Markham residents voice concerns at Official Plan review meeting

On January 23, a Special Meeting of Council convened to review the Official Plan of Markham, updating the 2014 Official Plan. The public meeting started with a brief overview of the plan and its goals, followed by a series of deputations from Markham residents. This public dialogue is part of the first phase of a three-phase review of the Official Plan

An official plan is a provincially required guiding document that the city and councillors use to develop and grow municipalities. The incoming Official Plan is projected to guide Markham into 2051, integrating the York Region 2022 Official Plan and the on-going secondary plans— plans to develop or redevelop specific areas.

Deputations were made by familiar faces, including members of The Unionville Residents Association (URA), who again expressed concerns with Markham’s overdevelopment.

Development management, traffic, and community facilities are amongst the top concerns among members and subscribers of the URA, Peter Miasek shared in a recent interview.

Though Miasek mostly agrees with the vision of Markham and York Region’s official plans, he finds the implementation to fall short— especially with the secondary plans and infrastructure development.

“Secondary plans are very dated and updates are way behind schedule. This means developments are being approved without appropriate context if they have too much density, [and] funding and construction of necessary infrastructure to support this growth is way behind,” he added.

Miasek acknowledges, however, that provincial fiscal policies limit the scope of a municipality’s development. 

Stephen, a returning Markham resident from Toronto, advocated for incremental and bottom-up development: invest, expand, and grow through the existing communities. In an interview reflecting Markham’s changes since his departure two decades ago, he expressed mixed feelings.

“It feels less suburban in a good way, but it also feels more closed off in some ways,” he said, referring to the contrasting old suburban neighbourhoods and the new condo developments. 

While happy with the city’s improved bus system, Stephen is frustrated with the limited options for residents.

“It still feels like taking your life in your hands to bike and car is the assumed way to get around.”

In addition to the in-person deputations, written submissions were received, a handful of which came from planning consulting firms or adjacent groups.  

The city continues to encourage public involvement in Markham’s development, accepting emails at [email protected], and website engagement at www.yourvoicemarkham.ca/markhamopr.

*Story and photo submitted by Dina Dong.