East Beaver Creek moved closer to becoming a walkable mixed-use neighbourhood, Richmond Green received a long-term renewal plan, and council unanimously backed a fight against a major development near Major Mackenzie Drive.
By City Desk
The July 8 Committee of the Whole meeting was, at its core, about growth. But it was not a simple argument between people who support development and people who oppose it.
Instead, councillors considered three harder questions: Where should growth go? What infrastructure and public amenities should come with it? And when should the city say that a proposal is simply too much for its location?
By the end of the meeting, council had supported a major new vision for East Beaver Creek, approved a dramatically scaled-back development at Yonge Street and Brookside Road, and instructed city staff to oppose another high-density proposal near Major Mackenzie Drive at the Ontario Land Tribunal.
PASSED: A New Future for East Beaver Creek
The most ambitious decision was council’s unanimous endorsement of the broad policy directions for the East Beaver Creek Secondary Plan.
Today, East Beaver Creek is largely a collection of offices, hotels, restaurants, parking lots and isolated residential buildings. The proposed plan imagines something very different: a mixed-use neighbourhood of more than 15,000 residents, approximately 8,300 homes and more than 2,000 jobs.
The vision includes a finer network of streets, sidewalks on every street, cycling infrastructure, trails, shops, services, urban plazas and two new public parks. Taller buildings would generally be concentrated near Highway 7 and Leslie Street, while much of the interior would take a mid-rise form intended to create continuous and active streets.
The most important idea is not the building heights. It is the attempt to convert an area designed as a collection of separate properties into a place where people could complete many daily trips without driving.
There are still major unresolved questions. Residents remain concerned about traffic, shadows and whether enough parkland will be available. Landowners, meanwhile, want more density and less land consumed by a large stormwater pond.
Council asked staff to explore more urban approaches to stormwater management, including underground storage, which could free additional land for development or public space. The actual secondary plan is expected to return for public review after the municipal election, with adoption targeted for spring 2027.
PASSED: Richmond Green Gets a Long-Term Plan
Council also unanimously endorsed the Richmond Green Revitalization Master Plan.
The plan would gradually modernize the city’s largest park with improved connections, new and upgraded recreational facilities, additional picnic areas and a larger event space. Staff estimated that the redesigned gathering area could accommodate approximately 30,000 people.
It also identifies space for a 12-court pickleball hub, which has already been accelerated through an earlier council motion.
The master plan does not mean every improvement will be constructed immediately. It provides the map that future councils can use to set priorities, prepare budgets and complete the work in phases.
REJECTED: Council Prepares to Fight at the OLT
Council drew a much firmer line around a proposed development near Major Mackenzie Drive and Mabel Avenue.
Staff recommended that the city oppose the requested Official Plan and zoning changes at the Ontario Land Tribunal. Councillors agreed unanimously, describing the proposed scale as inappropriate and premature for the location.
The proposal would place a 12-storey building close to an established neighbourhood. Residents raised concerns about privacy, shadows, setbacks and the effect on nearby homes.
Councillors acknowledged that Major Mackenzie Drive may eventually receive bus rapid transit and additional intensification. Their position, however, was that future transit plans do not automatically justify every development proposed today.
The vote authorizes staff and the city’s legal team to defend Richmond Hill’s existing planning policies at the tribunal, although councillors also encouraged the developer to continue discussions in search of a more acceptable proposal.
PASSED: A Development Cut Almost in Half
Council took the opposite position on a long-running proposal near Yonge Street, Brookside Road and Naughton Drive.
An earlier version contained approximately 1,800 units and several new towers of 29 to 33 storeys outside the area intended for that scale of development. The revised plan has been reduced to approximately 834 units and replaces those proposed towers with townhouses and buildings of seven and eight storeys.
Previously approved towers of 21 and 37 storeys within the Yonge and Bernard Key Development Area remain unchanged.
Councillors described the revision as a substantial improvement and an example of negotiations eventually producing something closer to the city’s planning framework. The proposal was approved unanimously, although some councillors expressed frustration that the application had returned repeatedly in different forms over nearly a decade.
Council also approved a much smaller development of 10 homes on Oxford Street. Much of that discussion concerned whether mature trees along neighbouring properties could be preserved. One lot will remain on hold until requirements involving boundary trees are resolved.
DELAYED: No Formal Deferrals, but Few Immediate Results
Nothing significant was formally postponed, but many of the day’s biggest promises remain years away.
East Beaver Creek is a plan for development that could unfold over several decades. Richmond Green’s renewal will depend on future budgets and phasing. The citywide Tennis and Pickleball Strategy is not expected to return in final form until early 2027.
In other words, council approved several destinations without yet determining every step—or every dollar—required to reach them.
FLASHPOINT: Pickleball Players Want More Than 12 Courts
The most persistent public pressure came from Richmond Hill’s pickleball community.
Several delegates welcomed the proposed 12-court hub at Richmond Green but questioned why such a major investment was being advanced before the citywide pickleball strategy is complete. They argued that temporary parking-lot courts, shared tennis courts and gym floors should not be counted as equivalent to permanent dedicated facilities.
Their larger concern was that the Richmond Green hub could become the city’s entire answer rather than the beginning of a broader network of dedicated and year-round places to play.
Mayor David West responded that the city has no intention of waiting for the strategy before moving forward at Richmond Green. The purpose of accelerating the project, he said, was to begin the design and implementation work as quickly as possible.
The disagreement was therefore not really over whether Richmond Hill needs pickleball courts. Nearly everyone agreed that it does. The dispute was over whether the city is planning first and building second—or trying to do both at the same time.
UP NEXT: Can York Region Handle the Data-Centre Boom?
Council unanimously supported a motion from Councillor Carol Davidson asking York Region to examine the cumulative infrastructure demands created by new data centres across Richmond Hill, Markham and Vaughan.
Data centres can consume large amounts of electricity and water while adding demands to wastewater and other regional systems. The concern is that each proposal may appear serviceable on its own, while their combined impact could reduce the infrastructure capacity available for housing and employment growth.
The motion asks York Region for a broader assessment so local municipalities can understand whether regional systems are prepared for both the data-centre industry and the communities planned around it.
ODDITY: Planning for a Leafs Victory
During the Richmond Green discussion, Regional Councillor Joe DiPaola asked where Richmond Hill residents would celebrate when the Toronto Maple Leafs next win the Stanley Cup: the new Richmond Green event space or Dave Barrow Civic Square?
No firm location was selected.
With the proposed Richmond Green space capable of holding around 30,000 people, however, the city may be better prepared for that unlikely event than the Leafs are.