Richmond Hill’s mayor and local councillors are seeking to appeal the latest decision from the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) that will introduce two towers, one at 28 storeys and one at 24 storeys, which they say undermines the town’s official plan.
Originally submitted by Haulover Investments Limited, the application was for an amendment to the town’s official plan and the redesignation of the lands on the southeast corner of Yonge Street and 16th Avenue to a “key development area” to permit 494 residential units.
The OMB gave the developer the green light to build two mixed-use towers, including a 28-storey tower, which is eight storeys higher than the town’s official plan restrictions.
Further complicating the matter, according to Mayor Dave Barrow, is that the town’s official plan itself is currently up for review at the OMB.
“It did not represent anything: the old plan, the new plan, the people plan that the whole community spent two years … trying to create a document that would reflect the kind of community that we would like to see,” Barrow said.
Barrow also cited height and density concerns and said that this type of development is more suited to southern Richmond Hill, near Yonge Street and Highway 7 where there will “hopefully” be a subway line.
According to Jeffrey Streisfield, the lawyer for Haulover, the proposed height and transit-oriented development were found to be appropriate for the location by the OMB. But Coun. Godwin Chan, who put forward a motion to challenge the decision, said whether or not the official plan has been approved by the OMB, it is still a council-adopted plan, which should have been taken into consideration.
“It’s not only about the site because it undermines the whole official plan,” Chan said. “To have a body beyond our borders that is not accountable … that would presume to have a profound impact in our community, it’s certainly very frustrating.”
