The Town of Richmond Hill has approved a bylaw that could shut down development in a fast-growing area of the city for at least a year.
The Yonge Street and Bernard Avenue area is under intense development pressure and the Interim Control By-law (ICBL) was conceived to allow city staff time to study and prepare a secondary plan. Ward 4 councillor David West voted in favour of the ICBL at Richmond Hill Council on Nov. 7.
“This bylaw will put a freeze on all of the development applications for a period of a year and potentially more,” he said. “This will allow time to provide more clarity to developers as to what would be acceptable and what would not be.”
West said there are three high-density development proposals currently in process within this area. One proposal includes four condominium towers between 16 and 29 storeys in height and 188 townhouses.
Before the ICBL was passed, the development application was deferred for two weeks to give city staff and developers a chance to address a number of issues with the proposals.
“The proposal for four really big towers magically got changed at the last second to a proposal that is still not in compliance with the official plan, but it is a whole lot closer,” said West.
Sherry Zhang, a member of Westbrook Residents Against Development, collected 1,180 resident signatures in a petition to stop the development of high-density buildings.
“We understand the township wants development, but to put high densities in this area is out-of-traffic-control without the proper infrastructure and plan in place,” said Zhang.
The town has hired a consultant to help city staff draft a secondary plan as quickly as possible.
“There will be an opportunity in meetings for the public to sit down and talk about what kinds of developments will work in this neighbourhood,” said West.
West said it is highly unlikely that any of the three stakeholders will appeal the ICBL to the Ontario Municipal Board.
There is a provision in the motion that states some lands can be released from the ICBL if the proposal is deemed reasonable to the city’s official plan.
