Richmond Hill puts long-awaited sewer, water hookup in Oak Ridges on hold

City paused design at 60 per cent

Yorkregion.com
Oct. 26, 2020
Sheila Wang

Anthony Fasciano has waited for municipal sewer and water services for years, but it seems to have hit another roadblock.

The Oak Ridges resident who lives on Muirhead Crescent, near Stouffville Road and Yonge Street, said he received a letter from the City of Richmond Hill in September that said the project has been put on hold.

It came out of blue to Fasciano who was expecting to see the complete design of the project this year, especially after preliminary work had begun as scheduled earlier this year.

Multiple manholes covered up with fresh asphalt can still be seen on Muirhead, which Fasciano said were left by crews who worked on test wells in the spring.

The city paused the design at 60 per cent of completion because “development interests” have emerged that would likely alter the design requirements to suit future needs, according to the September letter.

“It’s very insulting. The town has ignored us. Neither the city nor the developer has consulted us who are the main stakeholders,” said Fasciano, who has lived in the community for 42 years.

It took the Muirhead community years to advocate for municipal services before the city finally gave the nod to the infrastructure project in November 2016, and it was scheduled to start design in 2020 and construction in 2021.

The project would require 915 metres of water main, 728 metres of sanitary sewer as well as associated services connections to 30 properties in the neighbourhood, according to city spokesperson Ash O’Malley.

Resident Paul Madaleno, who has lived in the area for 40 years, said he wouldn't mind waiting for another five years but found the reason provided for the suspension inadequate.

Developments shouldn't affect the infrastructure planned for the existing residents who've already agreed to chip in and the developer should cover the future cost, he said.

Just a few months back, the residents received a letter from Neuhaus Developments that cast doubt on the sudden turn of events.

In the letter signed by Khalid Yusuf, CEO of the Richmond Hill-based company, it expressed an interest in pursuing a development and said the city was “not currently doing anything that would add value” to their properties.

He also wrote that his team had many discussions with city council, primarily Regional Coun. Carmine Perrelli and won their support for the development.

"Is he a developer or is he a real estate agent who's interested in purchasing and selling?" said Paul Nolis, who spearheaded the effort to push for the services in 2013, while pointing out the "for sale" signs in front the properties of Neuhaus Developments, including its own office building on Stouffville Road.

Yusuf said he was not attempting to buy lands and the letter was merely intended to reach out to the neighbours to offer help.

The developer told The Liberal he was planning to file development applications for the properties he owned at the corner of Yonge Street and Stouffville Road, but he got concerned the potential “waste of tax dollars” after finding out the city was planning for municipal services only for “what’s there today.”

No applications have been filed yet, Nolis noted.

“The developers should pay for the extra cost. They have to. We don't care about the developments. We just want to live,” resident Morteza Sedighian said.

Unlike Madaleno who has no issue with his well water and septic tanks, Sedighian said he had to buy drinking water and worried about the environmental impact of the 70-year-old septic systems in the neighbourhood.

The development interests, however, were not the only reason for the pause, O’Malley wrote, noting it was out of consideration of the potential impact of new provincial growth targets.

“The city is taking time to evaluate where there may be cost-saving opportunities for the city and area residents, as well as to ensure the infrastructure is planned in a way that can accommodate future growth,” the spokesperson wrote.

She said the approved design budget for the project was $565,000.

Richmond Hill council is expected to receive an update report on the project from staff on Nov. 10.