A stop-work order was recently issued at 93 John St. when a new home that is under construction in Thornhill’s heritage district was found not to conform to approved plans. Work is not permitted to continue until the owner either comes into compliance or obtains approvals for the changes. The owner is in the process of applying for heritage, zoning and site plan approvals, a Town of Markham spokesperson confirmed.

According to Heritage Markham’s meeting minutes, the owner said that he was not aware of all the changes, but some of them resulted from issues identified by his contractor. He is now working with a heritage architect.

Judith Dawson, a member of the committee, said that the advisory body “held firm” in that it was not simply going to approve all the changes. But there was some compromise.

The owner has also appeared before the committee of adjustment to accommodate some increase in the home’s size. A compromise was reached on this as well. The decision, however, does not come into force until a statutory appeal period ends on June 14, the town spokesperson said. Site plan and building permit approvals will be needed before construction can resume.

The occurrence may point to what Dawson said appears to be an emerging issue in the area.

“An awful lot of things come back to us [Heritage Markham] because the plan has not been followed,” she explained.