NOTES FROM THE SEVENTH MEETING OF THE

MAIN STREET MARKHAM COMMITTEE

Town of Markham

York Room - Civic Centre

 

July 21, 2004 - 6:30 P.M.

 

 

Members                                                                                  Regrets

Dave Adams                                                                            David Black

Mark Champion                                                                       Morley Lem

Amy Pialagitis                                                                           Councillor G. McKelvey

Corina Sallaberger                                                                    Jonathan Mingay

Keith Thirgood                                                             Dianne More

Helen Walter                                                                            Iggy Natoli

Councillor John Webster                                                           Elizabeth Plashkes

                                                                                                Frankie Rose

Peter Ross

 

Also Present

 

Michelle Sukul-Chan, replacing Niki Burns as Manager of the Markham Village BIA

 

Staff

Candy Davidovits, Committee Clerk

Scott Heaslip, Senior Project Coordinator, Planning and Urban Design

Stan Lau, General Manager, Technical Services

Dereje Tafesse, Technical Co-ordinator, Roads Department

 

The Main Street Markham Committee meeting convened without quorum at the hour of 6:40 p.m. with Councillor J. Webster in the Chair.

 

 

1.                  ADOPTION OF THE MINUTES OF THE SIXTH MEETING OF THE MAIN STREET MARKHAM COMMITTEE HELD ON JUNE 6, 2004

 

THE MAIN STREET MARKHAM COMMITTEE RECOMMENDS:

 

That the minutes of the Sixth Meeting of the Main Street Markham Committee held on June 6, 2006, be received and adopted.

 

2.         UPDATES:

 

a)         Update on Greenbelt

 

Mr. S. Heaslip, Senior Project Coordinator, gave a presentation regarding the design of the acoustical fence and displayed plans providing information on the materials to be used in the construction of the fence.

 

Mr. Heaslip advised the Committee that the applicant’s submission has not been approved yet and the only aspect of the fence on which the Committee can comment is the colour of the stain to be used.

 

The Committee requested that Ms. I. James, or a representative from the Heritage Section, be invited to attend the next meeting of the Committee to deal specifically with this issue and to provide the Committee with samples of natural colours for the acoustical fence, including a natural green colour.

 

b)         Wismer Commercial Design Guidelines

 

Mr. Heaslip advised the Committee that he had nothing further to add to the discussion of the Wismer Commercial Design Guidelines.  He advised that Council and staff are looking more comprehensively at commercial policies and not specifically at the Wismer Guidelines.  Mr. Heaslip advised that a Commercial Policy Review Committee has been established and that this committee held its first meeting last week.  The meeting dealt with several aspects of commercial development, including the Big Box retail.

 

The Main Street Markham Committee recommends:

 

That public hearings be held on any amendments to the Town of Markham’s commercial zoning policies;

 

And that the Main Street Markham Committee be notified of the dates and times of any meetings of the Commercial Policy Review Committee in order that members of the Main Street Markham Committee may attend.

 

c)         Public Space Recycling Containers on Main Street Markham

 

Mr. K. Thirgood advised that recycling containers will not be ordered until further information is available.  In the meantime, garbage cans can be ordered.

 

Councillor J. Webster advised the Committee of a display in the Great Hall of the new bins which separate garbage.  It was felt that these bins would be very unattractive on Main Street Markham.

 

The Committee discussed other issues related to garbage including a redrawing of the garbage collection boundary for the area around Robinson Creek.

 

The Main Street Markham Committee recommends:

 

That Councillor Webster be requested to look into the possibility of arranging Friday garbage pickups for the area from Highway 7 west along Robinson Creek, along the railway tracks, to the Beech Street area and up Peter Street to 16th Avenue;

 

And that Regional Councillor J. Heath, Chair of the Three Stream Waste Collection Committee, advise whether funds are available in the 2004 budget for garbage and recycling containers for Main Street Markham and whether there will be any change to the three stream garbage pickup.

 

d)         Main Street Markham Traffic Management & Streetscape Study (bump-outs)

 

Mr. S. Lau, General Manager, Technical Services, gave an update regarding the Main Street Markham bump-outs, and displayed a landscaping plan for the area at Highway 48 and 16th Avenue. Heritage Markham and Region of York design staff are in favour of the proposed plan, although minor details, such as the colours of the decorative areas, need to be finalized.

 

Mr. Lau also advised that the Request For Proposal for the consultant’s services for the design of the section at Highway 7 and Main Street proposes that the design is to be completed by February 2005 but that this will not delay the work at 16th Avenue and Highway 48.

 

The Main Street Markham Committee recommends:

 

That Mr. A. Brown, Director of Engineering, advise the Main Street Markham Committee as to when the Environmental Assessment for the Main Street bump-outs will be completed;

 

And that the Clerk’s staff provide a copy of the Committee’s Vision document to Amy Pialagitis and Keith Thirgood prior to the next meeting.

 

e)         Master Plan Environmental Sub-Committee

 

Mr. D. Tafesse, Technical Co-ordinator, Roads Department, provided an update regarding the Town’s newspaper box placement policy.  Mr. Tafesse advised that six newspaper boxes placed without licenses have been removed from Main Street and that he will be reviewing the locations of a few of the other boxes.

 

The Main Street Markham Committee requested that staff meet with the Chair and Members of the Environmental Sub-Committee to review the existing newspaper boxes on Main Street Markham and to provide suggested guidelines for future applications for newspaper vending boxes in heritage areas.

 

f)          Master Plan Sub-Committee

 

Mr. K. Thirgood advised that a meeting of the Master Plan Sub-Committee will be held on July 28, 2004.

 

g)         Mural - 107 Main Street

 

Mr. K. Thirgood advised that he met with the artist at the site who advised that he will not be able to erect scaffolding on the site due to the grade of the land.  A cherry picker will have to be rented for the project and this has resulted in the cost of the project increasing to $5,100.00.  Mr. D. Black has advised that his company will only donate $2,000.00 towards the mural therefore funds in the amount of $3,100.00 are required.

 

Mr. Thirgood advised that he will contact Regional Councillor J. Heath to check the possibility of using Committee funds to complete the project, and will update the Committee at the August 18, 2004, meeting.

 

h)         Tannery Pond

 

There was no update on this matter.

 

i)          Official Plan and Zoning Review Subcommittee

 

There was no update on this matter.

 

j)          Farmers’ Market

 

Mr. Thirgood advised that the Farmers’ Market is doing very well; that there are more people out in spite of the wet start but that it needs more help from the BIA.  Ms. A. Pialagitis advised that the BIA has discussed this issue at its last two meetings.

 

Ms. H. Walter advised that the Farmers’ Market was celebrating its fifth birthday on Saturday, July 24, 2004, with a birthday party.

 

k)         Trees

 

            Mr. K. Thirgood gave an update on this issue and advised that there are 16 new trees being planted on Main Street and 10 replacement trees.  The new trees will be Linden and Ash trees, the fastest growing trees under the guidelines and these will be planted in the next couple of weeks.  Mr. Thirgood stated that the goal is to provide a quick, short-term canopy until the bump outs are created, which may require them to be removed.

 

            Mr. Thirgood also advised that the Environmental Sub-Committee is still waiting to discuss the issue of benches with the staff responsible; that quotes still have to be obtained; that six new bench locations have been identified; and that plans include replacing as many of the old benches as possible, and as are permitted in the 2004 budget.

 

l)          Heritage Signs

 

There was no update on this matter.

 

m)        Morgan Park

 

There was no update on this matter.

 

n)         Signage on Main Street from the 407 to James Scott Road/Princess Street

 

There was no update on this matter.

 

o)         Event signage indicating road closures

 

            This matter is completed.

 

p)         Quick Start transit stops

 

            Councillor Webster gave a quick update on this matter and advised that he will forward a copy of the report on this matter to the Committee.

 

q)         Markham Village Conservancy – Correspondence regarding big box malls

 

The Main Street Markham Committee received for information an extract from the minutes of the meeting of Heritage Markham held on June 9, 2004, on this matter, together with a copy of the correspondence related thereto.

 

r)         Review of Canadian Municipal Incentive Programs for Heritage Preservation and Downtown Renewal

 

The Main Street Markham Committee had before it an excerpt from the minutes of the meeting of the Development Services Committee held on May 18, 2004, together with a copy of the staff report related thereto.

 

The Main Street Markham Committee deferred this matter to its meeting on August 18, 2004, for comments from the Markham Village BIA, in consultation with all members of this Committee.

 

 

s)         Commercial Façade Improvement Grant Program and Commercial Signage Replacement Grant Program

 

The Main Street Markham Committee had before it a memorandum, dated June 9, 2004, advising of the Council decision on this matter, together with a copy of the staff report is attached for information.

 

The Main Street Markham Committee deferred this matter to its meeting on August 18, 2004, for comments from the Markham Village BIA, in consultation with all members of this Committee.

 

t)          2004-05 Highway Connecting Link Allocation

 

The Main Street Markham Committee received for information a copy of a letter from Mr. H. Takhar, Minister of Transportation, dated June 17, 2004, advising that the Ministry has allocated $25,000 towards intersection improvements at Highway 48 and 16th Avenue.

 

4.         NEW BUSINESS

 

Garbage Collection on Main Street Markham

 

At the request of Ms. C. Sallaberger this matter was placed on the agenda as an item of new business but was dealt with during consideration of Item 1(c).

 

5.         NEXT MEETING

 

The next meeting of the Main Street Markham Committee is scheduled for August 18, 2004.

 

6.         ADJOURNMENT

 

The meeting of the Main Street Markham Committee adjourned at 8:52 p.m.