The province wants to fast track a Transit Oriented Communities (TOC) proposal for Richmond Hill Centre that more than doubles the population and tramples the Richmond Hill Centre secondary plan for the area. The TOC proposal shows 32 towers, with 18 of them 60 storeys or higher and seven of those at 80 storeys.
URGENT CALL TO ACTION!
Please also email our local MPs, MPPs, City Council and York Region Council with your comments. Click here for all email addresses
Tell them that you "do not support the High Tech Station TOC and request that the Province align the TOC proposal with the emerging Richmond Hill Secondary Plan to which all stakeholders including residents provided input since 2019."
Key Points about the TOC:
According to this YR staff report the province developed this TOC proposal and one for the Langstaff Gateway (Bridge) with developers to plan and deliver integrated development with transit expansion.
The projected Persons and Jobs per Hectare proposed for the two TOCs is more than 6 times higher than downtown Toronto and an increase in density of up to 62% in comparison to the Secondary Plans
The TOCs double the housing densities of the municipalities and in the process also shrunk the number of jobs which in effect will make this area a pass through to downtown Toronto not a complete sustainable community
According to a January 22, 2022 York Region Staff report:
These developments are not following the review and decision process timelines legislated through the Planning Act instead is following a unique Provincially led process
The Province is prepare to use a Ministers Zoning Order (MZO) in order to achieve "zoning certainty" by March 2022
Intensification and the magnitude of growth proposed by the TOC proposals is significant and will impact the planning and delivery of physical and social infrastructure, including roads, sewer and water, waste management, emergency and social services and other community facilities to support future residents and workers in the area
Density, parkland, mix of use proposed by the TOC developments deviate from vision, principles, and objectives in current secondary plans
Building heights and densities proposed on TOC lands exceed permissions in approved and proposed secondary plans
It remains unclear how the TOC proposals will deliver 35% affordable housing to meet secondary plan and Regional targets
The significance of Regional Centres and these emerging TOD nodes in York Region require comprehensive planning to create the vision for complete communities the municipalities have worked extensively to achieve
On January 26, 2022 The City of Markham sent a letter to the Province with a request to align the Bridge Station TOC Proposal with the vision of the Langstaff Gateway Secondary Plan to create a complete and sustainable community.
The Langstaff Gateway Secondary Plan, approved in 2011, facilitates a high-density, mixed use, transit-oriented community with a range of mobility choices, community services and parks and open spaces and was developed through a two-year comprehensive public engagement process.
