Regional and Local Newsletter
– Autumn 2008 Richmond Hill is working very hard with stakeholders from across the community to determine how we should develop over the next 20 years. Public meetings at a variety of locations across Town have resulted in an enthusiastic response from our residential and business sectors. The information garnered from our ‘People Plan Richmond Hill’ project will set the overview of our community's character and preferred development. Out of the studies, the participants determined that there are nine important themes to consider when planning our Town. active places, green spaces *opportunities for all
people *arts, culture, heritage From these themes we will design our Strategic Plan over the next 2 years and create a new Official Plan for our Town. As a legal document, our Official Plan will help us to defend our preferred use of land for single family residential neighbourhoods, condominiums, parkland, institutional buildings, commercial plazas, and employment areas. By establishing our priorities based on our municipality’s particular interests and sound planning principles, we should be able to reduce the influence of other decision-making bodies such as the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB). Too many times over the years, our residents have complained of the changes in development by the OMB.
These plans will help guide development and protect our quality of life across Richmond Hill and throughout York Region. At the Council for York Region – where 48 cents out of every
residential tax dollar in Richmond Hill is sent –we are completing
the final consultation phase of our Growth Management Plan. With
the help of the public, we have determined 8 policy directions over
the next 20 years: Protecting our Environment, Managing Growth,
Encouraging a Diverse Economy, Intensifying Residential Development,
Providing for Human Services to sustain our Quality of Life, Building
necessary Infrastructure, Designing for ‘Quality of Place’
and Maintaining our Financial Stability. The choices made by these public meetings will help shape the way our community grows. In order to accommodate the Provincial plans for population growth for our Region: 1.5 million people by 2031; approximately 800,000 jobs by 2031; and a minimum 40% intensification within our urban areas, we need to provide a safe, stable supply of water, management of our sewage capacity, adequate electricity, a reliable transit and safe road network, solid waste disposal, environmental protection, active and well designed communities with ‘affordable’ housing. Priority water and wastewater projects across the Region between now and 2012 are estimated at $1.46 billion. For that investment, we will have built the “priority” and “critical” projects required to provide the growth expectations as set out at the Province and we will have a desirable level of environmental and public health protection. Two elevated water tanks for Richmond Hill are required to provide adequate water pressure for growth and emergency services in Oak Ridges particularly. The expansion of the Duffin Creek water pollution control plant in Pickering will provide the additional capacity for wastewater management across York Region. Then Richmond Hill will be able to release sewage credits for those developments which have complied with our priority policies for development approvals. Town Council has approved eight considerations for development approvals including:
A number of new development applications have been received by the Town’s planning department over the past few months. Some of the Yonge Street developments as proposed include: a new 18 storey residential condominium, an 8 storey retirement building, and 5 tower buildings between 18 – 28 storeys at Yonge and Sixteenth Avenue. These applications will have to meet the list of considerations approved by Council. They will be subject of course to public meetings before any decision is reached and they will have to wait for any water or sewer services until at least 2012. But the fact that these applications are being presented and considered means that our Town and Region is growing up and the pressure to provide for vital services to be built is enormous. Yonge Street subway? York Region is planning and lobbying for a $1.6 - $2.1 billion Yonge subway extension from Finch to the Richmond Hill Centre at Highway 7. Assuming the environmental assessment is approved by the Province and funding is granted by both the Provincial and Federal governments, the subway could be open as early as 2016. For more information: visit www.vivanext.com or call (416) 989-6186. Can’t wait for the subway and you’re sick
of gridlock? York Region in co-ordination with other
municipalities across the Greater Toronto Area has more than 75
employers with almost 200,000 employees signed on to the award winning
Smart Commute program. We will work with individuals or companies
to design a getting-towork Building a community is so much more than bricks and mortar. It’s
more than policies and programs. Last year, Richmond Hill completed
a Communication Audit which revealed that 94% of our residents believe
that Richmond Hill is a good place to live. They found that Richmond
Hill is a greener, cleaner, safer and family friendly place to live. Many residents are accessing the Town’s website to use the new Parks and Trails guide map. Over the summer, I made it my mission to walk the trails. I found them to be very well used by friendly people who are considerate of our natural environment; leaving only their footprints behind. People want to introduce their children to the beauty of our parks and forests, our well manicured neighbourhoods, our bike paths and many love to show off their dogs. It was wonderful to offer a smile and a greeting and have it returned. People of all ages and backgrounds were delighted to be acknowledged – even the teenagers who seemed surprised to be addressed by a stranger or the runners who had so little breath left with which to say, “hello”. A nod will do. I met a new friend and a few old neighbours at the coffee shop. I listened to the church bells in historic Richmond Hill. I took pictures of gardens to preserve their beauty over the winter months. I reported new sightings of graffiti and had them cleaned up. And I promoted our new theatre at every opportunity to anyone who would listen. Another very significant piece of property on the Oak Ridges Moraine
Swan Lake in Richmond Hill has been purchased through the TRCA,
Region of York, Richmond Hill, Toronto, Oak Ridges Moraine Foundation
and Ducks Unlimited Canada. Human Services Planning for York Region is part of my work as Chair
of the Community Services and Housing committee. We have just completed
an update of our demographic brochure. If York Region were a village
of 100 people, what would it look like? Census Canada’s latest
figures tell us that approximately 46,000 York Region residents
have immigrated to Canada in the past five years. With these levels
of recent immigration, we need to address a variety of settlement
challenges to encourage rapid Brenda Thank you for reading my newsletter. Any questions or concerns may be directed to me by phone: (905) 771-2498 or my home office: (905) 770-3386 or via email: bhogg@richmondhill.ca |
