Richmond Hill
December 16, 2009, 2008 By: Adam Mc Lean www.yorkregion.com

Land use strategy offers a peek at what Hill downtown could be

If you ever fancied yourself an architect or a bit of an amateur urban planner; now’s your time to shine.

The Town of Richmond Hill is offering residents a final opportunity to figuratively go to the drawing board and make comments or suggestions regarding the future design of Richmond Hill’s downtown core.

As part of the new Official Plan process, Town officials are seeking public comments on the newly-released Downtown Design and Land Use Strategy - Draft Recommendations Report as a guide to future development in the downtown area.

The recommendations report is a research draft, born out of a Town study completed in three phases over a nine-month period and based on a summary of input received from three consultation events, provincial, regional and municipal policy context, relevant special studies, the analysis of existing conditions and lessons learned from other municipalities.

Various consultation meetings with business owners, ratepayers and heritage organizations were held over last summer and fall; culminating in a public consultation forum Oct. 1, 2008 at Elgin Barrow Arena.

Presentations on preliminary recommendations for the downtown core were analyzed by those in attendance, ending with table group discussions, leading to the findings in the Downtown Strategy Draft.

The boundaries for this study stretch one block on either side of Yonge Street along approximately two km of the busy thoroughfare on either side of Major Mackenzie Drive, which includes commercial, mixed-use, institutional and open space properties.

The report divides the downtown core into three individual sectors along the Yonge Street corridor.

‘The Civic Sector’ - spanning north from Harding Avenue to Major Mackenzie Drive is seen as a possible site for a proposed new Town Hall and further residential development on large swaths of unused land.

‘The Village District’ - bounded by Major Mackenzie Drive to the south and Wright/Dunlop Streets to the north - remains the historic heart of Richmond Hill, with existing rear lanes and parking offering the opportunity to create a courtyard system on either side of Yonge.

‘The Uptown District’ - bounded by Wright/Dunlop Streets to the south and Levendale Road to the north with many plazas and parking, over time, could be redeveloped as a new mixed-use residential neighbourhood in mid to high-rise street-related buildings larger than the format in the Village District.

According to the report, the Uptown District would significantly increase the number of residents in the downtown to support retail uses in the Village District and ensure the area remains vibrant.

If these recommended plans meet council’s approval, don’t expect to see changes overnight, explained Paul Freeman, manager of policy for Town of Richmond Hill planning and development.

“This is a long-term plan over a 25-year horizon which is partly to determine future town planning, but clearly we are still in the recommendation stage.

“The downtown core is unique to the area itself and a part of this plan is to protect the area’s special character as a part of Richmond Hill, while trying to promote mixed-use developments within that existing character,” Mr. Freeman added.

Downtown Richmond Hill, also referred to as the village core, is generally situated within the geographic centre of the Town’s urbanized area.

The Downtown Design and Land Use Strategy - Draft Recommendations Report is available now for public comment until Feb. 13, 2009. Comments received from council, agencies, other organizations and the public will be integrated into the Final Report, which will be brought forward to Town Council in spring 2009.

You can see all 92 pages of the Richmond Hill Downtown Design Land Use Strategy Report Draft for yourself and have your say by visiting www.richmondhill.ca

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