• In the early 1970s, the Province introduced the "Toronto Centred Region" concept covering an 8,600 square mile region from Hamilton/Brantford in the west, to the Georgian Bay area in the north, and beyond Port Hope/Cobourg in the east. The concept included the communities of Brock and Cedarwood, which were to be established in the Pickering area.
   
• In support of the concept, the Province acquired 25,000 acres of land east of Toronto, with the intention of building a new community of 250,000 people, adjacent to an international airport that was being proposed at that time by the Federal Government. The new community was to be built in central Pickering, on both sides of the West Duffins Creek.
   
• For a variety of reasons, the airport was not built, and the Province reconsidered its plans for the new community. A decision was subsequently made by the Province to reduce the size of the community and locate it entirely on the east side of the West Duffin Creek. The community was then known as "North Pickering."
   
• In 1976, Regional Council adopted its first Official Plan and designated the land area associated with North Pickering as a "Special Study Area."
   
• In 1978, the Province approved the Durham Plan, with a modification establishing the "North Pickering Major Urban Area" on the east side of the West Duffins Creek. The modification also included a population guideline of 90,000 people for North Pickering, as well as a requirement that detailed land use policies be established by future amendment.
   
• In 1979, the Ontario Land Corporation (now Ontario Realty Corporation) submitted an application to amend the Durham Plan to establish detailed land use policies for North Pickering. The community was now being called "Seaton."
   
• In 1980, in a Statement to the Legislature, then Minister Claude Bennett announced that the start-up of housing construction in Seaton would be delayed due to economic conditions and high interest rates.

• In 1981, Regional Council approved an amendment to the Durham Plan to establish broad land use, transportation and other policies for Seaton.
   
• In 1986, the Province hired Walker Wright Young Associates (now Walker Nott Dragicevic) to prepare a community plan for Seaton. A recommended plan was completed in 1988, but was deferred by Pickering's Planning Committee pending receipt of a municipal financial impact analysis. A financial analysis was completed the following year, but no further action was taken on the recommended plan.

• In 1993, the Province established a "Seaton Advisory Committee" to study and report on the feasibility of developing the Seaton lands. In 1995, the Advisory Committee submitted its final report, recommending the development of a "compact, innovative community". As part of its process, the Advisory Committee held a juried design competition for Seaton. The Ontario Form Collaborative, lead by John van Nostrand Associates, won the competition.
   
• In 1995, the Province announced the sale of lands in Pickering and Markham, on the west side of the West Duffins Creek in the area known as the "Agricultural Assembly." The following year, ORC submitted an amendment to the Durham Plan to allow the creation of lots less than 40 hectares in area. The amendment resulted in a series of meetings over the next few years between Pickering, the Region, ORC and local interest groups to address a number of concerns that had been raised.
   
• In 1996, the Province, through the North Pickering Development Corporation and in conjunction with Pickering and the Region, hired Malone Givens Parsons to prepare a Structure Plan for Seaton. Various background reports were completed, and a number of development scenarios were prepared. However, the Province terminated the joint process before any public consultation was undertaken. Over the next few years, Pickering continued to consider planning options for Seaton, as an in-house project.
   
• Pickering Council approved a new Official Plan in 1997. The Plan identified a "Seaton Urban Study Area" and provided general policy direction for Seaton. It also required that detailed policies and land use designations be incorporated by further amendment to the Plan, through the completion of a "planning exercise." The 1997 Pickering Plan included the following population and employment targets for Seaton:

• In 1999, the negotiations on the Agricultural Assembly lands were completed, and a "Memorandum of Understanding" was entered into. The MOU (among other matters) allowed ORC the ability to convey lands within the Assembly by "Crown Right" providing Agricultural Easements were established in favour of Pickering, on parcels greater than 2 hectares in area.

• In late 2001, the Province announced that as part of its Oak Ridges Moraine initiatives, it would be exchanging private lands on the Moraine for provincial lands in Seaton. Also in 2001, for discussion purposes, the City prepared and released a Concept Plan for Seaton.
   
• The City of Pickering initiated a Growth Management Study of the Development Planning Area in February 2002 in consideration of further urban growth in Central Pickering.
   
• On April 17, 2003, the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing signed an order under the Ontario Planning and Development Act, 1994 establishing a Development Planning Area covering the Pickering portion of the Duffins Rouge Agricultural Preserve and the Seaton Lands. He also put in place a Minister's Zoning Order pursuant to Section 47 of the Planning Act covering the Duffins Rouge Agricultural Preserve in Pickering. These areas are referred to as the Central Pickering lands in the context of this Plan.
   
• In February 2004, the City released the Recommended Structure Plan that proposed development on part of the Seaton lands, and part of the Agricultural Assembly lands, retaining about one-third of the lands in natural heritage system and countryside.
   
• On March 25, 2004, the boundaries of the Development Planning Area were subsequently amended to exclude the area known as Duffins Heights, for which a secondary plan had already been prepared and approved.
   
• During 2005 and 2006, the Province undertook two significant regional planning initiatives with relevance to Central Pickering and the Provincial lands:

1. The Greenbelt Act, 2005 authorized the Lieutenant Governor in Council to establish a Greenbelt Plan. This Plan was approved as Order-In-Council 208/2005 on February 28, 2005 and applies to the portion of the Development Planning Area known as the Duffins Rouge Agricultural Preserve. Under the Greenbelt Act, 2005 an Ontario Planning and Development Act, 1994 development plan can establish policies that supersede the Greenbelt Plan; and,
    
2. The Places to Grow Act, 2005 provides a legal framework for growth planning in Ontario. The Act allows the Province to designate any area as a growth area and develop a Growth Plan for that area. A Growth Plan would integrate and build on other key provincial initiatives including the Greenbelt Plan, the Niagara Escarpment Plan, the Provincial Policy Statement, 2005, Planning Act reform, infrastructure planning, and source water protection planning. The Central Pickering Development Plan will implement the basic principles of the proposed Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe.

• In August 2007, the Province completed the land exchange in Seaton. Approximately 615 hectares (1,525 acres) were conveyed to four major development companies.