Downtown Richmond Hill growing pains

NRU
July 25, 2018
Rachael Williams

The Local Planning Appeal Tribunal has issued a long awaited ruling that will allow Laurier Homes to build 88 townhouses in downtown Richmond Hill--more than double what was proposed in the company’s original application.

Submitted in June 2015, the original proposal was to build 37 townhouses and four single-detached homes on Arnold Crescent, located near Yonge Street and Major Mackenzie Drive. Prior to staff making a recommendation, Laurier Homes had appealed the zoning by-law amendment and draft plan of subdivision to the Ontario Municipal Board (now LPAT) citing council’s failure to make a decision.

In May 2016, staff recommended against the proposal on the grounds that it did not meet the density requirements for the town as outlined in the Downtown Local Centre Secondary Plan.

“It’s very unusual. Normally we have people that are allowed to have 37 townhomes, but they come in at 88, or the area allows for 15 storeys and they come in at 30 storeys,” said Richmond Hill mayor Dave Barrow.

While the matter was before the board, Laurier Homes revised its plans for the 1.1-ha site, proposing 88 stacked back-to-back townhomes and six semi-detached units. The revised application also included a new 15.5-metre road that would provide a much-needed north-south connection from the designated village district in the downtown, where the site is located, to Major Mackenzie Drive.

“A key direction in the Downtown Local Centre land use strategy is for the downtown to continue to have, and plan for, a well-connected system of pedestrian and cycling connections that connect key destinations,” said Richmond Hill communications officer Lynn Chan.

Staff supported the revised plans and when the matter came before the tribunal, it was in the form of a proposed settlement for 88 townhomes and four single-detached homes.

But neighbouring residents unanimously opposed the development on the grounds that it did not fit in with the cultural heritage of the area and represented over-intensification in the downtown village district.

The residents also expressed concern about the planning process, arguing at the LPAT hearing that since the application changed so drastically with the addition of 51 new townhomes, Laurier Homes should have submitted a new application to allow a fulsome public process.

“In our view there was ample time for public comment and consultation,” said Borden Ladner Gervais partner Isaac Tang.

Tang told NRU there were two public meetings for the original 37-townhouse application. Once a settlement proposal had been reached between the town and the applicant, a staff report was released to the public. The report was presented to the committee of the whole where the public was allowed to delegate. Council approved the staff recommendations one week later, which was also a public process.

“The public process was long and, clearly, resulted in a development proposal that the participants did not like,” reads the LPAT decision. “However, the tribunal finds that the process, while convoluted, was not unfair.”

The tribunal also concluded that the proposed design meets the town’s urban design guidelines, as it is compatible with the existing built environment and provides appropriate transition to surrounding properties.

“Our community is like everywhere else...People get the fact that we were going to have to be more intense in the areas that we already have rather than going to the next farmer’s field and building another subdivision,” said Barrow. “We don’t want to do that anymore and we’re running out of farmers’ fields.”

Barrow told NRU council has been pushing for townhomes and low-to-medium density in the downtown village district in an effort to bring more people into the neighbourhood and turn it into a destination.

“We’re being urban...we’re growing up as a town, but we’re not quite accepting it all over the place yet,” he said.