Heritage grant fund triples as council readies Ontario Land Tribunal fight
Richmond Hill council voted to more than triple the annual Heritage Grant Program budget and will send staff to oppose a Bayview Avenue development at the Ontario Land Tribunal, according to the June 24 council meeting agenda.
Those decisions topped a full meeting that also saw the removal of a property from the heritage register and direction to accelerate a pickleball hub at Brodie House Park.
Heritage grants get $75,000 boost
The Heritage Grant Program budget will increase from $30,000 to $105,000, with the maximum matching grant for eligible projects rising to $15,000. The increase had been recommended by the Committee of the Whole and was adopted as part of the meeting’s consent agenda.
Council opposes Bayview development
Official Plan and zoning by-law amendment applications for 13572-13586 Bayview Avenue will be opposed. Council directed staff to appear before the Ontario Land Tribunal to argue against the proposal. No vote tally was published in the agenda.
Other council actions
Council removed 94 Elgin Mills Road West from the municipal heritage register. The property had been listed but no longer meets the criteria for designation, according to staff reports.
A permanent pickleball hub will take shape at Brodie House Park. Council directed staff to bring forward detailed design in the 2027 capital budget, with construction scheduled for 2028.
Two park names were approved: Millstone Park and Meadowlark Park. The private street at 12600 Bayview Avenue will be called Frederick Ludford Lane.
Budget talks: 2% tax-rate impact on the table
The Budget Committee of the Whole discussed the 2027 budget strategy on June 23. The proposal includes a 0.5% increase to the Capital Asset Sustainability Levy, which translates to a 2.0% tax-rate impact.
The draft strategy also calls for using $35.6 million from tax-supported reserves and $24 million from the development charges reserve to fund capital projects. A draft Tariff of Fees By-law is expected to come to the July 15 council meeting.
No decisions were made; the committee meeting was for discussion.
Public hears Official Plan and zoning overhaul
A June 23 public meeting gave residents a chance to comment on two major planning documents: a comprehensive update to the Official Plan and the 2026 update to Comprehensive Zoning By-law 93-25. Both items were received for information, with comments referred back to staff. Final decisions will come at a future council meeting.
Side-yard setback approved at 212 Jefferson Forest Drive
The Committee of Adjustment voted June 25 to allow a minor variance at 212 Jefferson Forest Drive, reducing the required north interior side yard setback from 1.5 metres to 0.61 metres. The variance is 0.2 metres less than what By-law 235-97 requires.
Coming up
No public meetings were scheduled for the next two weeks as of publication time.
Generated from official meeting agendas and minutes — every underlying document is linked from the city page. Read the primary source before you rely on a detail.