💬 Comments
Council backed new housing projects, increased funding for Unity Park and debated the growing frustration around train delays on Elgin Mills Road — all before nearly adjourning one page too early.
By City Desk
| ✅ Passed | Richmond Hill council unanimously approved several planning and infrastructure items this week, including opposition to a hotel redevelopment proposal, added funding for Unity Park upgrades and approvals for new housing developments. Council directed the Ontario Land Tribunal that it does not support planning applications submitted by Parkway Hotels and Convention Centre Inc. for lands identified as Part of Blocks 1. Councillors also approved a $700,000 in-year budget increase for the Unity Park Revitalization and Construction Project. On the housing front, council approved applications by Melnic (Bathurst TH) Inc. for a townhouse development at 13049 Bathurst Street, along with zoning applications submitted by Cor-Lots Developments Ltd. for 11 Headdon Gate. |
| ❌ Rejected | Council did not reject any items during the meeting. |
| ⏸️ Delayed | No items were formally delayed or deferred. |
| 🧨 Flashpoint | Councillors unanimously supported a motion from Councillor Thompson backing housing plans for adults with disabilities, but a separate motion concerning the urgency of a rail overpass prompted members to share their own frustrations with stopped traffic caused by passing trains. Several councillors recounted personal experiences waiting at the crossing, with David West joking that the perceived length of a delay “depends on how in a hurry one is.” The mayor also remarked that just when one train clears the crossing, another can sometimes arrive from the opposite direction. |
| ⏭ Up Next | The next meeting of Richmond Hill council will be a Committee of the Whole session on May 20. |
| 😬Oddity | In a lighter moment near the end of the meeting, Chair and Mayor David West briefly moved toward adjournment before noticing there was still a second page of agenda items left to cover. |