- The Highway 48 development block spans rural lands in Markham and Whitchurch-Stouffville.
- Four minister’s zoning orders (MZOs) approved for the lands in 2020 and 2021 “fast-tracked” development ahead of York Region’s infrastructure plans.
- Current plans would deliver over 6,000 new residential units and additional employment opportunities.
- York Region's 2022 water and wastewater master plan includes new infrastructure to support growth in the area, with projects scheduled for completion between 2033 and 2035.
- Developer-funded temporary infrastructure, including water and sewage pumping stations, will be built to enable development by 2028.
- York Region will assume ownership and operations of some servicing assets.
- Development within the block will be limited to 1,650 units until regional infrastructure is completed to service the area.
The Highway 48 development block (the Block) encompasses mostly rural lands in both the City of Markham and Town of Whitchurch-Stouffville. It is generally bound by Stouffville Road to the north, 19th Avenue to the south, McCowan Road to the west, and Highway 48 to the east.
Four minister’s zoning orders (MZOs) were approved for the lands in 2020 and 2021, with development proposals including new employment uses, school facilities, a new leisure centre, and more than 6,000 residential units. Approximately 16,000 people are expected to move into the area.
The MZOs “fast-tracked” development ahead of infrastructure plans, a York Region Staff report explains, as municipal water and wastewater systems do not currently service the lands.
“The density and growth proposed through developer-led planning and infrastructure studies significantly exceeds what was considered in existing regional infrastructure plans,” the report states. “Landowners in the Highway 48 block will fund and deliver an interim water and wastewater servicing solution until regional services are built.”
Those landowners include ORCA Communities and FLATO Developments.
Developer-funded servicing will involve construction of a temporary water pumping station, an interim sewage pumping station, revenue metering chambers, and water and sewer pipe networks. Related costs will not be eligible for development charges credits.
“Establishment of the interim pumping station will enable development of MZO lands in the Block to begin, which will assist the City of Markham and Town of Whitchurch-Stouffville in…achieving provincial housing targets,” the report continues.
With the temporary servicing solution, initial development of the Block is targeted for 2028.
York Region’s 2022 water and wastewater master plan includes future infrastructure expansion to service new growth areas. Currently in the environmental assessment phase, those projects are scheduled for completion between 2033 and 2035. A new municipal water pumping station and reservoir will be built to service the Block and adjacent lands, along with water main connections.
A regional trunk sewer extension is also being planned along McCowan Road. Landowners are working with regional staff to explore an additional four kilometres of sewer infrastructure that is not currently budgeted in York Region’s 2022 development charge background study.
Growth within the Block “will be limited to [an] initial 1,650 units until more serving capacity is created through the region’s planned North Markham water and wastewater serving project and proposed McCowan trunk sewer extension project,” Wendy Kemp, York Region’s director of infrastructure asset management and public works, said.
“The total estimated cost for all developer-funded works to service this block has not been shared with the region at this time,” Kemp added. “They will be subject to change as design advances.”
Current legislation mandates that any water pumping station be owned by a municipality. Given the need for drinking water safety compliance, complexity of operations, and necessary coordination between York Region, Markham, and Stouffville, the region will own and operate the facility and its metering station at the developers’ expense.
As Block landowners will not receive development charges relief for their interim servicing plans and expenses, their DCs contributions will help fund York Region’s infrastructure expansion efforts over the next decade.
During a York regional council meeting on Feb. 13, Markham Mayor Frank Scarpitti highlighted the potential for disconnects between MZOs and municipal infrastructure planning.
“ MZOs aren't necessarily an advantage…because the planning process and the infrastructure process is multi-layered,” Scarpitti said, emphasizing that development cannot happen before necessary servicing is in place.
“I made the comment at the time to mark the date down, because I made someone a bet that in five years no one would be living in a new home in that first MZO,” he continued. “We're almost at that five-year mark…and guess what? No one's moved into a new home. So I think there's a bigger process issue.”
In addition to development charges, investments being made by landowners will result in temporary infrastructure that will later be replaced by municipal assets. This will create additional costs for developers that will likely be passed down to homebuyers.
“The temporary components of the developers’ servicing solution, including the water pumping station and sewage pumping station, will be decommissioned after regional infrastructure projects are completed,” Kemp said. “Things like the water and sewer pipe network and metering chambers will remain in place as part of the municipal infrastructure system.”
Randy Barba is a federally funded Local Journalism Initiative reporter at Bullet Point News Stouffville