Richmond Hill seeks emergency extension of water and sewage hookup in Gormley in wake of Stouffville fire

'In my mind, this isn’t about fire safety,' says Coun. West, who opposes motion

Yorkregion.com
November 16, 2020

Richmond Hill council is looking to extend full municipal services to the Gormley area, a week after Whitchurch-Stouffville voted to make the same request for the same hamlet on its side.

At the Oct. 28 meeting, councillors passed a motion to ask York Region to initiate a process to extend water and sewage services to the Gormley settlement area, located in north Richmond Hill.

Regional Coun. Joe DiPaola brought forward the motion as a time-sensitive matter on the heels of the resolution adopted by Stouffville council Oct. 20 which requested the service connection in an effort to protect life and property from the threat of fire.

The decision in Stouffville came after a fire incident at a scrap metal yard Sept. 21, which resulted in draining its existing nonportable fire suppression system and required help from Richmond Hill and Markham fire services.

Stouffville staff estimated about 1.9 million litres of water were utilized to put the fire out, over one million litres more than the capacity of the system in its Gormley area.

“We’re simply making the same request that Stouffville has made. In the absence of doing so, services will be brought to Whitchurch-Stouffville if that’s what the region resolves, and we’d be left out,” DiPaola told his council members.

Coun. David West moved to refer the proposal back to staff for a report, but only received one vote -- from Coun. Karen Cilevitz -- in support.

West said he was unable to make an informed decision on the proposal as there wasn’t sufficient time or information made available.

A full report prepared by Stouffville staff was circulated to Richmond Hill council members two days ahead of the meeting, city clerk Stephen Huycke said.

West said he didn’t understand how the resolution, made by the neighbouring town, would relate to the city.

“In my mind, this isn’t about fire safety. This is about opening up municipal serving to parts of the Oak Ridges Moraine,” West said before voting against the motion, alongside Cilevitz.

Gormley is a long-standing rural hamlet that overlaps Richmond Hill and Stouffville, divided by Hwy. 404.

There are 40 buildings in Gormley on Richmond Hill’s side, including 38 residential dwellings, one industrial building and one church, according to the city.

With more than 100 years of history, Gormley has not been connected to full municipal services due to the fact that it’s a designated rural settlement in the Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Plan which only permits minor infilling.

Meanwhile, the hamlet is also designated as a Heritage Conservation District which aims to preserve the general existing character of the area.

For settlement areas like Gormley, that are serviced by rivers, inland lakes, or groundwater, the current provincial planning framework doesn’t allow extension of water or wastewater services from a Great Lakes sources, according to the Stouffville staff report.

But an extension is permitted for reasons of public health and safety, the report reads.

Unlike Stouffville which uses a fire suppression system in the hamlet, Richmond Hill Fire and Emergency Services operates tankers for water supply in Gormley.

The fire departments with tanker trucks in Richmond Hill have been recognized in the Superior Tanker Shuttle Service Accreditation program which provides assurance that adequate water can be brought to a fire incident from an alternate water supply other than a fire hydrant on a municipal water system, according to the city.

The city has not received any complaints in the Gormley area regarding a lack of municipal services, according to spokesperson Libbi Hood.

York Region received the requests made from both municipalities at its Nov. 5 meeting.