Richmond Hill city plan open house engages community about future plans

Residents attend event to learn about development, ask questions

Yorkregion.com
June 9, 2023
Melissa Wallace

Approximately 200 people pre-registered for the City of Richmond Hill’s open house on June 7, and the venue at M.L. McConaghy Seniors' Centre was packed.

“It was a bit of a shock to us, the amount of people who pre-registered, but it meant we were prepared because we knew it would be busy,” said Dmitriy Kharena, planning researcher, who was speaking to residents about Newkirk Local Centre. “It tells me that the people who live in Richmond Hill are really passionate about their community and they really care, which is encouraging to see.”

Kharena was one of many staff answering questions and sharing information about proposed official plan amendments for four centres located at Yonge Street and Carrville/16th Avenue, Yonge Street and Major Mackenzie Drive, Yonge Street and King Road, and Major Mackenzie Drive East and Newkirk Road. Information boards about zoning bylaws and the vision for city growth were also set up on easels spread out around the room.

“I’ve had a lot of questions about traffic, parking and about existing jobs and what will happen to them,” said Kharena. “I also had a few questions about the rail length and what the train service will be like

“Overall, people are really excited about having a walkable community, so they're welcoming that.”

Samuel Matrosov and Rebecca Jeon are Richmond Hill residents who attended the event to find out more about future plans for their city.

Matrosov is studying urban planning in his first year at the University of Waterloo and Jeon is also in her first year of urban planning at Toronto Metropolitan University.

They expressed concern they will never be able to afford a home in today’s market, and that the problem is not isolated to Richmond Hill alone.

“In Waterloo, I’ll be living with six guys next year and my rent is still going to be $700 a month,” said Matrosov. “On average, in Waterloo, renting a place is, like, $1,800 a month and you're getting a little box.”

To create more affordable housing, he suggests working with developers to make development enticing for everyone.

“Developers are not a charity, they're trying to make money on the market,” he said. “And if they have a plot of land, they're going to maximize units and make these super tall sardines, or they're going to make luxury monster homes for rich people who can afford it.

“Solutions might include having incentives like lowering development charges, maybe allowing for height limit exchanges for land, for example, and having a collaborative and compromising relationship with the developers, but also not giving them full control.”

Participants had the opportunity to provide input related to creating more compact, complete communities in centres; planning for transportation, recreation and other amenities to support long-term growth within these areas; and facilitating development that would provide economic, social and environmental prosperity for the city.

Read Richmond Hill’s official plan at https://www.richmondhill.ca/officialplan.