The Langstaff Gateway Secondary Plan, which will guide the redevelopment of the land that stretches from Bayview Avenue to Yonge Street, between Langstaff Road and Holy Cross Cemetery, was recently passed at York Regional Council. The land is the Markham half of a larger area slated for provincally-mandated intensification. The other half falls within Richmond Hill. With the expectation that the two municipalities will co-ordinate their plans, Richmond Hill mayor Dave Barrow tried to defer the approval. He said it was premature to move it forward before York Region’s overarching plan is considered in September, citing unresolved traffic concerns in particular.
Markham mayor, Frank Scarpitti, explained that the principles in the regional plan are taken directly from the Langstaff Gateway Secondary Plan, so there was no need for a delay. He believes the phasing of the public transit-oriented project, which depends on provisions such as the Yonge subway extension, has established the appropriate controls for development.
“While there may be aspects of this that will be co-ordinated, it’s in some respects almost two worlds because of the 407 dividing Richmond Hill to the north and Thornhill to the south,” he said. Brenda Hogg, a local and regional councillor from Richmond Hill, feels as though the region is siding with one partner over the other.
“This is a massive development, and these studies have not been completed. But we’ve approved 5,000 units to begin right now, for Markham,” she said.
In the next roughly 15 to 20 years, Langstaff Gateway is set to accommodate about 15,000 units and 32,000 residents. Richmond Hill Centre should see about 8,000 residential units — up to 2,000 in the first phase — and 16,000 residents. Other uses will also create more than 30,000 new jobs in the area. Site cleanup and planning approvals will be required before developers can begin building.