Notice of Adoption - OPA 18.6

NOTICE OF THE ADOPTION OF AMENDMENT NO. 18.6 TO THE RICHMOND HILL OFFICIAL PLAN PURSUANT TO THE PLANNING ACT

TAKE NOTICE THAT the Council of The Corporation of the City of Richmond Hill adopted Amendment No. 18.6 to the Richmond Hill Official Plan on the 29th day of November, 2023 through the enactment of By-law 133-23 and in accordance with Sections 17 and 26 of the Planning Act, as amended.

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 Richmond Hill Official Plan applies is attached.  A complete copy of Amendment No. 18.6 to the Richmond Hill Official Plan, including all background materials, is available by contacting Brian DeFreitas, Manager Policy, Planning and Building Services Department, phone number 905-771-5431 or by e-mail at brian.defreitas@richmondhill.ca.

Dated at the City of Richmond Hill this 1^st day of December, 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

NOTE:    Any person or public body will be entitled to receive the Notice of the Decision from The Regional Municipality of York provided a written request to be notified with respect to Amendment No. 18.6 to the Richmond Hill Official Plan (including the person’s or public body’s address) is made to The Regional Municipality of York, Planning Department, 4th Floor, 17250 Yonge Street, Newmarket, Ontario L3Y 6Z1.

1  Part One – The Preamble

1.1           Purpose

The purpose of this Amendment to the Richmond Hill Official Plan (OPA) is to provide more detailed planning policy and schedules related to the Village Local Centre as part of the City Plan Official Plan Update process. This OPA aims to address matters such as the long term planning vision for the area, permitted land use, design elements, public realm, mix of land use, density of development, and adjustments to boundaries in an effort to ensure conformity with the York Region Official Plan, 2022 (ROP). This OPA implements City Plan Key Directions endorsed by Council in February 2022, and supports the City’s Investment Attraction Strategy, Affordable Housing Strategy, Parks Plan, and Transportation Master Plan. This Amendment intends to support economic development and job creation in the City. Furthermore, the OPA also incorporates direction from the ROP regarding Protected Major Transit Station Areas within and surrounding the Village Local Centre and proposes technical changes to the Official Plan by re- designating certain lands to “Regional Mixed Use Corridor.”

1.2           Location

The Amendment generally applies to lands within and in the vicinity of lands presently designated Downtown Local Centre on Schedule A2 of the Official Plan, as shown below.

1.3           Basis

The proposed modifications to the Official Plan are intended to implement the following Provincial, Regional and City policies and direction:

• Provisions of the Planning Act (1990), which authorize municipalities to identify and delineate the boundary of Protected Major Transit Station Areas (PMTSAs), and to identify land uses and minimum and/or maximum density and/or heights of buildings or structures on lands within PMTSAs (s.16(16) and 16(21)).

  • OPA 18.6 identifies the Village Local Centre and portions of the Regional Mixed Use Corridor along Yonge Street located immediately adjacent to the Village as an intensification area encompassed by two delineated PMTSAs (PMTSA #45 Crosby and #48 Major Mackenzie), in accordance with the 2022 York Region Official Plan. The proposed amendment includes minimum prescribed densities of 160 residents and jobs per hectare, and provides permitted use and built form policies to achieve and exceed those minimums over the long term.

  • Through the implementation of the policies in this amendment, this Local Centre is anticipated to accommodate up to 360 residents and jobs per hectare overall. This translates into approximately 10,000 residents and 3,700 jobs, based on assumptions used at the time of preparing this amendment. Through on-going monitoring of the Official Plan this approximation of the ultimate buildout of the Local Centre may change.

• Policies of the Provincial Policy Statement (2020), which encourage compact, mixed-use development to support livable and resilient communities while considering housing needs (1.3.1(d));

  • In accordance with the PPS, OPA 18.6 directs higher density development within the Local Centre in a range of forms of residential and non- residential development throughout this Local Centre. To support a mix of land uses, the OPA requires development to provide non-residential space for properties that front Yonge Street and Major Mackenzie Drive and that the existing amount of non-residential gross leasable floor area be retained throughout the Local Centre. The non-residential use may be in the form of retail, commercial, office, and community uses.

• Policies of A Place to Grow: Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe (2020), which support the achievement of complete communities and prioritize Major Transit Station Areas (MTSAs) on priority transit corridors (2.2.1(4)(a) and 2.2.4(1)) and conserve cultural heritage resources;

  • In accordance with the Growth Plan 2020, OPA 18.6 plans for a complete community within the Village Local Centre by integrating a mix of uses in a compact form that provides for amenities and services within a 15-minute walk or 5-minute bike ride. The Local Centre is located within two Major Transit Station Areas with higher intensification planned than the surrounding lower density neighborhood and also includes policies related to protecting heritage buildings.

• Policies of the York Region Official Plan (2022), which identify the Village Local Centre and portions of the Yonge Street Regional Mixed Use Corridor, immediately north and south of the Village, as being located along a priority transit corridor and encompassed by two Protected Major Transit Station Areas (PMTSA): #45 and #48. Both of these PMTSAs have a prescribed minimum density target of 160 residents and jobs per hectare. To support this density, the Regional Official Plan directs that this area support a mix of land uses which shall be identified in the City’s Official Plan. Furthermore, the ROP directs that the Official Plan provide direction regarding built form and scale of development to support and implement the Regional intensification hierarchy, to provide a residents to jobs ratio target to ensure live work opportunities and an appropriate balance of jobs to population, and to provide affordable housing targets including 35% of new units being affordable within Protected Major Transit Station Areas.

  • The OPA designates portions of PMTSA #45 and #48 as Village Local Centre and Regional Mixed Use Corridor.  The remaining lands continue to be designated Employment Corridor and Neighbourhood. Additional policy direction regarding lands outside of the area designated Village Local Centre designation will be provided via a subsequent amendment to this Official Plan.

  • The proposed OPA provides a target ratio of 7 residents to 3 jobs, which is intended to be achieved over the long term through the implementation of policies provided in the Official Plan.

  • Presently, the Official Plan provides a minimum affordable housing target of 25% of new housing in the City overall. Through a subsequent OPA, the City will update its affordable housing targets and definitions to further implement the ROP direction for affordable housing as noted above.

• Conformity with the 2022 York Region Official Plan shall be achieved through a combination of: (1) existing City-wide Official Plan policies; (2) area-specific policies contained in this Official Plan Amendment; and (3) future amendments to the Official Plan to satisfy requirements of the 2022 York Region Official Plan.

• Directions provided in the Council endorsed Key Directions Report related to this area and theme include:

  • Reduce the Downtown Local Centre designation to lands only in what is presently called the Village District in the current Official Plan and redesignate this area as “the Village Local Centre.”

  • Plan for this area to be vibrant and locally and regionally attractive as a dining, shopping, cultural, and entertainment hub.

  • Plan for the area as “The Village in the City” – continue to celebrate the historic character, and support the arts and culture of the area through ongoing façade improvement and building renovation, along with redevelopment of sites that are complementary and contextually sensitive to the area overall.

  • Apply urban design principles in the determination of appropriate height and density that supports revitalization and the vision for this area – consider ‘human scaled’ podiums/building heights.

  • Explore opportunities for widening sidewalks, creating new cycling facilities and pedestrian paths. 

  • Allow for built-form transition from the Village Local Centre to flanking areas, while permitting heights and densities that are context appropriate.

  • Capitalize on city-owned property at the intersection of Major Mackenzie Drive and Yonge Street.

• The proposed amendment is also informed by the Planning for Change report - July 2021, which provides guidance on updating the Official Plan in a manner that is responsive to anticipated change in the future and will likely impact city building over the long run.

•  The proposed amendment is also informed by consultation the City has undertaken to date in relation to the Official Plan Update process. This consultation is documented in the following “What We Heard” reports:

  •  Phase 1: "What We Heard" Phase 1 Summary Report

  • Phase 2: What We Heard - Business Community Summary Report - July 2021

  • Phase 2: What We Heard - Centre-Specific Workshops Engagement Summary Report - July 2021

  • Phase 2: What We Heard - Key Directions Engagement Summary Report - November 2021

  • Phase 3, Batch 2: What We Heard - Employment and Intensification Areas Engagement Summary Report – February 2023

• Additionally, the proposed amendment is informed by the City’s Investment Attraction Strategy, Affordable Housing Strategy, 2022 Parks Plan and emerging Transportation Master Plan.