Arvin Prasad, Commissioner, Development Services, introduced and provided members of Committee with an overview of the staff report.
John Yeh, Manager, Strategy & Innovation, delivered a presentation on indicators monitoring growth and development in Markham through the City's Official Plan policy objectives and targets, including population and employment growth, residential intensification, regional centre density, new housing supply and affordability, and increasing mobility options for Markham residents. Next steps in the continued monitoring and application of the indicators were identified, including expanding to other thematic areas of the Official Plan and reviewing and updating the indicators as required.
The Committee discussed the following relative to the staff report and presentation:
- Potential factors contributing to declining population growth and affordable new ownership housing units in Markham, including regional market forces, speculation driving prices, and supply and availability of housing;
- Shortage of higher-order mobility options in east Markham;
- Strategies for achieving objectives in population and employment growth relative to forecasts; and,
- Leveraging Official Plan performance indicators to inform secondary plan studies currently in progress.