planning and Housing Committee to study the possible impact of an expanded flight path on new housing.

It comes as Premier Doug Ford moves forward with plans to expand the island airport, saying it should be a viable second major airport for Toronto, akin to busy second or third airports in New York or Chicago.

Ontario recently passed legislation allowing it to take over the city’s place in the 1983 tripartite agreement that governs the airport lands. The other two parties to the agreement are the federal government and the Toronto Port Authority, a federal crown corporation.

The Toronto Port Authority has said it is contemplating an expanded runway as long as 1.83 kilometres, sitting on a land mass as long as 2.1 kilometres.

The premier has suggested that the federal government is supportive of its plans to expand the airport, though Prime Minister Mark Carney said Thursday he has not made up his mind yet. Around 20 per cent of the airport land is owned by the city, while the port authority and federal government own around 80 per cent.

Ford has brushed aside many of the criticisms. He has said that the province will not impede on more park space beyond a parcel of Little Norway Park, despite giving itself the power to do so, and that homes won’t be impacted.

At an unrelated news conference Thursday, he said the expansion will be done responsibly and with consultation.

“I believe that there’s going to be thousands of jobs created over this expansion, but it’s going to make the runway a lot safer, extending the runway from not one penny of taxpayers’ money,” Ford said.

“There’s an investment of over $5 billion to expand the airport, and it’s going to be convenient, and it’s going to benefit not just Toronto, the GTA, but people all over Ontario and all over Canada. And it’ll be done responsibly, it’ll be done with consultation with the city and the federal government and the Port Authority.”

Ultimately, city staff say they don’t yet have enough information to provide a detailed analysis of the expansion’s impact since the province has not yet tabled a clear blueprint outlining exactly what it plans to do.

“Without a detailed plan for the proposed airport expansion, it is not possible at this time to provide a definitive assessment of impacts on housing supply, transportation, and traffic impacts,” the report states.

Standing beside Ford on Thursday, Mayor Olivia Chow echoed that thought.

“I still have not seen a clear plan or any plan from the Toronto Port Authority as to what it is that they are trying to do,” she said. “How long is the runway? What is the plan? What is the business plan?”

She added, “We should not give land that would benefit American investors and Wall Street investors.”

Nieuport Aviation, which is controlled by J.P. Morgan Asset Management, owns and manages the terminal building at the airport. Opposition parties at Queen’s Park have pointed out that the airport expansion would help boost the value of their investment and have accused Ford of pandering to their interests.