Newmarket digs in for OMB hearing
Proposal Under Fire
NRU
January 22, 2014
By Edward LaRusic
A proposed development in Newmarket has residents up in arms, and council united against it, saying that there’s no good reason to be intensifying in the proposed area.
Marianneville Developments Limited has appealed to the Ontario Municipal Board to amend the Newmarket official plan and zoning by-law. It is seeking permission to develop 730 dwelling unit on the west side of the city, on lands that were formerly part of a country club.
The proposal has been under fire from nearby residents, who are unhappy because they say the site should remain a golf course. Residents group Glenway Preservation Association vice chair Dave Sovran says the development was a surprise to the community.
“We were in shock because the [Newmarket] official plan preserved this space as private open green space. It was considered by the town for its secondary growth planning process, and they made a choice to exclude these lands from intensification, to focus the growth area on the Yonge-Davis corridor.”
Glenway Preservation Association argument centres on the “principle of development.” The association says that the Vaughan official plan does not envision intensification in this location and as such any increased density should be contemplated within the context of an official plan review. Moreover, there are enough lands already set aside for intensification to handle the projected population growth in Vaughan.
Sovran said that a system where a developer decides where the community should intensify, rather than the municipality, is “broken.” Groundswell principle Brad Rogers, whose firm is assisting Marianneville with public consultation and project coordination, spoke to NRU by email.
“The Town of Newmarket is obligated to accommodate growth and intensification that is directed down from the province, through policies like Places to Grow and the Provincial Policy Statement. The Region of York’s official plan also complies with this direction.”
Rogers added that the planner the town hired to review the application, Ruth Victor (Ruth Victor and Associated) noted that the Marianneville lands are within the built boundary of the city and therefore represent an opportunity for development. She said, there is no planning justification to prohibit develop on these lands.
“The Glenway residents believe they have a historic entitlement and the privately-owned lands should remain greenspace,” Rogers said. “The lands were not purchased by a public agency or the residents although they were on the market for about two years.”
Marianneville has offered to settle with the City of Vaughan twice in order to avoid an OMB hearing, Rogers told NRU. The offers have included potential sale of some of the Marianneville
property to the town, and height reductions from 15 to six storeys for two proposed buildings near the GO Transit bus terminal on Davis Drive West. However, the number of dwelling units - 730 - has remained constant.
In November 2013, Newmarket council unanimously voted to fight the Marianneville appeal at the board. The Glenway Preservation Association will be fighting the appeal alongside the city as a party. Meanwhile the city is hiring outside legal and planning consultants to represent it at the OMB.
The OMB hearing will be heard in two phases beginning March 17. The first phase will deal with the “principle of development,” and the second phase will address the details of the proposal.
Board member Jason Chee-Hing said during a December 10, 2013 pre-hearing that the board may, at its discretion, issue a decision following the first phase.
“This application is now an election issue for all of the local councillors,” said Rogers. “And [it] is a prime example of why the OMB is needed to render decisions based on policy and good planning merits.”
