RECOMMENDATION:
THAT the
report dated May 17, 2005, entitled “Investigation of opportunities to rename Lahore Road, located within the Fairtree Villages, while
retaining the name Lahore within the community”, be received.
THAT a by-law to rename Lahore Road within the Fairtree Villages subdivision to Bethany Street be
considered by Council at its meeting on June 28, 2005;
THAT the Clerk be authorized to provide notice
in accordance with notice By-law
2002-275;
AND THAT the name Lahore be
applied to a street within Phase 6 of the Fairtree
Villages subdivision.
PURPOSE:
As a result of concerns expressed by the
residents of Lahore Road within the Fairtree Villages subdivision, Council,
at its meeting held on March 8, 2005, deferred and
referred the matter of the street name Lahore Road to
staff for a report and recommendation.
BACKGROUND:
In January 2003 Council approved two
culturally diverse street names to be applied to streets within the Town. One of these names was “Lahore” which is the name of a major city in Pakistan. The approval
of these names preceded the Council adoption of the current street naming
process in February 2003 but is consistent with its goal of promoting
culturally diverse street names. These
names were also vetted through the Fire Department and the Region of York in
accordance with a longstanding practice which is also part of the current
street naming process. The two street
names were added to a list of pre-approved names (reserve list) which could be
used anywhere in the Town.
In February 2004, the idea of applying the name
“Lahore” to a street within the Fairtree Villages
community was raised by the ward councillor and discussed with the developer of
that subdivision who agreed to the request.
The goal was to name a street “Lahore” prior to the
Pakistan Day celebration function scheduled for March 2004 so that the street
naming could be announced during the function.
At that time Phase 5 of the Fairtree subdivision
was very close to being registered and presented the only opportunity to name a
street in the area within the required time frame. The developer agreed to apply the name to a
street within Phase 5 that was initially intended to be named Bethany Street
(see Figure 2). In the normal
subdivision process a street is not officially named until the M-Plan which
contains the street name is registered.
The Phase 5 M-Plans were registered with the name Lahore Road and
therefore the application of the name Lahore to the street was
never considered by staff to be an official name change.
Unfortunately, it later came to the attention
of the Town that a number of houses were sold on that street, prior to
registration, during the time the developer intended to name the street Bethany Street. In fact, the sales trailer as well as
temporary street signs for construction purposes also showed the name Bethany and
continued to do so after the street was named Lahore Road. This may have resulted in subsequent buyers
on the street also assuming that the street name was Bethany. A recent site visit has shown that there are
no longer any “Bethany” street signs, but the conceptual plan within the sales trailer still
shows that name instead of Lahore
Road.
Over the past six months or so a number of
residents of the street in question have expressed surprise and concern that
the name of their street is Lahore. The concerns revolved primarily
around their previous understanding that the street name would be Bethany and
the possible negative connotation arising from some people’s pronunciation of
the name Lahore. At the Council meeting held on March 8, 2005 there were a series of deputations by residents both for and against
the use of the street name “Lahore
Road” in the villages of Fairtree subdivision.
Council resolved to defer and refer the matter to staff to investigate possible
solutions.
OPTIONS/DISCUSSION:
It would be appropriate to change the street name Lahore Road to Bethany
Street
As noted previously, the street
name was not ‘changed’ to Lahore Road because the M-Plan was registered with that name. However, in the current situation the name Lahore Road was applied to the street after a number of residents
had already purchased their homes under the belief that the street would be
named Bethany. Under these
circumstances and in the interest of fairness, it may be appropriate to rename
the street.
Some of the residents of the street
have expressed their interest in regaining the name ‘Bethany’. The developer
of the Fairtree subdivision had intended to use the
name Bethany for another new street within Phase 6 of the
subdivision, but since no houses have been sold on that future street at this
time, the developer has indicated his support for renaming Lahore Road to Bethany Street.
If Council agrees with this course
of action the street re-naming process is as follows:
1. Following the staff
report on the matter Council authorizes the Clerk to issue notice of the
proposed name change (Clerks Department will advise all residents of the
street and also put notices in the newspaper and the Town website) with a
specific date when Council will consider the matter;
3. At the scheduled
Council meeting the Mayor will enquire whether there is anyone in attendance to
either support or object to the proposed name change;
4. If no objections
are received Council will pass the name change By-law at the same meeting;
5. The Clerks Department
will then ensure that the By-law is certified and take appropriate steps to
ensure that relevant departments and agencies are informed of the name change.
The name ‘Lahore’ should be
retained for use elsewhere in the community
The name ‘Lahore’ is a legitimate name which, in the interest of
cultural diversity, should be retained and applied elsewhere in the community.
One option that has been raised is
to apply the name Lahore to a
significant community facility such as a neighbourhood park. The proposed neighbourhood park at the
southeast corner of Denison Street and Eastvale Drive is a potential candidate. This
park is part of the Fairtree Phase 6 Plan which is
expected to be registered in the next few months. The normal process for naming
a park involves only a staff report to Council and a Council resolution with
regard to a name.
Another option is to apply the name
to a new or proposed street where houses have not yet been sold. This way any residents buying a house on that
street would be aware of the name from the beginning. The Fairtree Phase
6 plan, which is expected to be registered within a month or two, does contain
a road (a crescent) which can be named Lahore (see Figure 2).
The developer has indicated his willingness the apply
the name to that road and has confirmed that, to date, no houses have been sold
on that road.
Staff would recommend that, if
Council chooses to rename existing Lahore Road, the name be applied to the proposed street within
Phase 6 of the Fairtree West subdivision. Given that the Town is considering a name
change for existing Lahore Road only because the name was applied after a
number of houses were already sold on the street, applying the name Lahore to
another street rather than a park would avoid any concerns or questions over
the relative importance of a street vs. a park with regard to the application
of this name.
Resolution to change street name is included
As noted above, if council chooses
to rename the existing Lahore Road to Bethany
Street, an
opportunity exists to name a street within Phase 6 ‘Lahore Crescent’. However, given that Phase 6 is intended to be
registered shortly, and since the same name cannot be used on two streets at
the same time, any renaming of existing Lahore Road would have to be accomplished quickly if the name Lahore is to be applied to a street within Phase 6. In the event Council chooses to proceed in
this manner, a resolution to affect the street name change is included in the
recommendation.
FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS:
The proposed street name change will result in
Town costs with regard to the required public notification process.
ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS:
There are no environmental implications in this
report.
ENGAGE 21ST
CONSIDERATIONS:
The application of a culturally
diverse name to a street or park is consistent with the Town’s 21st
Century “Community Vision”. The Engage 21st Century Markham
document states that “a
recognition, understanding and respect of cultural differences is a cornerstone of the Town’s plans, policies and service
delivery”.
BUSINESS UNITS CONSULTED AND AFFECTED:
The Clerk’s Department and the Parks and Open Space
division were consulted in the preparation of this report.
|
|
|
|
|
Valerie Shuttleworth, M.C.I.P., R.P.P.
Director of Planning & Urban Design
|
|
Jim Baird, M.C.I.P., R.P.P.
Commissioner of Development Services
|
Q:\Development\Planning\APPL\Phased
Plan\03110431 Fairtree Ph 5\Lahore Road - Recommendation report.doc
ATTACHMENTS:
Figure 1:
Location
Figure 2; proposed
street name change
AGENT: Town
initiated report.
