Residents near Markham York Downs proposal want townhouses moved off 16th
'It offers little to no respect for the community on the south side of 16th Avenue”: resident

YorkRegion.com
April 20, 2018
Tim Kelly

The developer of the massive York Downs residential project spoke earlier this week about changes to the plan, but nearby residents remain unimpressed with its alterations to date.

Sixteenth Land Holdings, the developers of the 2,400-unit, mixed-use, residential property proposal, to be constructed between Warden Avenue, Kennedy Road and north of Sixteenth Avenue, said they had made 31 changes to their previous revised plan. That plan had been presented last fall after resident and staff input had been gathered.

After a series of well-attended public meetings held last spring and one last September, further alterations to the massive development were made, and Sixteenth Land Holdings spoke about their latest proposal to residents who braved poor weather Tuesday night to come out to the Markham Civic Centre.

The changes made include: increased total parkland; slightly reduced overall residential density, to 18.8 units per hectare; a trail added to the west side of the valley lands; revised limits of development and enlarged open space; and the opportunity for a place of worship has been kept open.

What the developer didn't do, however, is move the controversial mixed-use townhouse-condominium block off 16th Avenue, a prime sore point with many of the residents when the plan was first revealed to the public.

Mike Gannon, who has closely followed all aspects of the plan and commented on each stage of it, noted that the “highest densities of the development are in the south, right across from 16th Avenue … this plan, assuming we still have that 500-foot row of 44-foot-tall townhouses fronting on 16th, offers little to no respect for the community on the south side of 16th Avenue.”

“It certainly offers the opportunity for disruption, reduced quality of life, especially the heavy new traffic flow. A reduction in unit count in this large development would be beneficial,” he said calling for a reduction in overall unit amount by 20 per cent, or 500 units, in the development.

Concerns were also raised about the possibility of putting a supermarket near the townhouse development.

The next meeting, committee chairperson Amanda Collucci said, will be held sometime later this spring.