Monday’s meeting was lengthy and covered some very important topics. We were delighted to see so many residents in chambers sharing their thoughts on the various items before Council. The town benefits immensely from an engaged community with better decisions made because of your input.
Highlights from the evening included updates on the Neighbourhood Plans for Old King Rd and Doctors Lane, Growth and Employment Strategies through 2051, Zoning change for the new apartment building in Nobleton, Heritage Designations for Hogan’s Inn, Crawford Wells and George Pringle House AND All-Way Stop Control at 19th & 11th!
You can watch the video here but the link will only be live for two weeks.
Quick Links
Growth Management & Employment Lands Strategies Zoning By-law Amendment – 12958-12972 Highway 27 and 15 Wellington Street Heritage Designations All-Way Stop Control @ 19th Sideroad and 11th Concession
Mayor's Comments
We had a great home opener for the King Rebellion Junior A team winning 5-0. The next game is this Sunday at the Nobleton Volunteers to sell tickets and fundraising are needed - click here for more information.
Transportation Master Plan update will guide development and infrastructure through 2051 and will consider different ways people move around the Township, including walking, cycling, public transit, and driving. Public input is essential! Click here for more on how to participate.
Saved by the Beep is Saturday September 28th - this is the provincial smoke alarm test date and a reminder that you are supposed to test your smoke and carbon monoxide alarms monthly and change the batteries yearly. Take the pledge here.
National Day of Truth and Reconciliation – King Township is in partnership with the Indigenous Action Committee to host an evening of reflection on Monday September 30th from 5:30 – 7:30pm. Click here for more.
Highway 11 Corridor Study - An Open House will be held on Monday October 7th from 3:30 - 5:30 p.m. is being held to provide an update on the Study and obtain input and feedback on the proposed amendments. The Open House will consist of a presentation at 4 p.m., followed by an open discussion with the Project Team, and the public meeting at 6pm.
Tickets are on sale now for Kingtoberfest Oct. 19 from 5-10:30. Enjoy a variety of traditional games and activities that promise fun for everyone! Savour the flavours of Germany with delicious bratwursts, pretzels, schnitzels, and a selection of German beers and beverages. Click here for more.
EVENING HIGHLIGHTS
By-Law Presentation
By-law met with Councillors in Q4 2023 to review perceptions of service as they currently exist and identify potential changes to meet stakeholder needs. Based on the feedback, By-law is responding with a variety of initiatives including a review of the process, expanding enforcement, reviewing service levels and priority rankings, reviewing by-laws, and more.
Following is what King’s current standards are:
Low Priority: Unlikely to cause health and safety issues to the public, negative impact to the community and /or environment.
Complaint Response Standard: Complaints acknowledged within 2 business days with expected follow up time provided for enforcement
Medium Priority: Potential to cause health and safety issues to the public, negative impact to the community and/or environments
Complaint Response Standard: Complaints acknowledged within 2 business days with expected follow up time provided for enforcement
High Priority: Violation is likely to cause health and safety issues to the public.
Complaint Response Standard: Complaints investigated within 24 hours of noticed/observation. Enforcement in 7 business days.
King has a Proactive Service Level for High & Medium Priority By-laws. These are violations observed during course of Officer duties and will seek to correct.
King has a Reactive Service Level for Medium & Low Priority By-Law. Investigations are initiated upon a valid complaint to confirm violation and correct issue(s).
A couple points of interest were brought up in the discussion following the presentation:
Zoning by-laws (which includes Illegal Land Use) are dealt with as a Medium priority. Staff are working on a Corporate Strategic Plan which will be presented to Council in 2025 that will address Illegal Land Use through a Commercial Licensing process.
Each investigation is a new investigation, even for repeat offender. As such, each offence is considered separately and so witnesses need to advise by-law in each instance that they see a possible infraction as their information and pictures are valuable part of the investigation.
The town has a self-serve by-law investigation portal which insures fairness and transparency. Investigative information on the portal is updated every 20 days and includes: the municipal address, file number and complaint category, status of the complaint, if an order was issued and what the compliance date is, investigating officer number/name.
Old King Rd & Doctors Lane Neighbourhood
This neighbourhood planning process actively encourages participation to help shape existing neighbourhoods for the future. The community is being asked to consider existing and potential future land use, open space, design elements, transportation, and municipal servicing.
The Plan consists of graphics, images and maps that identify an approach to the development or re-development of an area. Once complete, the Plans will inform the Community Planning Permit System (CPPS) which is a land use planning tool that combines and replaces the traditional zoning and site plan development application processes into a single streamlined permit and application process that covers Zoning By-law, Site Plan Control, and Minor Variances.
Comments received by the community about The Plan have been divided into Key Themes for each area.
Nobleton Key Themes:
- Preserve cultural heritage and explore opportunities for adaptive reuse
- Protect natural heritage- Improve urban design and place making
- Enhance community gathering spaces and parkland
- Promote active transportation connections
- Prioritize pedestrian connectivity
- Improve safety and traffic concerns
- Need to provide increased parking
- Promote mixed-use developments
- Prioritize commercial and retail uses
- Encourage diversified housing
Doctors Lane Key Themes:
- Protect and enhance natural heritage
- Preserve cultural heritage and opportunities for adaptive reuse
- Enhance community gathering spaces and parkland
- Prioritize pedestrian connectivity
- Promote active transportation
- Promote mixed-use developments
- Encourage diversified housing
- Address traffic concerns
- Need to consider parking needs
Click here to see the two concepts being considered for each town and how the Key Themes are being addressed.
Council heard many fantastic, thoughtful deputations from the community, many of which were concerned about the impact to their neighbourhood with the proposed future intensification. A good portion of residents live in King because they love the small town vibe – so do I! The reality, however, is that the province dictates to all municipalities the number of residents they must accommodate.
The government has a 35-year horizon, from 2016 to 2051, and has told King to plan to grow from the present population of 28,400 to 51,000 by 2051 (more on that here). The Plan that we are working on is a proactive way of making sure that this growth is accommodated in the very best way with community input.
After hearing from the community, the Mayor recommended that staff extend the consultation period so that residents have more time to contribute to the process that will shape the future of this community.
Growth Management & Employment Lands Strategies
From the report that was presented to Council:
“By 2051, King Township is expected to grow to 51,000 people, 17,400 households, and 17,700 jobs, with most growth concentrated in King City, Nobleton, and Schomberg. Over half of the housing growth is projected in the Village [Build Up Areas], requiring higher density development. Nobleton Village will need approximately eight gross hectares of land by 2051, with potential for more between 2051 and 2056, which Phase 2 of [this report] will explore. For employment lands, the Township lacks sufficient vacant land to meet demand through 2051. King City and Schomberg are expected to be fully developed by then, with Nobleton requiring an additional 21 net hectares of Employment Area land. Including environmental and infrastructure needs, nearly 40 gross hectares (100 gross acres) will be necessary. An urban boundary expansion in Nobleton is seen as the best option for new Employment Area land, to be further analyzed in Phase 2 of the [Employment Lands Strategy].”
This represents an increase of approximately 22,600 residents between 2021 and 2051, or an average annual population growth rate of 2% during this period. This is slightly higher than the growth rate of 1.9% seen for the Township in the last two decades (2001 to 2021). To accommodate the forecast population growth, however, the Township will require approximately 8,390 new households or about 280 new households annually, which is about 62% higher than the 172 new households the Township averaged annually between 2001 and 2021. The study considers the age of the population over time, as current residents age a larger number of new residents are needed to continue to reach the 2% targeted increase in overall population.
Clearly servicing an expanded population with municipal water and waste water services is a concern. Council was advised that King first needs to set its population plan and then York Region is then obligated to create the supporting services.
Zoning By-law Amendment Application 12958-12972 Highway 27 and 15 Wellington Street
Council heard from a number of residents about this application with many concerned about the impact on congestion that the proposed 160 residential units will have. Ultimately, King’s planners advised Council that the application conforms to Provincial Policy, the Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe, York Region’s Plan, and King’s Official Plan. As such, and after much discussion, Council supported the application.
From a macro perspective, focusing increased population in Nobleton’s Built Up Area is good planning and a more efficient use of tax dollars to deliver servicing to residents. From a micro perspective, if Council did not approve the recommendations, it is likely that the applicant would have appealed to the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal (LPAT) which is a costly exercise for the town to defend using your tax dollars. Moreover, given that King’s own staff recommended approval based on conformity to all the various policies noted above, the likelihood of successfully arguing against the proposal would have been quite low.
Heritage Designation
Council approved the Heritage Designation for three properties: Hogan’s Inn (12998 Keele St), Crawford Wells General Store and Post Office (12981 Keele St.); and George Pringle House (13092 Highway 27)
All-Way Stop Sign at 11th Concession and 19th Sideroad – COUNCIL APPROVED!
New Business
Ward 4 - Growing up with Trees Sept. 24, Schomberg Country run Sept. 28, Schomberg Scarecrow contest has launched.
Ward 5 - Last Thursday there was a successful road reconstruction meeting in Kettleby. Also, King for Refugees hosted picnic for volunteers for the last five years which was attended by many of the refugee families.
Ward 6 - Harvest is in full swing so drive cautiously around the tractors.
Mayor - Fire Chief Jim Wall has submitted his notice of retirement as of January 31, 2025. On February 1st, 2025, he will remain as a 1st Class volunteer firefighter out of the Schomberg Fire Station responding to calls and helping at public events.
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