Some downtown Newmarket residents expressed frustration and disappointment that council on Monday approved a developer’s application to build a new single-storey home on a severed lot that has already been stripped of more than 20 mature trees on one of the most wooded streets in town.
An aerial view of the tree canopy around the subject property at 181 Beechwood Cres. is reminiscent of a lawnmower that has cut a swath through overgrown grass.
The landowner was successful in receiving the town’s approval to split a single lot into two buildable lots in 2017, one parcel of which already features a new single detached home.
That lot severance approval includes a requirement to preserve three mature trees along the west property line and an existing cedar hedge, which came out of a then-Ontario Municipal Board hearing launched by an adjacent homeowner.
In addition, the town put a condition on its 2017 approval that requires the builder to provide an arborist report that addresses the removal of any significant trees on the property and provide compensation or replanting for any significant tree removal.
The owner is also required to enter into a site plan agreement with the town that will address the protection of remaining significant trees, including the three mature trees mentioned in the minutes of settlement with a Beechwood Crescent neighbour.
The builder’s recent application for an exemption to the town’s temporary building ban was approved by council on Oct. 5, making way for a single-storey home with a gross floor area of about 597 square metres and a proposed height of about 6.81 metres.
New policies around building on single residential lots that respect a neighbourhood’s character and streetscape could be in place before the end of 2020.
“I’m disappointed that the exemption was approved,” longtime Millard Avenue resident Nancy Fish said. “What wasn’t stated at the (council) meeting was the fact that the developer clear-cut the property, chain-sawing down mature trees before applying for lot severance.”
Fish said she and her neighbours were “horrified at the destruction” at the time, as it seemed like their “back vista was denuded in one fell swoop”.
“Some might say there’s still a lot of trees on the property, but that’s relative to where one lives. This is a heritage woodlot. It needs to be protected,” she said.
“I know I speak for my neighbours when I say that we are devastated by the by the number of trees cut down on this property,” Fish added. “Most of us have lived in our homes for 50-plus years. The assault to this woodlot has severely and irrevocably changed the character, esthetics and quality of life in our direct community.”
Resident Elaine Adams said her neighbourhood has been targeted recently by various small developers because the area has charm, atmosphere and trees, but they don’t seem “to respect the very thing that has drawn them to develop a property in the neighbourhood”.
“The trees get in the way, the trees have to come down and they can build whatever they feel would suit them,” Adams said. “If you look at how this neighbourhood was developed in the 1950s, the developers had respect for the trees, they worked around them.”
Also, when one considers a tree’s connection to health and that they absorb carbon and give off oxygen, a bylaw is necessary to protect the environment, she said.
In addition, Adams said the neighbourhood's tree canopy makes it cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter, which means less energy use.
"We have to keep pushing for a decent (tree protection) bylaw with teeth to it, not something that a developer can drive a truck through," Adams said, adding that a 60-foot tree with a huge canopy does not equate with the planting of a 15-foot sapling.
Meanwhile, Park Avenue resident Chris Howie said town officials need to take action and put in place a bylaw that protects trees on private property so that additional heritage trees are not lost to development.
Howie outlined his concerns in a letter to Mayor John Taylor and Councillor Bob Kwapis, in whose ward Beechwood Crescent is located.
“Newmarket should aim to be the greenest town in York Region, however, by approving new builds that put heritage trees at risk and by not implementing a tree removal bylaw — which should have been in place many years ago — Newmarket is one of the lowest for tree coverage and very low for large mature heritage trees which are priceless, a big asset for this neighbourhood, and for removing CO2,” said Howie.
Other nearby residents shared their concerns in written deputations to council, all of which included objections to the builder taking down more trees.
“When this lot was initially cleared of the previous structure and was prepared to be severed, there were a large number of trees cut down,” Laura and Andrew Cummings said. “Some were 50 to 100 years old. These cannot be replaced in our lifetime and a monetary payment to the town provides little support in maintaining the mature woodlot on our street directly or to that of the town. To see further devastation to the woodlot on this property would be another serious blow to the declining tree canopy in the older Newmarket area.”
In a similar vein, Janet Caverly and Steven Sugar said that area residents’ consistent message to town officials has been to “protect our trees”.
“Newmarket is very slow to enact a tree bylaw and is remiss in that respect,” they said. “The residents here are not adverse to change that does not impact the trees.”
A protection of trees on private property bylaw is in the works and a staff report is expected to come to council in early 2021.
Newmarket is one of the few remaining municipalities in the GTA without such a tool to protect trees on private property.
Both Taylor and Kwapis acknowledged the sensitivity that exists for downtown residents with respect to the loss of mature and heritage trees in recent years due to development.
Kwapis suggested that town staff work closely with the builder to review any proposed removal of significant trees on the property, replanting options, or compensation to the town in lieu of removal.
The area councillor has long said it is time for the town to act on the protection of trees on private property, particularly in the downtown area where some 100-year-old trees have been under attack by developers on numerous occasions.
Taylor said the anticipated private trees policy will need to find a balance between protection and property rights.
On the subject of a bylaw to protect trees on private property, longtime resident Adams said it’s time for the town to “clinch the deal”.
