A plan to divide land along Highway 7 East in Markham's Ward 3 into development blocks, new public roads, a park and greenway lands has cleared a key committee vote.
On March 3, Markham's development services committee approved in principle a draft plan of subdivision from 2690622 Ontario Inc., or Kingdom Developments. The plan covers 4077, 4101 and 4121 Highway 7 East. It would create four development blocks along with public roads, a public park and greenway lands.
Affordable units proposed
Asked about affordable housing, planning director Giulio Cescato told the committee that 30 affordable units are being proposed. He said staff are satisfied the application is in line with the Planning Act.
Nick Pileggi, a principal at the planning firm Macaulay Shiomi Howson Ltd., spoke for the applicant. He said the company had filed the application again to deal with feasibility issues under Bill 23, the province's 2022 housing law. He said this application is not for an official plan or zoning bylaw amendment. City documents show an earlier draft plan for the site was filed in 2024.
The committee held off voting until after a closed session, where councillors discussed a confidential memo on community benefits proposed by the developer. Deputy Mayor Michael Chan declared a conflict of interest because he does business with the applicant, and did not vote.
Conditions and timelines
The approval is subject to a list of conditions. The committee gave the director of planning and urban design authority to issue final draft plan approval and to amend those conditions. The approval will lapse after three years if a subdivision agreement is not signed by then.
Zoning clean-up also endorsed
At the same meeting, the committee endorsed a package of amendments to Markham's comprehensive zoning bylaw. Staff called some of them housekeeping changes. The package also updates accessible parking standards, changes the public-use sections of zoning bylaws in areas around major transit stations, and changes the fees for applications seeking several minor variances at once.
Cescato said the amendments are meant to follow a model provided by the federal government, so that federal, provincial and municipal housing goals line up. The bylaws go to the next available council meeting to be enacted.
