2015 is calm before development storm in East Gwillimbury

Yorkregion.com
Nov. 13, 2015
By Simon Martin

The pace of new home development in East Gwillimbury slowed in 2015.

New home building permits dropped from 167 in 2014 to an estimated 87 in 2015.

The numbers were surprising to some members of East Gwillimbury council.

“I thought we were booming in East Gwillimbury,” Councillor Joe Persechini said.

The lull, however, is just temporary.

While development services had expected a higher volume of permits in 2015, general manager Carolyn Kellington said the slowdown was due to the timing of the York Durham Sewage System extension completion at the end of this year.

CAO Tom Webster said the town expects somewhere in the vicinity of 1,000 building permits in 2016 as new development starts to come online.

Town staff have laid out how many homes have draft plan approval in Holland Landing, Sharon, Mount Albert and Queensville.

The numbers are big.

In Holland Landing west, there is approval for 1,294 homes, with 987 serviced through the YDSS.

In Holland Landing east, there are 1,626 approved units, with 906 serviced through the YDSS.

In Queensville, there are 1,826 approved units, with a YDSS allotment of 3,151.

In Sharon, there are 1,974 approved homes, with 1,546 serviced through the YDSS.

Finally, in Mount Albert, there is approval for 454 homes that are serviced by the Mount Albert Sewage Treatment Plant.

In total, that is 7,174 homes in East Gwillimbury that already have draft plan approval.

Ideally, town staff would like to have a stable building rate of about 800 homes every year, but that’s not how the market works.