Hundreds turn out to help revive Richmond Hill’s downtown

‘Farthest we’ve ever come to remaking our downtown’ says mayor

Yorkregion.com
Feb. 4, 2016
By Kim Zarzour

Storefront windows in downtown Richmond Hill may be empty, but a town hall meeting last night was full to overflowing with residents, business owners and developers who want to change all that.

More than 200 people crowded into council chambers to learn more about plans for the ailing village core.

The mood was hopeful as councillors and residents listened to a presentation of the town’s draft secondary plan.

Residents who spoke to council expressed their approval for the plan they hope will bring life back to the beleaguered business district, but developers and land owners weren’t so sure.

Some warned that the plan’s lower density restrictions in the central part of the village will impair economic viability of their proposed developments.

The town’s official plan calls for three districts in the downtown area. The village core just north of Yonge and Major Mackenzie will have “modest growth,” while the civic and uptown districts, just north and south of the village core, will have more height and density, senior planner Michelle Dobbie said.

The draft secondary plan provides more detail and is designed to “unlock the potential of the downtown” she said.

Town planners want to enhance the walkable “main street character” and unify the area by linking parks and plazas with a system of courtyards and pedestrian areas behind the Yonge Street buildings.

There is currently a healthy supply of parking spaces, but it is “territorial”, Dobbie said, and the town hopes to rectify that with a more urban parking model - beginning with better signage and eventually town-owned public parking structures.

The secondary plan hopes to retain the village character and view of historic church steeples with reduced height and density between Dunlop and Major Mackenzie, but delegations representing developers said last night that is a bad idea.

Ira R. Kirshen, a land-owner in the designated area, said many property owners in the village won’t be happy with the “short-sighted ... unrealistic development goals and restrictions” that will lead to a slow decay.

“A landlord requires a return on investment and this plan devalues the properties in the village district,” he said. “Keeping the height restriction to five stories all but ensures the lack of financial feasibility to proceed with a development project and would create a dilapidated two-storey village centre bordered by eight- to 15-storey buildings on either side.

“When you moved city hall, you threw the area into a death spiral that we have not dug ourselves out of because of recommendations like this chasing away investment.”

But residents who spoke praised the vision for a revitalized downtown core.

Wilhelm Bleek, a resident of Centre Street West since 1986, described it as a utopia “preserving cultural heritage, community, walkability, it’s all in your plan and it’s amazing.”

Ian McCallum, another village resident, said he sat on the central business district advisory committee several years ago.

Few local business owners took part in the process, he said, “and it looked a lot like herding cats ... It really was a problem”.

The draft secondary plan is an excellent one that engages both long-timers and newcomers, he said, but it should include a process that “gets rid of some of the cats”.

He suggested the town work with other levels of government to put in place a program enabling municipalities to pool investment funds to “buy out some of the cats” [property owners] and make the master plan a reality.

“It’s a perilous investment decision to buy into the central business district at the current time.”

Murray Evans, speaking on behalf of three property owners, added to the metaphor from a different perspective.

The plan is a complicated one, he said, and requires “not only getting rid of some of the cats, but also making sure some of those cats are happy”.

His clients are struggling with what kind of development they can build in the core with the proposed density restrictions, he said.

“How do we make it worthwhile?”

Another resident, John Skelton, voiced concerns about the growing number of homes being converted to rental units, with overflowing garbage and multiple cars being parked at the property.

Ward 2 Councillor Tom Muench, who in recent weeks sent out robocalls promoting the downtown core public meeting, said he has heard from more than 250 people concerned about traffic, liveability, walking, biking and safety.

“I hope that we can be unselfish. That’s hard,” he said. “For those of you that love the look of the churches, how many of you go?”

He warned that some village residents living on Centre Street may find their two-lane road becomes a four-lane.

“Those of you that dream of a subway? In truth, if there’s no density, would you want tax dollars focused on putting a subway up there?”

Some property owners would like to see dense development similar to North York, but the town’s plan calls for a more “village-friendly community”, Regional Councillor Brenda Hogg said.

“I love this plan - it defines us, it’s unique, it is small. If we build over it, we lose it forever. We are not North York.”

Ward 3 Councillor Castro Liu said compromises may be necessary for a vibrant downtown core.

“A downtown without traffic is a ghost town. No plan is perfect, it’s not going to make everyone happy, but I thank staff for this wonderful report because to me this is mission impossible and they’re making possible out of possible.”

“This is farthest that we’ve ever come to the remaking of our downtown,” said Mayor Dave Barrow. “It is going to change and that will make it vibrant.”

This week’s meeting was the first part of the public portion of the downtown revitalization process, Dobbie said. It will be followed by a public comment portion and stakeholder meetings, including a meeting with the local Business Improvement Association tonight (Thursday), leading to final endorsement by council in the fall.