News & Views

DEAR RESIDENT:

Welcome to our second season of the year: Construction Season. This newsletter will focus on the most important issue in Richmond Hill and across York Region today: GROWTH.

I am asked many questions about growth and development by residents who are amazed by the changes all around them. Some of the questions they ask include: Who are these people? Where do they come from? Why do we need growth? How do you plan for it? Where should it go? Can’t we stop it? Isn’t it all just about money?

After reading my newsletter, I hope that you might learn something and that you might share your views with me. I can be reached at bhogg@richmondhill.ca or by calling 905-771-2498.

LOOKING BACK:

There have been many changes to the Richmond Hill which I moved to 40 years ago and there are still many more coming.

With the protection of the Oak Ridges Moraine and the planning of a 1200–acre park, we have built an oasis around an urban hub. Richmond Hill continues to attract people and employment opportunities to our region. As realtors always recognize, the most important value to your home is location, location, location, and Richmond Hill has become a location of prestige and access to city or country with a blend of cultures and economic opportunity. It is easy to predict continued economic prosperity as long as it follows proper planning.

ESTIMATING GROWTH:

Long range planners at the Province and at the regional level of government study patterns and trends of growth in order to predict future development. They make predictions for the next 20 or 30 years which are reasonably accurate. These estimates are vital to planning for the provision of housing, water, sewer, energy, roads, transit, employment, and a variety of human services like education, medical services including emergency services, fire and ambulance, social services, childrens services, immigrant services, and meeting the special needs of our aging population.

WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE?

As of December 2004, York Region was the sixth largest municipality in Canada in terms of its population. Citizenship and Immigration Canada statistics show that 17% of all immigrants to York Region in 2004 were from Europe, Asian countries (east, south and southeast) accounted for a combined 50% of immigrants to York Region in 2004, and immigrants from the Middle East and Africa made up about 25% of the year’s total.

York Region will continue to attract a diversity of culture and language. Each culture offers a variety of products and services to broaden our lives and enrich our experiences. However, diversity and change can also bring tension. Services which will help to integrate, support, and educate our new residents will ultimately encourage their full participation in our economy and our society.

PLANNING FOR GROWTH:

Recently, the Province created three pieces of legislation: a draft growth plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe; the enacted Greenbelt Act and Plan; and a new Provincial Policy Statement (PPS). Each law supports the intention of containing "sprawl". It is becoming increasingly clear however, that while no one wants vast landscapes of subdivisions with more cars, neither do they want higher density intensification to accommodate our population growth. The hard fact is: you can not have it both ways. So, if we must intensify our development, where should it go?

WHERE WILL GROWTH GO?

We need to plan growth along established roads where tax dollars have already been spent on supportive infrastructure. Many of these roads are adjacent to existing neighbourhoods which frequently are resistant to higher density development. It is through working with the developers, residents, and local government and their planners that we negotiate the terms of growth. This is never easy because residents often are not aware of the existing laws which will govern and guide the development. Not just the local or Regional Official Plans but Provincial legislation enacted to curb the negative effects of sprawl.

JUST SAY ‘NO’: LOCAL CHALLENGES:

There have been several neighbourhoods in Richmond Hill which have been directly impacted by new growth and intensification in existing neighbourhoods. New growth tends to be large subdivision developments which require new water and sewer pipes, new roads, and access from existing roads which are shared with the current residents. With these subdivisions comes truck and building noise, road and construction dust, and the daily inconvenience of reduced road access.

Residents particularly throughout Oak Ridges have been subject to these changes and many have been quite vocal about the intrusion on their quality of life. Who can blame them? Until the work is complete, the municipality can only offer by-law protection to existing residents which stipulates the construction hours of operation and thereby attempts to manage noise. Road access and closures are determined by the Town Council; and the Town will also work to reduce dust by requiring the developers to keep roads clean and spray with water regularly. Other municipal responsibilities include subdivision approvals and ensuring that the building codes are met.

Construction garbage is also a problem. If it isn’t managed by the builder it can accumulate in vacant lots. In accordance with the laws afforded private property, the owner of the vacant lot must be notified that they are in violation of the property standards by-law and are requested to tidy their vacant land within a specific time frame or be taken to court. This is aggravating for Council and the existing residents due to the time and tax money involved in processing the complaint. Sometimes being a Councillor feels like being a parent. You need to remind people: If you make a mess than you must clean it up. Please don’t waste our time and tax dollars on taking you to court to face your responsibilities.

Infill development—where the development occurs within the existing neighbourhood—brings another set of concerns. If the development is proposed for a Regional road, it will likely meet all the criteria for the Province’s old laws touting "Smart Growth" and the new Provincial laws to protect Greenspace and direct growth. Local laws will also support growth particularly along Yonge Street and Highway 7 where many millions of dollars will be spent over the next few years to provide for public transit. Even so, it is imperative that the public be involved in the process and that our local government determines the most appropriate location for higher density development. Each development proposal must be judged on its own merits.

In some cases, a school or daycare centre is proposed within an existing neighbourhood. Or a vacant parcel of public land is needed for roadway, conversion to residential, or to provide a new public facility with additional parking or expansion. These developments are very intrusive and tend to pit neighbours against neighbours and also against their elected representatives. Although knowing the political process and the governing laws is helpful, Council can still lose either because the residents faith is lost in our ability to manage our own Town, or through losing the battle to the Ontario Municipal Board. Residents tend to see the public lands as "parkland" but sometimes public lands need to be developed for public facilities. Vacant lands or farmlands become the private vista of current residents and when the development proposal is delivered, residents have been known to react with shock and betrayal. The fact is somebody owns the land and unless there are laws against it, the lands are open to development. What we need to do is to negotiate the best development for our Town and this neighbourhood.

ISN’’T IT ALL ABOUT MONEY?

Growth does add tax revenues to the "Town’s coffers" but it also comes with an additional price tag: more people, cars bring more operational and maintenance costs. Growth does not pay for all the costs of growth. It may cover the cost of the building, road, or pipes but it will not keep up with the operational or maintenance costs except through property tax increases or in some cases, user fees.

Again, the expectations of our governing laws enters the picture. The Provincial Policy Statement and the Provincial laws directing growth are anticipating a 40% growth in York Region over the next 25 years. In order to accommodate our assigned population forecasts, York Region will have to plan for an additional 600,000 people (you read that right... 600 THOUSAND). We simply do not have the infrastructure to provide for this growth and will require both Federal and Provincial dollars to provide basic necessities to our residents. While some would advocate that we just close the door to immigration, further study will show that the Canadian population is aging and it is only through immigration that we will have sufficient population to provide services for the future.

WHEN THE ONTARIO MUNICIPAL BOARD DECIDES:

Even when the local government believes that it made the most appropriate decision for our residents and our Town’s future, the developer, or any resident may still challenge the Town at the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB). Many fair and appropriate local plans have been reversed by the OMB—a board of unelected, appointed officials who may have absolutely no knowledge of planning AND it is highly unlikely that they have any understanding of the Town’s operation or the character of its various communities. In my opinion, the OMB should confirm that the Provincial, Regional, and Local planning laws have been met and the decision of Council - an elected body of representatives- remains paramount. The only appeal to the Ontario Municipal Board should be on a matter of process; where Council may have erred in law. OMB reform is still in the works.

FUTURE DEVELOPMENT:

There are many more parcels of land across Richmond Hill which will face development proposals over the next few years. Urban designations for land use on parts of the Oak Ridges Moraine will continue to fuel the anger of environmentalists but if the law permits development, then Council must negotiate the terms. Will it be high, medium, or low density? Is it designated employment lands or residential land in the Official Plan for the Region and the Town? Will it have appropriate water, sewer, hydro, transit, cable and other operating services? Does the land require environmental setback provisions which may make the developable space constrained? Will it meet traffic standards? Will it be architecture that suits the neighbourhood? And many, many more questions.

Although land use is usually designated by the municipality, as I have stated, sometimes it may be designated by the Province or the Ontario Municipal Board. Town Council has the responsibility of making the finer detailed decisions with the advice of planners and engineers and with the participation of the public. We need to secure the trust of the public through meaningful participation in the political process. And, we must not relinquish the authority to plan for our own neighbourhoods.

Thank you for taking the time to read my newsletter. Obviously it is far too brief to offer an education in local planning and governance but I do hope that you learned something. I also hope that you will make contact through my email, website, or telephone to let me know your views.

Sincerely,
Brenda