What's Going Up: 74 townhouses proposed for Eagle Street

The Town of Newmarket is reviewing a new proposal to build 74 townhouses at 55 Eagle St. after a years-long development standstill at the property. 

Milford Development Ltd. has submitted an updated proposal, which would include 53 side-by-side townhomes, 20 back-to-back townhomes and one triplex. The move comes with the developer having two outstanding appeals to the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal after the municipality pushed back against a different version of the development.

The developer has scrapped a proposed 12-floor condominium tower, which would have also had 38 townhomes. The town opposed this version years ago, as it would have removed approximately 1.3 acres of acreage from a portion of the property with a natural heritage system and woodlot designation in official plans. Milford appealed the designation in 2008, and it is still unresolved according to the developer. 

“We look forward to working through the approvals process with the town and resolving the outstanding appeals,” Malone Given Parsons, a planning consultant hired by Milford, wrote to the municipality April 2.

The property is located near the corner of Yonge Street and Eagle Street, an undeveloped wooded area extending behind several residential and business properties. 

Newmarket’s planning department said it is reviewing the updated proposal.

“The town has asked the developer to consider leading a non-statutory public information centre in order to share the new information with the public and receive feedback,” the planning department said.

Milford also submitted an appeal in March 2020, relating to 2011 applications to develop the property. 

As part of the updated project, Milford is still proposing to remove 0.54 hectares of woodlot on the property. However, it said it would plant more than 900 trees elsewhere on the property, representing 0.64 hectares. The developer argued the removal is outside a 30-metre setback from a watercourse and should meet the definition of regenerating woodland in the York Region official plan.

"The woodlot feature is highly degraded with low ecological integrity and provides limited ecological function to the surrounding landscape and will not result in a net negative impact across the landscape,” a planning justification report from Milford said.

The developer has also submitted new studies and assessments based on the updated proposal, available on the town's website.

Regardless, the LPAT appeal for the previous version of the project is ongoing for now. It is in a preliminary stage to determine parties and allow them to exchange documents. The next hearing is July 26 via videoconferencing. York Region is also is a party in the process.