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City of Vaughan

Dec 10 2023
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Battacorp Holdings

By City of Vaughan

URGENT! WE NEED YOUR HELP! We need you to email all the councillors

URGENT

On Tuesday, December 5th, 2023 , the Vaughan Mayor and City Councillors recommended the approval of an application by Battacorp Holdings for a development of four high rise apartment buildings on the lands at Langstaff and Highway 400, which currently houses the Husky gas station.

The proposal includes two 32-story buildings and two 35-story buildings, for a total of 1,488 residential units. The developer has asked for approval to use Ontario’s Community Infrastructure and Housing Accelerator (CIHA) from the Minister of the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing (MMAH). The CIHA allows the developer exemption from traditional planning frameworks, planning studies and community input.

The Vaughan Mayor and City Councillors are planning to approve this application on Tuesday, December 12th, 2023, even though the Region of York opposes this development.

The Region of York has stated the following in Attachment 9 of the Committee of the Whole Report of Tuesday, December 5th, 2023:

  • York Region Development Planning staff do not support the use of a CIHA order on the subject lands to permit the proposed development.
  • Introducing new high density residential uses on a site-specific basis surrounded by employment uses would create an isolated community without close access to typical residential neighbourhood uses, such as schools, community facilities and walkable destinations.
  • Introducing new residential uses on the subject lands could destabilize surrounding employment uses, creating compatibility issues and place upward pressure on land values, discouraging the establishment of new employment businesses.
  • Complete communities are not created with an isolated island of high density residential, surrounded by an employment area and adjacent to a 400-series highway.

Vaughan Council continues to make Vaughan into a city of apartment buildings and gridlock, with very little career employment opportunities. Contact the Mayor and Councillors and tell them to turn down this application.

WE NEED YOUR HELP! We need you to email all the councillors listed below and demand that they stop ignoring York Region’s report and that they decline this application and its use of a CIHA to circumvent proper planning.

Please send an email to the following council members before 10:00 am on Tuesday, December 12, 2023.

rosanna.defrancesca@vaughan.ca

maurizio.bevilacqua@vaughan.ca

mario.ferri@vaughan.ca

gino.rosati@vaughan.ca

marilyn.iafrate@vaughan.ca

adriano.volpentesta@vaughan.ca

gila.martow@vaughan.ca

chris.ainsworth@vaughan.ca

linda.jackson@vaughan.ca

clerks@vaughan.ca

 

info@westondownsra.ca

marioG.racco@vaughan.ca No need to email since he supports us in opposing this development.

 

 Working together we can make a difference!

Oct 03 2023
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Motion to permit four residential units

By City of Vaughan

URGENT!

Mayor Steven Del Duca is putting a motion forward at 1pm on Tuesday, October 3, 2023 to permit four (4) residential units on any property that permits single, semi or street townhouses.

Yes, the Mayor wants to allow the home next door to your single, semi or street townhouse to be built or remodelled into a four (4) unit dwelling.

Email or call the Mayor and councillors before the 1pm meeting and tell them to turn this proposal down. Stop the poor planning! Tell the Mayor and Councillors to stop and allow an evening public discussion on this matter before a decision is made.

Please remember to cc the city clerk in your email.

Clerk: Todd.coles@vaughan.ca

Steven.delduca@vaughan.ca
Linda.jackson@vaughan.ca
Gino.rosati@vaughan.ca
Mario.ferri@vaughan.ca
MarioG.Racco@vaughan.ca
Marilyn.Iafrate@vaughan.ca
Adriano.volpentesta@vaughan.ca
Rosanna.Defrancesca@vaughan.ca
Chris.ainsworth@vaughan.ca
Gila.martow@vaughan.ca

Oct 26 2021
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Letter from Councillor Mario Ferri supporting community

By City of Vaughan

Attention: Todd Coles, City Clerk

 

I would like to advise you, as the City Clerk, that I was unable to re-join the Council meeting of October 20th, following the Closed Session portion of the meeting for technical reasons.  I did intend to re-join the Council meeting but was unable to.

 

It is unfortunate that I was not able to connect, as I understand that I missed a recorded vote on the Velmar Centre Property Limited (Report 47, Item 3).  The following recommendations were voted on in the open session:

  1. THAT the Ontario Land Tribunal (“OLT”) be advised that Vaughan Council does not support the approval of the development applications for 4101 Rutherford Road (OP.19.003, Z.19.008 and DA.19.042 – collectively, the “Applications”);
  1. THAT external consultants be retained by Legal Services to support Council’s direction.

I would like to be on record as supporting these recommendations.  Had I been able join the Council meeting, I would have fully supported the recommendations and the recorded vote results would have shown my vote in favour of this motion.  The vote would have been 9 – 0 in favour of the motion.

 

Please ensure that this communication forms part of the official record from the October 20th, 2021, Council meeting, so that all parties are aware of my position on this important community matter.

 

Thank you,

 

Mario F. Ferri
Deputy Mayor
Local and Regional Councillor
905-832-2281, ext. 8989 | mario.ferri@vaughan.ca

City of Vaughan
2141 Major Mackenzie Dr., Vaughan, ON L6A 1T1

May 19 2021
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Vaughan Council sends 4101 Rutherford Road Redevelopment to Mediation

By City of Vaughan, Public Hearing

Thank you to all the Weston Downs Residents!  Your passionate letters and deputations made a difference.  On May 18th, through a closed door session, council ratified the motion from the Committee of the Whole meeting of May 11th, 2021, to send the 4101 Rutherford Road landowner and the Weston Downs Community to an LPAT-led Mediation.  Mediation will allow the community, the city, and the landowner to negotiate for a building that will respect the character of the Weston Downs Community. Council committed that if LPAT-led Mediation fails, they will reject the proposed plan.

Prior to the May 11th Committee of the Whole Meeting, Vaughan City planners had recommended that City Council approve the landowners proposal.  On May 11th, City Council had the option to approve or reject the proposal.  City Council deferred its decision and sent it to LPAT-led mediation in order to allow the stakeholders to arrive at a compromise.  Prior to the May 11th Committee of the Whole meeting the landowner had already appealed his case to the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal (LPAT – formally the OMB).

Potential Design

Proposed Building

May 05 2021
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Velmar Condo Proposal will be voted on by Council May 12, 2021 at 1:00PM

By City of Vaughan

The community has just received notice that the City of Vaughan Planners have released their report on the 4101 Rutherford Road redevelopment proposal.  The actual report can be found here:

Report.

Unfortunately the City Planners are recommending that the proposal be accepted by the city.

The WDRA and the local councilor have met with the developer and City Planners to voice the communities concerns.   We delivered a number of issues that we requested the Developer and the City Planners address before they issued a final report.  Our recommendations:

  • Ensuring that the appearance and structure of the building respects the character of the community.
  • Increase size of units to 3 bedroom to achieve Family-friendly units.  Currently 70% of the units are 700sqft 1 bedroom + Den.
  • Replace overhanging balconies and replace them with “Juliette” style balconies.
  • Reduce the FSI of the building from 2.74 which grossly exceeds the 1.5 FSI in the approved Vaughan Official Plan 2010 (VOP2010).
  • Reduce the 6 story height which exceeds approved height in the VOP2010 by 50%.
  • Address parking issues.  Only 3 of the 231 spots are above ground.
  • Address the traffic issues which will compound our current problems with infiltration.
  • etc…

Over the past few weeks the local Councilor and city planners met with the developer and had made great strides to improve the quality and character of the building.  We understand that these discussion ended when the Councilor attempted to address the height and FSI of the building.  The landowner and his agent abruptly ended the discussion and completely pulled the improved design.

To put this into perspective the following images show the progression of the building since the builder submitted his initial proposal back in 2019.  The landowner is now using Version 3.

Version 1

Version 2

Version 3

Version 4

Version 5

Version 6

We need your help!

We only have a few days left before Wednesday May 12th to let the councilors know that they should not approve this proposal.  We have collected some key letters that have been submitted by the WDRA and residents for you to draw points from.  The reference material can be found in our document library in the Reference Material\Reference Letters sub folder.  Here is a link to the document library.

Remember that the Property Owner is in his right through the VOP2010 to build a 4 story mixed use building.

Here is a list of email addresses of the city councilors that you can use in your emails/letters:

rosanna.defrancesca@vaughan.ca
maurizio.bevilacqua@vaughan.ca
mario.ferri@vaughan.ca
gino.rosati@vaughan.ca
linda.jackson@vaughan.ca
marilyn.iafrate@vaughan.ca
tony.carella@vaughan.ca
sandra.racco@vaughan.ca
alan.shefman@vaughan.ca
clerks@vaughan.ca
developmentplanning@vaughan.ca
info@westondownsra.ca

Please ensure that you copy the city clerk @ clerks@vaughan.ca.

Register to speak Live to Mayor Bevilacqua and Members of Council on Wednesday, May 12th

To speak live via teleconference to Mayor Maurizio Bevilacqua and Members of Council at the meeting on Wednesday, May 12th at 1pm, you must register to sby 12 noon on the day prior to the meeting.

To pre-register to speak, send a completed Request to Speak form (PDF) to clerks@vaughan.ca or call Access Vaughan at 905-832-2281. For additional details about submitting a communication or speaking live, visit vaughan.ca/HaveYourSay.

Working together we can make a difference!

Oct 08 2019
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Councillor Rosanna DeFrancesca statements from Public Hearing – September 17, 2019

By City of Vaughan, MIchael Tibollo, MPP

The Ratepayers association has been hearing a lot of questions about the outcome of the Public Hearing on September 17th, 2019.  Specifically what were the action items that Councillor Rosanna DeFrancesca spoke to at the end of the meeting.  We’ve decided to post the last part of the Public Hearing which specifically has the Councillor speaking.  We’ve also provided a synopsis of the Councillors statement.

  1. The Council endorsed staff and regional council to attend the community events around the Velmar Property Development.
  2. Councillor DeFrancesca recognizes that there is a serious issue with traffic and congestion and that Council has to do better by the community.  The Mayor has created a number of Task Forces to address issues.  Councillor DeFrancesca herself will be heading up the task force that will be looking at Traffic and Infrastructure in the community.
  3. The Councillor confirmed that there are No current applications for development at the Astona Plaza or the Starbucks Plaza.
  4. Councillor DeFrancesca has NOT made any decision on this application.  Neither for or against it. She stated that we need to follow the process. She has stated that she needs to hear all sides and has to have a full discussion around this development.
  5. The Councillor took offence to the letter from the Minister of Housing Steve Clark to our MPP, Michael Tibolo.  The letter can be read in its entirety here.  In the letter the Honorable Steve Clark states that the Municipality decides on what is to to be built.  He also stated that its is up to the municipality to ensure that what is built is in character with the surrounding community.  Councillor DeFrancesca stated that regardless of the decision that is made by council it can be overturned by the province through LPAT and therefore it is ultimately out of their hands.
  6. The Councillor stated that she wanted to work together with the community but that the community has to understand all the risks (ie: that LPAT may overrule any decision made).
  7. The Councillor invited the community to reach out to her if they have any question and she would happily respond.

So the Councillor did have some valid points.  However, it is the City of Vaughan Council’s job to listen to its constituents.  Regardless of how LPAT and the province deals with things, it is up to Council to vote on the Velmar Development on its merits and all its warts.  It is currently in violation of a number  of city by-laws.  It does not fit the character of the community.  It sets a wrong precedence for future developments in the community.  It is unwanted by the community.  Our expectation is that the City of Vaughan work with the community and reject this proposal based on these issues. If the developer decides to appeal this to LPAT then it is the responsibility of both the City of Vaughan and the community to fight it at the LPAT.   At that point we move our battle to LPAT.

Let us know what you think.

Sep 29 2019
Love0

Hey! What happened to the Notice Sign in front of the Velmar Plaza? Was there a decision made?

By City of Vaughan

Now you see it… And now you don’t.  There has been NO DECISION made for or against the proposed development at Velmar Plaza.  The Owner of the Plaza, also the developer of the proposed Condo Building, has removed the sign.  But he did this against the City Rules.

According to city rules (view able here), the sign was removed prematurely.  It can only be removed if a decision has been made.  The exact wording is as follows:

This is the exact text on page 4.

8.0 Removal of and Amendments to Notice Sign(s)

8.1 The Notice Sign(s) shall be removed within seven (7) days after any one of the following events:

8.1.1 the application(s) is/are approved or refused by Vaughan Council and there is no appeal; or lapses; or is withdrawn

8.1.2 the application(s) is/are approved or refused by the Region of York or the Ontario Municipal Board

Also, the Notice sign has to be clearly visible.  As most residents pointed out, the original sign was hidden behind trees and was not clearly visible.

The ratepayers association has asked for the sign to be returned.

Now its here....

[vc_single_image image=”397″ img_size=”medium”]

[vc_single_image image=”396″ img_size=”medium”]

And now its gone!

[vc_single_image image=”398″ img_size=”medium”]

[vc_single_image image=”399″ img_size=”medium”]

Sep 18 2019
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Thank you Woodbridge for coming out and supporting Weston Downs!

By City of Vaughan, Event, Public Hearing

Thank you to all the residents of Weston Downs and adjacent neighbourhoods for coming out and supporting us!  Wow… What a turnout!  The council chambers were packed and the overflow area had to be used to accommodate all of our supporters.

They put us last on the Agenda.  They didn’t give us enough chairs.  They didn’t even have speakers so that we could hear properly.  And they put us behind Doo Doo the Clown (no disrespect intended towards Doo Doo…) . But they kept an anxious group of Residents waiting.   But we persevered.  Voiced our opinion.  Sometimes Loudly.  But definitely we were articulate and passionate.

Thank you!  All of you were awesome!

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