Council Meeting Wednesday, November 27, 2024, at 9:30am
Meeting Agenda: View Meeting Agenda
Watch Meeting: Meeting Video (17min)
Council Members attending in person:
West, Chan, DiPaola, Davidson, Thompson, Liu, Cui, Cilevitz, Shiu
Recap:
All agenda items were approved by Council.
The majority of agenda items were discussed at length at last week's 3 1/2 hour Committee of the Whole meeting.
Additional Agenda Item:
To provide a summary of the Provincial Planning Statement, 2024 (PPS 2024) and
highlight major changes in policy direction that have potential impacts in Richmond Hill.
The PPS 2024 aims to provide a framework for sustainable land use planning in Ontario, emphasizing economic growth, environmental management, and community well-being.
The City of Richmond Hill is identified as a key area for growth, necessitating proactive measures to adapt to these new policies effectively.
Richmond Hill must ensure that its Official Plan aligns with the PPS 2024, necessitating updates to planning instruments and zoning by-laws.
Key Changes in Policy Direction
Housing:
The PPS 2024 mandates municipalities to establish affordable housing targets, shifting the income comparison boundary from “regional market area” to “municipality.”
A focus on providing diverse housing options near transit is emphasized.
Settlement Areas:
Municipalities gain more flexibility in designating new Settlement Areas without requiring a municipal comprehensive review (MCR), provided they meet specific criteria related to infrastructure capacity.
Major Transit Station Areas (MTSAs):
The PPS requires delineation of MTSA boundaries and planning for density targets within these areas to support transit-oriented development.
Employment Areas:
Definitions of employment areas are revised, excluding certain commercial uses, and municipalities can now remove lands from these areas more flexibly.
Land Use Compatibility:
Greater flexibility is allowed in locating sensitive land uses near major facilities, provided that adverse effects are mitigated.
Agricultural Policies:
New provisions permit additional residential units on agricultural lands under specified conditions and require impact assessments for non-agricultural uses in prime agricultural areas.
Agenda Items moved from the Committee of the Whole:
To provide an update on the implementation, monitoring, and effectiveness of the 2024 traffic calming program, to provide updates on nine key 2024 action items from the City’s Traffic Safety and Operations Strategy, and to seek approval on the recommended traffic calming locations for the 2025 traffic calming program.
2024 Traffic Calming Program
Eighteen priority traffic calming locations were identified and implemented in 2024, with 17 locations completed and one delayed due to pending asphalt installation.
Data collection showed a reduction in vehicular travel speeds by 2-22% and a reduction in traffic volumes by 8-11%.
Speed cushions were particularly effective, with speed reductions up to 22% and volume reductions up to 11%.
No reported collisions occurred at these locations after the implementation.
Public Feedback and Modifications
Residents provided feedback through various channels, highlighting concerns such as:
Issues with flexible bollards used as edge line buffers and curb extensions.
Parking restrictions for bicycle lanes.
Vehicles improperly using speed cushion cutouts.
Based on this feedback, modifications will be made, including using flexible bollard gateways, removing flexible bollard curb extensions, and installing flexible bollards at speed cushions.
2025 Traffic Calming Program
A city-wide traffic calming network screening has identified 18 new priority locations for 2025, with installations planned for the spring of 2025.
2025 Locations for Ward 1 Oak Ridges
Additionally thirteen additional Pedestrian Crossover (PXO) locations have been identified for installation and have been included in the 2025 Capital Budget for design with construction anticipated for 2026. These new locations for Oak Ridges are:
Kingshill Road at Maggy Avenue/Selleck Drive
North Lake Road at Old Bayview Road
Blackforest Drive at Greyfriars Avenue
Slow Down Signs
Staff are not recommending the implementation of a “Slow Down” lawn sign program for City.
Staff recommend that the City pilot a boulevard “Slow Down” sign program (Figure 1 is used by Vaughan) in 2025 and evaluate the sign’s effectiveness and acceptance from the community.
To seek Council approval for changes to speed limit and parking regulations on various City streets.
Staff review various traffic and parking regulations on City streets as part of the annual TSOS network screening as well as through in-year traffic operational and safety assessments.
The in-year assessments are initiated primarily from requests received from residents to make changes to existing traffic and parking regulations.
Speed Limit Reductions
Based on technical assessments using industry guidelines and new City
approved policies, it is recommended that the speed limit along a number of City road segments be reduced from 50 km/h to 40 km/h.
In Oak Ridges the following roadways are proposed for speed limit reductions:
Betony Drive from Brockdale Street to Glade Drive
Blackforest Drive from Regatta Avenue to Yonge Street
Glade Drive from Betony Drive to Heron Hollow Avenue
Sunset Beach Road from Eastern Limit of Sunset Beach Road to Yonge Street
Worthington Avenue from Bloomington Road to Yonge Street
Parking Regulations:
Transportation staff have received a number of requests from local residents for on street parking restrictions, or modifications, at a number of locations across the City.
Based on technical assessments following industry guidelines and City standards, it is recommended that changes be made to parking regulations on a number of City roads
Proposed Parking Regulation Modifications for Oak Ridges:
Lake Forest Drive from Jefferson Sideroad to Silver Maple Road
Old Colony Road from Bayview Avenue to Yonge Street
Poplar Drive from Kent Matthew Street to Parker Avenue
Puccini Drive from Bathurst Street to Kent Matthew Street
Verdi Road from Bathurst Street to Puccini Drive
To request Council’s approval of the City of Richmond Hill Community Improvement Plan for Affordable Housing and Sustainable Design.
The final CIP for Affordable Housing and Sustainable Design is one of nine initiatives supported by and committed to as part of the Canada and Mortgage Housing Corporation (CMHC) Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF). The City has allocated up to $13M in HAF grant funds for the initial implementation of the CIP.
The CIP is intended to support sustainably-built, affordable rental housing projects by providing for incentives that efficiently stack with financing programs available from senior levels of government.
The final CIP applies City-wide and is available to both private and non-profit developers that provide a minimum of five affordable rental housing units in development projects that contain 11 units or more and meet, at minimum, the Silver threshold in the City’s Sustainability Metrics Program. In addition, rental units incentivized through the CIP must remain affordable for a minimum of 25 years at rents that are at or below 125% average market rent.
Staff have been actively working to identify potential candidates for the CIP and are liaising with various local landowners and developers to discuss potential affordable rental housing incentives that may be available through Richmond Hill’s CIP should it be approved by Council.
This report provides a draft Richmond Hill Service Charter in response to Council’s
January 25, 2023 motion concerning the development of a Service Charter and the associated implementation timeline.
Public Comments:
The public may submit written correspondence regarding agenda items by email to clerks@richmondhill.ca. Written correspondence must be submitted by 12 p.m. (noon) one business day before the meeting. Comments submitted will be provided to all Members of Council, are considered as public information and will be included on the public agenda posted to the City’s website.
Delegations:
Any person who wishes to speak to Council on agenda items must pre-register with the Office of the Clerk by 12 p.m. (noon) one business day before the meeting. Applications to appear as a delegation can be submitted by email to clerks@richmondhill.ca or by using the on-line application form. Delegations can be in person, or electronically by video conference or telephone. The Office of the Clerk will provide instructions on appearing as a delegation.
Public Forum:
Any person who wishes to speak to Council on a matter not on the agenda must pre-register with the Office of the Clerk by 12 p.m. (noon) one business day before the meeting. Persons wanting to address Council during the Public Forum portion of the meeting must register by sending an email to clerks@richmondhill.ca or by using the on-line form. Public Forum participation can be in-person, or electronically by video conference or telephone. A maximum of five persons will be allowed to register for the Public Forum on a first come first serve basis.