The Town of Newmarket is using its limited sewage allocation to spur stalled developments to get moving.
Council has agreed to attaching conditions to providing sewage allocation to two developments in town that have not advanced in several years. Residential projects at 281 Main Street N and Landmark Estates by Clearmeadow Boulevard will have to register their subdivisions by Nov. 3 to retain sewage allocation in their approved plans.
Newmarket Councillor Victor Woodhouse said he is displeased with developers taking too long to progress their projects.
“I’m miffed. I know this development (Landmark Estates), in particular, has been an ongoing issue,” he said, adding some skepticism that the developer will progress with the conditions. “I’m not at all convinced unless there’s a change of heart.”
Council was provided an update on its sewage allocation, amounting to about 3,056 persons at the start of 2023. Council approved allotting allocations to a number of ongoing developments, leaving the town with a balance of 2,654 persons. The limited allocation comes due to delays in York Region sewage upgrades.
But staff recommended specific conditions for the two approved developments. The Landmark Estates' semi-detached housing development on Rita’s Avenue has stalled on its fifth phase, with the next subdivision going unregistered despite an expectation that the developer would register by 2017. That prompted staff to halve its sewage allocation in 2020, and the town is now threatening to rescind that half if it does not see an application by Nov. 3.
Development representative Frank Orsi presented to argue for the return of the full sewage allocation and said it is needed to complete the community and not further delay the subdivision. He said the development delays have been unexpected, but market conditions around 2017 meant they had not gone ahead as planned.
“The market just died. We had houses in standing inventory,” Orsi said, adding that many in the middle-class struggle with stress tests for mortgages. “A lot of other sales processes were slowed down … If I already have standing inventory, I’m a small, little guy. I can’t really push it further.”
Ward 6 Councillor Kelly Broome, where the project is located, said she supports the staff‘s recommendation to attach conditions.
“I’d very much like to see that get done,” she said.
Similarly, a 16-townhouse unit development on 281 Main Street North. has stalled with zoning and draft approval in 2016, but no draft plan for subdivision since. Council agreed to maintain the allocation for the development but give it a similar Nov. 3 deadline to register or lose it.
Woodhouse said the market should have enough profit now for developments to progress.
“Residents need the housing,” he said. “Maybe the market hasn’t been as profitable as you’d like it to be … But at the same time, to me, it would seem to be at least profitable.”
