The Town of Newmarket is eyeing George Richardson Park as the new home of a pickleball facility.
The town is planning to build a new facility to meet the high demand for the sport but has searched for an appropriate location. Council will discuss the matter at its Dec. 4 meeting, along with new developments getting zoning approvals and an update to the restaurant patio program.
Here is what NewmarketToday will be following:
Pickleball facility
A new pickleball facility in Newmarket could be coming to George Richardson Park.
Staff are proposing the location as an alternative to one investigated at Lions Park. A staff report said after further investigation, there were several issues with the Lions Park site, including the limit of only 10 courts based on the space available (six if bubbled in the winter) and a likely requirement to expand the nearby parking lot.
The Lions Park location also would have eliminated existing tennis courts and could have conflicted with the community rink that uses the courts during the winter.
The report said staff explored various sites that could accommodate a 14 to 20-court facility. Staff proposed a spot at the north end of George Richardson Park on one of the mini soccer fields, including a scaleable clubhouse facility. A draft site plan was made for a 20-court facility.
“It represents the loss of a mini soccer field,” the report said. “Staff believe this loss can be addressed through partnership opportunities with school boards and/or the development of new fields elsewhere.”
Staff seek council approval to proceed with the design and cost of this new facility.
New developments up for approval
The proposed development for 68 stacked townhouses along Queen Street and Main Street is up for zoning approval.
The proposal affiliated with Streetcar Developments involves several different properties along the two streets. In addition to the townhomes, there will also be an underground parking facility.
Under town policy, 25 per cent of the homes outside the urban centres secondary plan area must be affordable to low-to-mid-income households, with a holding provision proposed to ensure that happens.
Council will also review zoning approval for the apartment development on Yonge Street proposed by St. Maurice & St. Verena Coptic Orthodox Church and Trinity Coptic Foundation, which will feature about 201 units, 60 of which would be affordable.
Patio program
Newmarket plans to implement a formalized patio program that could see limits on the number of parking space patios. The town plans to create this formal corporate policy after running the program since 2015.
The policy proposes to include small frontage patios, walkway patios and parking space patios that utilize existing spaces. Parking space patios were capped at four previously, but that was lifted during the pandemic to help boost restaurants.
Staff seek council direction as to whether to maintain the cap — which could take up a maximum of eight parking spaces total — or remove it, allowing staff authority to expand the number of parking space patios. Staff said requirements on these would be increases in any case, with a higher lease fee and a minimum of 40 hours of operation a week (weather dependent).
"By actively seeking ways to refine and optimize the Temporary Patio Program, we aim to elevate the experience for both business owners and the community,” the staff report said.
Although the staff report said feedback on the patio program is overwhelmingly positive, some restaurants took umbrage last summer over having to scale back patios they previously had during the height of the pandemic.
The town is streaming the council meeting at 1 p.m. You can view the meeting at newmarket.ca/meetings or attend in person at 395 Mulock Dr. You can also arrange a deputation or send correspondence by emailing [email protected].
