Markham farmland 'irrevocably lost' to development despite pleas from public to stem urban sprawl

Yorkregion.com
Nov. 2, 2021

Despite opposition from the public, a 50/55 per cent intensification rate of growth until 2051 was approved at regional council Oct. 21 thereby opening up more of Markham’s whitebelt lands to development.

Unlike the Greenbelt, which is protected, the whitebelt is designated as prime agricultural and countryside areas that can be rezoned as residential to accommodate future growth and employment targets set by the province, including a projected 2.2 million people forecasted to call York Region home by 2051.

Many in Markham, including the city, had advocated for a 60 per cent intensification rate that would have cut the amount of whitebelt land on the table -- primarily located in Markham, Vaughan and East Gwillimbury -- from 2,050 hectares to 700 hectares.

That would not only have protected the majority of the whitebelt through continued agricultural use, but would also have directed the majority of the region's growth to centres and corridors that are well supported by regional and provincial infrastructure, Unionville Residents Association (URA) president Mike Gannon said.

“Higher intensification also reduces the greenhouse gas footprint, improves the potential for active transportation, which benefits community health, and assists in affordable housing,” he added.

About 200 hectares of Markham’s whitebelt located in the northeast section of the city would have been designated for community use under the 60 per cent scenario, versus the 925 hectares “irreversibly lost” under the 50/55 per cent phased-in approach, added URA director Peter Miasek.

“I am definitely disappointed and perplexed that York Council chose the 50/55 per cent intensification target,” he said. “The option that URA recommended -- 60 per cent now and then revisit in five to 10 years -- is a risk-free prudent way to respond to provincial rules that have two significant flaws: unrealistically high population targets and a 30-year planning horizon.”

Since the Region has been intensifying at an average rate of 53 per cent over the past 10 years, and at 64 per cent over the past three years, Miasek said the recent decision is a step backward.

Miasek and Gannon fear the region’s decision also sets up another Pickering airport-like scenario since those lands cannot be clawed back and could potentially sit in limbo for decades.

“Once it's designated as future urban area from its current agricultural, there will be development pressure on it and there will also be what we call the Pickering Airport effect, which is land that may not be developed for 30 years, but will still sit there with no farm investment,” said Miasek.

While landowners and developers praised the 50/55 plan, saying it balances the need for family housing in lower density areas with high density and ensures an adequate supply of ground-related housing, the vast majority of those who spoke to regional council expressed concerns for the environment, loss of locally grown food and affordable housing.

Markham resident Alexis Whalen was hoping for a hard urban boundary for at least 10 years to wait for clarity on environmental solutions and carbon emission reduction.

“I want a livable future for my children and all the children,” she said. “You want me to be concerned about where they will live but I’m way more concerned about how they will live. Will they even have a livable planet and if they don’t, what does it matter if the market offers them a single detached home with a patch of grass?”

Cheryll Case, author and urban planner, said the region “massively underestimated” its capacity to accommodate growth within existing neighbourhoods.

The region should focus on the “missing middle,” she said, by encouraging multi-family housing with semi-detached or duplexes, smaller three-storey apartments, laneway or garden suites, or allowing larger properties with older bungalows to house three smaller homes, instead of demolished for one-family “McMansions."

Markham's hamlet of Almira also had some of its employment lands converted to residential as a buffer for the existing hamlet's residents.