Arvin Prasad, Commissioner of Development Services, introduced the item and provided a brief overview of the Markham Parkland Acquisition Study progress to date. Mr. Prasad advised that Staff plan to bring forward the new Parkland Dedication By-Law to the Development Services Committee in September 2022, noting that the new by-law will be used to determine parkland requirements in the City of Markham.
Parvathi Nampoothiri, Senior Manager, Urban Design, advised that the next steps with respect to the Markham Parkland Acquisition Study include: continuing to work with the consultants to refine and finalize the financial policy; identifying the preferred policy scenarios; continuing to access the impact of Bill 109 as more information becomes available; identifying implementation options for the policy update; and presenting the findings at a Development Services Committee in May 2022.
Adam Mattinson, Hemson Consulting, and Ron Palmer, the Planning Partnership, provided a presentation on the Markham Parkland Acquisition Study.
The Committee discussed the following relative to the Markham Parkland Acquisition Study:
• Clarified that the projected population growth is based on the Regional Growth forecast;
• Suggested that land for parks in bordering municipalities be considered for communities with artificial borders if there is no suitable land in close proximity to the community in Markham, such as considering land on the west side of Yonge Street for parkland for the Bridge Station Transit Oriented Community;
• Suggested that developers should be encouraged to have roof top gardens and open space between buildings in intensification areas;
• Noted that careful consideration needs to be given to the parkland dedication in downtown Markham Centre, south of Enterprise Boulevard to ensure there will be enough parkland in this area;
• Clarified that the proposed parkland ratio of 1.2 Ha will not be able to be achieved in urban areas with high levels of intensification, but that it is important to have the rate so that the City can collect cash in lieu to purchase parkland nearby for these communities;
• Suggested that the hydro lands should be transferred to the municipality rather than having an easement applied to them, when parkland or trails are being proposed on the lands to permit for the City to make the investment required to fixup the lands;
• Clarified that Bill 109 permits for full credit to be provided to developers for encumbered parkland, where in the past only partial credit was provided on a case by case basis;
• Questioned how the City will protect itself and taxpayers against the future cost of maintaining encumbered parkland;
• Questioned how the City will fund parkland for the Bridge Station Transit Oriented Community if the developers are not required to provide cash in lieu for their parkland deficit;
• Suggested that there should be a consistent standard for parkland citywide;
• Clarified that parkland not owned by the City is not included when calculating Markham’s total hectares of parkland, but that it is considered from a parks programing and design perspective ;
• Suggested that the City will need to have strong policies that encourage the efficient use of land in intensification corridors, such as urban school formats, strata parks, and tanking stormwater management ponds;
• Requested that staff include information on how Markham can achieve its parkland targets as part of its next presentation to the Development Services Committee.
The Consultants and Staff responded and provided clarification to inquiries from the Committee.