NOTICE OF THE ADOPTION OF AMENDMENT NO. 1 TO THE RICHMOND HILL OFFICE DEVELOPMENT AND DOWNTOWN LOCAL CENTRE COMMUNITY IMPROVEMENT PLAN (CIP) PURSUANT TO THE PLANNING ACT

TAKE NOTICE THAT the Council of The Corporation of the City of Richmond Hill adopted Amendment No. 1 to the Richmond Hill Office Development and Downtown Local Centre Community Improvement Plan (CIP) on the 22nd day of February, 2023 through the enactment of By-law 26-23 and in accordance with Section 28 of the Planning Act, as amended.

AND TAKE NOTICE that an appeal to the Ontario Land Tribunal in respect of this Amendment may be made by filing a written notice of appeal with the City Clerk of The Corporation of the City of Richmond Hill, no later than 4:30 p.m. on March 27, 2023. A Notice of Appeal will set out the reasons for the appeal and the specific part of the proposed official plan or plan amendment to which the appeal applies. A Notice of Appeal will be accompanied by a certified cheque or money order in the amount of $1,100.00, payable to the Minister of Finance and be accompanied by the processing fee prescribed under the Tariff of Fees By-law in the amount of $333.00 payable to the City of Richmond Hill. Certified cheques are not required when the cheque is from a law firm.

Council in making its decision on these matters took into consideration all written and oral comments received on the applications.

An explanation of the purpose and effect of the Amendment describing the lands to which the Amendment to the  CIP applies is attached.  A complete copy of Amendment No. 1 to the CIP, including all background materials, is available by contacting Megan Cobbold, Senior Planner - Policy, phone number 905-747-6309 or by e-mail at megan.cobbold@richmondhill.ca.

The proposed Amendment No. 1 to the CIP is exempt from approval by The Regional Municipality of York. The decision of the Council of The Corporation of the City of Richmond Hill is final if a Notice of Appeal is not received on or before the last day for filing a Notice of Appeal.

Dated at the City of Richmond Hill this 7th day of March, 2023

Stephen M.A. Huycke, City Clerk

The Corporation of the City of Richmond Hill

225 East Beaver Creek Road

Richmond Hill ON  L4B 3P4

Phone: 905-771-8800

Fax:   905-771-2502

E-mail:  clerks@richmondhill.ca

Who Can File an Appeal:       Only individuals, corporations and public bodies may appeal a decision of the municipality to the Ontario Land Tribunal. A notice of appeal may not be filed by an unincorporated association or group.  However, a notice of appeal may be filed in the name of an individual who is a member of the association or the group on its behalf.

No person or public body shall be added as a party to the hearing of the appeal unless, before the plan was passed, the person or public body made oral submissions at a public meeting or written submissions to the council or, in the opinion of the Ontario Land Tribunal, there are reasonable grounds to add the person or public body as a party.

1 Part One - The Preamble

1.1       Purpose

The purpose of this Amendment to the Richmond Hill Office Development and Downtown Local Centre Community Improvement Plan (CIP) is to update the CIP with changes to the expiry date of the CIP, funding amounts, eligibility, changes requiring Council approval, and minor technical updates.

1.2 Location

The Amendment applies to the Community Improvement Project Area (CIPA) which includes Centres and Corridors along Yonge Street and also the Newkirk and Beaver Creek business parks in the City of Richmond Hill.

1.3 Basis

The proposed amendment is considered by Council to be appropriate for the following reasons:

• The amendment provides additional time for landowners and/or business owners to submit grant applications as demand for office space in the City and the desire to improve the exterior aesthetics of properties located in the Village is still expected. Despite changes seen due to COVID-19 during the last few years of the program’s initial duration, public investment in private business has resulted in twice the investment from those businesses and spinoff benefits for surrounding businesses and residents in Richmond Hill.
• The amendment provides increased funding to more reasonably represent the cost of certain building renovation and landscaping projects.
• The amendment provides additional information to applicants to further clarify eligibility requirements to help with the approval process.
• The amendment allows for staff to make changes to the CIP related to certain Official Plan Amendments and/or BIA by-law amendments without requiring Council approval to help keep the document more up-to-date.
• The amendment includes updated statistical data and other minor technical updates to better align with other documents.