Canada Post agrees to give new homes Kleinburg addresses

Vaughan Weekly
February 19, 2014
By Angela Gismondi

Those who purchased homes in a new development in Kleinburg have one less thing to worry about now that Canada Post  has agreed to recognize the area as Kleinburg, not part of Woodbridge as originally intended.

Although the municipal address will be changed to Kleinburg, the Woodbridge postal code assigned to the new residents will remain.

Soon-to-be residents who bought homes in the new Impressions in the Village of Kleinburg, Kleinburg Hills and Kleinburg Crown Estates developments were recently informed that even though they purchased in Kleinburg, Canada Post had designated the area part of Woodbridge and as such, the new homes would be assigned a Woodbridge postal code (L4H). The new subdivisions are located off of Major Mackenzie Drive west of Highway 27.

This did not sit well with the new residents who started an online petition urging Vaughan MP Julian Fantino to get involved in the matter and request that Canada Post overturn its decision. Residents were concerned about a number of issues. One of the major issues was that homebuyers felt they paid a premium to live in the community of Kleinburg and the fact that they would be considered Woodbridge would affect the resale value of their homes. They were also concerned about their car and home insurance rates which would increase up to $150 a month if they were to be considered residents of Woodbridge as opposed to residents of Kleinburg. Residents also expressed concerns that there would be confusion if the City of Vaughan considered them to be residents of Kleinburg and Canada Post considered them part of Woodbridge.

Councillor Marilyn Iafrate got involved and worked with the homebuyers and Canada Post to resolve the matter.

In January, Iafrate put forward a resolution asking that council direct City staff to notify Canada Post and Fantino that the mailing address for the new homes should be changed to properly reflect Kleinburg as the community. Referring to this area as Woodbridge is contrary to the defined boundaries of the community plan adopted by the City, Iafrate argued. She asked that the change be made as soon as possible, as residents are moving into their new homes in the next few months.

“I had a meeting last Monday with senior Canada Post staff from Toronto and Ottawa,” said Iafrate. “The outcome was that they very willingly agreed to maintain the community name of Kleinburg, however the new postal code would not change (L4H). The changes will require three months to be fully active in their operations system.”

Iafrate said overall she is satisfied with the agreement that was reached.

“I am pleased with the resolution even though we will retain the Woodbridge postal code, the fact that Canada Post will update the municipal indicator as related to each address to be recognized as Kleinburg, this achieves the goal we set out to achieve - all addresses will officially be Kleinburg addresses,” said Iafrate.

She added that the change is important for preserving the community identity of Kleinburg and recognizing the significant historical importance of the village.

“This was always about community name and community identity and I was extremely pleased with Canada Post’s willingness to resolve the issue,” she stated. “The new residents were fabulous in getting together and driving this issue – I was simply the facilitator.”

During the face to face meeting, she was also able to review the Kleinburg boundaries with Canada Post to ensure that as new residential communities continue to be developed within the boundaries, that their community name of Kleinburg be protected.

“I certainly did not want to have to repeat this battle again,” said Iafrate.

Wayne Magro, a homebuyer in the new development who has been very involved in getting Canada Post to overturn its decision, was also pleased with the way things turned out.

“Myself, along with the future residents of this new community, are very pleased to see that Canada Post has reconsidered their original decision, in that they will properly designate this Kleinburg community as Kleinburg,” said Magro in an email.

“Most importantly, we have regained our sense of identity to the village of Kleinburg, which all home buyers have considered an important part of their decision in making this community their future home.”

He was pleased that the decision will prevent any address-related confusion from ever occurring.

“Prior to this decision we were forced to change our addresses to Woodbridge, even though the official City boundaries indicate the community as Kleinburg,” he explained. “Other benefits include securing each resident’s property value given the proper designation as Kleinburg, in addition to having the proper insurance rates applied specifically for vehicle insurance which is significantly less expensive in Kleinburg versus Woodbridge. Overall we are happy that our voice has been heard regarding this issue and the change was approved.”

He thanked Iafrate and his neighbours for their efforts.

“Much credit in our victory with Canada Post has to go to Councillor Marilyn Iafrate and her office, who have been instrumental in leading the charge on this issue. I admire the energy and passion Coucillor Iafrate and her team have put behind this drive in reclaiming our Kleinburg identity,” said Magro. “In addition this would have not been possible without the hard work and dedication of other fellow residents who have been very active in voicing the issue through the various channels, especially the outstanding support provided via the petition launched regarding the issue of which 333 supporters signed.”