The Town of Newmarket wants you to help shape its future as it marks the official start of its official plan process.
A preliminary report on the plan came before council May 15 as part of a statutory public meeting. The document will guide the municipality and how it will develop in the decades to come, with years of work ahead and public engagement opportunities to craft it.
Mayor John Taylor said it is vital for the public to get involved in the process.
“If you can engage, please do engage. This is a very important document for what your community will look like in the next five to 10 years," Taylor said.
The municipality is required to do a comprehensive update once every 10 years. The update will align the town with regional and provincial policy, as well as address and change aspects of municipal planning.
Areas of focus will include housing, employment, land use, transportation, climate change and a study specific to the area south of Davis Drive.
Councillor Christina Bisanz said it is important to get the plan right, and it should be what guides the municipality over meddling from outside governments or agencies.
“This is the municipality’s plan it is developed with input from residents and from experts,” she said. “It’s very disconcerting, then, when you have an official plan, and government policy allows someone else to come in and change plans to require amendments.”
Deputy Mayor Tom Vegh said it is still early in the process, but seniors will need to be a key point of focus with them making up more of Newmarket’s population in the years to come.
“We’re going to have more seniors than youth,” he said. “It all comes down to quality of life.”
Developers weighing in
Frank Orsi presented on behalf of Milford Development, working on a residential project on 55 Eagle St.
He said that as part of this review, the town should look at aspects such as the parking requirements, which he said are limiting what they can do in density. He further said the town should look at maximum densities in its urban centres secondary plan.
“Everyone should be striving to achieve maximum developable land,” he said, adding that “we should be looking at maximum density and heights, and there’s no reason we shouldn’t be reviewing that time.”
He further said that the town should consider its employment targets in its urban centres, given that offices may become less needed as more people work from home.
The plan will enshrine what the town will look like in the future, Taylor said.
“It really is the blueprint for what we want our community to be,” he said.
The town will be offering public engagement opportunities, with a virtual visioning exercise June 12 from 6:30 to 8 p.m. You can participate in that by contacting [email protected].
