About 45 people packed into Bradford council chambers on June 25 to see for themselves how the town plans to accommodate an additional 40,000 people and 19,000 jobs over the next 2.5 decades.
Community planning manager Alan Wiebe explained the meeting was intended to “kick off” public engagement and Frank Marzo, of consulting firm WSP Global, made a presentation outlining the goals and timeline for a proposed update to the town’s growth management plan intended to help the municipality prepare to hit population and job targets of 84,370 and 30,900 respectively by 2051.
To accomplish this, the plan is broken into two parts, with work expected to be carried out on both simultaneously — Part 1, intensification, and Part 2, settlement boundary expansion.
Of the five audience members who provided feedback during the meeting, four were representatives of landowners who felt their properties could help meet one or both of those goals.
Michael Smith Planning Consultants' Michael Smith spoke on behalf of Mod-Aire Homes and how their property west of Sideroad 10 and north of Line 8, referred to as the Bearant site, could help with intensification.
Currently designated as employment, Smith explained Mod-Aire want it redesignated as residential as the Ontario Ministry of Transportation is set to expropriate about 10 hectares from the 28-hectare property for the Bradford Bypass, with the remaining property difficult to market for employment purposes, partially due to grading.
“The Bearant lands are well-located and suited for residential development,” Smith said, noting the property is already within the settlement boundary and “readily serviced."
With regards to expanding the settlement boundary, Smith wants the 36-hectare Meadowview Heights property on the southeast corner of Sideroad 10 and Line 6 to be included within the boundary as it is bisected by the south west arterial road (SWAR), near other existing and proposed developments, is “readily serviced” and contains “no significant environmental features.”
Kevin Bechard of IPS Consulting made his second appearance before council in as many weeks to suggest redesignating some of the land within Special Policy Area 8 from commercial/industrial to residential as way to meet intensification targets.
Bechard also spoke on behalf of the owner of 3664 Line 8, a 41-hectare property on the northeast of the intersection with Sideroad 5, and directly west of Highway 400.
While the property is already inside the settlement area and part of the Highway 400 employment lands, Bechard said the only uses currently permitted are agricultural as the commercial/industrial development of the land is being “held in reserve” in accordance with a provincial directive.
The provincial infrastructure minister officially issued the boundary and permitted uses for the employment lands as a whole more than a decade ago.
As a result, Bechard asked council to work with the province as changing the minister’s directive and updating the town’s plans are two processes that should “come together in unison.”
Tim Cane of SGL Planning and Design spoke on behalf of the owner of 3087 Sideroad 5, a 40-hectare property south of Line 9 and west of Highway 400, which is in a similar situation under the minister’s directive.
Cane asked that the town work to allow development of the land so the municipality can become “the complete community that it seeks to be,” since “growth is coming regardless,” and “more lands will be required sooner rather than later,” to meet employment goals, and would “make the town more competitive in attracting local jobs.”
All of the consultants said they were supportive of the town’s efforts to plan for growth.
Council sees potential
Ward 2 Coun. Jonathan Scott emphasized the importance of stopping urban sprawl and saving farmland, which is one of the reasons he’s “really excited” about the Major Transit Station Area (MTSA), which includes the 800-metre radius around the Bradford GO Transit station, where taller denser developments are expected.
Scott said the area is “really important to the future of our community,” calling it the “eastern gateway to town” which offers the potential not only to help hit density targets, but also to improve esthetics, and traffic flow along Bridge Street and even improve safety at the intersection with Canal Road.
He referred to the area as an “untapped gem,” that could be revitalized similarly to the proposed Holland Street reconstruction project, and noted that some plans for condo developments for the area are in the early stages.
After the meeting, Wiebe confirmed that outside of the Cachet Homes development at 200 Dissette St., no formal applications have been made for condo developments within the MTSA, but said there have been some pre-consultation discussions.
During the meeting, Mayor James Leduc agreed the eastern gateway is “absolutely important,” to the future of the town, and Ward 6 Coun. Nickolas Harper suggested increasing allowed heights beyond six storeys to maximize the potential to hit density targets and help “build up the downtown core.”
However, Harper said he doesn’t want to “wedge” residential developments west of Sideroad 10 near the existing commercial developments.
Ward 3 Coun. Ben Verkaik suggested taller buildings should be along arterial roads and pushed for those to include more purpose-built rental buildings.
He also noted the importance of having more commercial amenities mixed in with residential throughout the town, because otherwise, “people would need to walk 30, 40, 50 minutes to get to a grocery store.”
Several councillors emphasized the importance of the growth plan as a whole with Ward 7 Coun. Peter Dykie calling it, “one of the most important items for council to deal with,” as they need to “listen to our existing residents as well as provide opportunities for new residents.”
Deputy Mayor Raj Sandhu reminded the audience that “growth is coming whether we like it or not,” and “this is our time to make it right,” while Ward 4 Coun. Joseph Giordano noted that council doesn’t just want to help build more homes; “we want to build more communities,” which requires “the right balance,” of density and planning for what is needed now and in the future.
Earlier in the meeting, Frank Orsi of Millford Development Limited, spoke to some of the items council later discussed, saying he doesn’t think Bridge Street is the right place for residential development and encouraged council to instead focus on the downtown core as it already has amenities.
Orsi also requested the company’s 50-hectare property at 2317 Line 9 be redesignated from commercial/industrial to residential due to the topography.
“This is just the beginning,” Leduc said, assuring everyone there would still be more opportunities for feedback throughout the process.
As is usual for public planning meetings, council did not make a decision Tuesday evening, but staff plan to submit a report based on public feedback at a future date.
Anyone who couldn’t attend the meeting in-person can still provide written submissions about the growth management plan by email to [email protected] or by mail to: Town of Bradford West Gwillimbury, c/o Director of Corporate Services/Municipal Clerk, 100 Dissette St., Units 7 and 8, P.O. Box 100, Bradford, ON, L3Z 2A7.
For more information, visit townofbwg.com/planbwg2051, email [email protected] or call 905-778-2055, ext. 1400.
