Arvin Prasad, Commissioner of Development Services, advised that this item provides Council with a summary of the City of Markham Parks Plan, and the City of Markham Parkland Acquisition Strategy. The study aims to balance parkland needs and associated costs to support growth and development up to 2031. Staff have engaged the development industry and representatives from BiLD to resolve many of the industries’ concerns related to this work. The new Parkland Dedication By-Law is required to be approved by the provincial deadline of September 18, 2022. The by-law will be brought forward to Council on September 13th, 2022. The by-law will be used by City staff and the development industry to determine parkland dedication and or cash-in-lieu of parkland requirements as part of the development application process once approved by Council. The City of Markham Parks Plan will provide the City with a roadmap for future parkland acquisition to meet the needs of growing communities in Markham.
Parvathi Nampoothiri, Senior Manager, Urban Design, provided an overview of the agenda, and thanked staff from Finance, Policy, Legal, Development Planning, Real Property, Urban Design and Parks Planning for their valuable input throughout the study.
Ron Palmer, The Planning Partnership, presented a summary of the Parks Plan.
Adam Mattison, Hemson Consulting Ltd., advised how the feedback from the Development Services Committee was used to refine the policy and establish the new Parkland Dedication By-Law.
Lawrence Yip, Project Manager, Parkland Acquisition Study, provided a brief overview of the key components of the new Parkland Dedication By-Law.
The following deputations were made on the proposed development:
Maria Gatzios, Gatzios Planning + Development Consults Inc., spoke on behalf of subdivision developers, questioning if and how the new by-law will apply to Section 51 of The Planning Act. Ms. Gatzios asked the following questions: 1) if all new Section 51 approvals will continue to include parkland conditions, whether it be by providing land, cash-in-lieu or a combination of the two? And 2) Clarification of how the new Parkland Dedication By-law relates to low-rise sub-divisions. Ms. Gatzios also pointed out possible implementation issues.
Evelin Ellison, Ward One (South) Thornhill Residents Association, spoke of the importance of parks to the physical and mental wellbeing of residents. Ms. Ellison suggested that it was unfair to the future residents of Langstaff to have less parkland in their community due to its proposed high density. Ms. Ellison further noted that residents living in affordable housing may need greater parkland, as they may not have the financial means to participate in paid recreational activities. Ms. Ellison encouraged Council to think of the environmental consequences of reducing the amount of parkland required in urban areas where greater density is permitted.
The Committee provided the following feedback on the Parkland Acquisition Strategy:
- Questioned how far parkland would be permitted from the development site when not being provided on the development site;
- Noted the need to balance the City getting the same amount of parkland as in past with being fair to developers;
- Questioned when the new rate would be applied versus the current rate;
- Questioned if staff were undertaking additional work on strata parks;
- Asked staff to provide further clarification on the calculations of the parkland cash-in-lieu outside of the meeting.
The Consultant and Staff provided the following responses to inquiries from the Committee and the public:
Mr. Mattinson suggested that the cash-in-lieu shortfall will need to be addressed via grants, donations, the tax base, or through other municipal funding sources. Mr. Mattinson advised that parks located outside of a development site will ideally be within 500 metres of the proposed development, but noted that this may not always be possible as it will also depend on where municipal land is available. Mr. Mattinson explained that that term “blue sky” refers to the optimal amount of parkland or cash-in-lieu of parkland the City could achieve without any constraints.
Mr. Prasad confirmed that staff will be undertaking additional work on strata parks. Mr. Prasad advised that the new Parkland Dedication By-Law and its implementation can be discussed at an upcoming BiLD meeting.
Ms. Nampoothiri clarified that the new Parkland Dedication By-Law will apply to mid and high-rise developments. Ms. Nampoothiri noted that there will be no changes to the parkland dedication rate for low-rise developments.
Claudia Storto, City Solicitor and Director of Human Resources, noted that the only difference for low-rise subdivisions is that the value of land will be determined when the site plan is approved rather than on the day the building permit is issued. Ms. Storto noted that City will not re-open subdivision agreements if the parkland dedication rate has already been agreed upon.