VIDEO: Richmond Hill residents protest council ‘steamrolling’ ambitious development at Yonge and Bernard

“We think it could potentially mean they can build up to 60 storeys along the corridors right in the middle of the KDA,” a lawyer says of the new plan.

Yorkregion.com
June 1, 2020

More than 100 Richmond Hill residents took to the streets Sunday afternoon to protest against a newly approved development plan for the Yonge Street and Bernard community.

Large signs in red and white and homemade posters could been seen at the four corners of Yonge and Bernard where protesters lined the streets on the windy afternoon to push against a plan that allows higher density and taller buildings in the Yonge and Bernard key development area.

The turnout was “more than expected,” said John Li, organizer of the Yonge-Bernard Residents Association, known as TheYRA.org, who spearheaded the demonstration.

As protesters walked along Yonge Street holding signs reading “No Overdevelopment,” a number of cars drove the street with the same signs on the windows while honking the horns to show support.

All protesters were required to wear masks and practice physical distancing from each other.

"Too tall! Too tall! Too tall!" a poster reads.

After scraping the original 2017 plan which limited the height to 15 storeys, Richmond Hill council approved a new plan at the May 14 closed meeting which proposed to increase density, reduce parkland and lower parking standards, as well as removing the cap on building heights in the development area.

“It seems to be moving too fast, too high and too dense too quickly,” Jason Cherniak, lawyer for TheYRA.org. “There isn’t enough long-term planning for how this community should grow.”

In the new plan, staff eliminated the cap on the building heights and instead adopted a "policy-led height regime" for the purpose of providing design flexibility and accommodating an "eclectic mix of build form," a staff report says.

“We think it could potentially mean they can build up to 60 storeys along the corridors right in the middle of the KDA,” the lawyer said.

The cap on building heights had gone from 15 storeys to 37, then back to 15, before the city decided to revamp the entire plan last December.

Many protesters have also raised concerns about traffic, infrastructure, as well as the manners in which council made the decision on the key development area.

Coun. Tom Muench was seen fiercely arguing with protesters on Yonge Street while a resident demanded him to stop using the protest as his platform.

"Tom Muench is a liar! He told us he was against development before the election, and now that he won, he supports development," resident Sally Ni said.

Council has changed its decision on the plan for the community at six times for the past three years, and residents said the new development plan is “drastically different” from 2017 version of the plan.

Developers has appealed the 2017 plan to The Local Planning Appeal Tribunal (LPAT) to seek higher building height.

The new development plan, which has new height limit, is expected to be heard at The Local Planning Appeal Tribunal (LPAT) in July.