Westbrook residents are furious over a proposed high-density development at Yonge Street and Brookside Road in Richmond Hill. The developer, Armour Heights Developments, has put forward plans, which would extend over more than 11 acres, from 47 and 59 Brookside Rd. down to 12 and 24 Naughton Dr. The current proposal includes four highrise condominium towers between 16 and 29 storeys in height and 188 townhouses. The site is currently vacant.
In response to the application, Richmond Hill Town Council members are seeking to create a bylaw to freeze development for one year to allow a secondary plan to be emplaced.
Sherry Zhang, a member of the Westbrook Residents Against Development, spoke at a recent public meeting to voice the community’s concerns.
“Brookside Drive was designed for a low-density community to come out onto Yonge Street, and everybody depends on cars because we aren’t near public transit,” said Zhang. “If they put 1,000 new units on this piece of land, it’s going to cause accidents and big traffic problems.”
Zhang, alongside about 250 other residents, has signed a petition that supports the bylaw and cites that the development on the property and in the area will result in “traffic congestion, overloaded schools and loss of community.”
David West, councillor for Ward 4 echoed the community’s objections against the development. “One aspect I find particularly difficult to swallow is that they’re proposing four condo towers up to 29 storeys in height. It’s way, way too much,” said West, and added he will give the interim control bylaw his support.
But even if the bylaw is passed, developers can still appeal its implementation to the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB).
“Very little respect has been given to the community,” said West. “With the width of this lot, there’s no reason why the developers couldn’t have proposed a smooth transition from slightly higher density on Yonge Street to existing low-density detached homes.”
“If this plan is allowed to happen, all the developers are going to try following the same approach along Yonge Street, and it’s going to create big issues in the future,” said Zhang.
Armour Heights was unavailable for comment at press time.
