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Written by Gordon Prentice

Published: 20 December 2015

Back Story:  1 March 2011 the Clock Tower on Newmarket's historic Main Street was purchased from Premier Retirement Residences Inc for $2,340,000 by 2259613 Ontario Inc also known as Main Street Clock Inc also known as Robert Forrest.

Subsequently, Forrest bought the adjacent commercial properties at 184-194 Main Street South to provide a block big enough for a huge condo in the heart of the Town’s priceless Heritage Conservation District.

On 9 September 2013, Main Street Clock Inc took out a mortgage on the property for $3,000,000 with PACE Savings and Credit Union – the same people who are involved with the Slessors. Forrest put the Clock Tower up for sale on 19 June 2014.  There were no takers (or he changed his mind about the sale) and the story died.

As Forrest prepares to unveil his latest proposal, the Main Street business community has spoken out.

BIA votes to oppose condo plan

The forum representing businesses in Newmarket’s historic Main Street has voted to oppose Bob Forrest’s plan to build a condo at the Clock Tower which it believes would drive a coach and horses through the Town’s Heritage Conservation District policy.

Last week the Main Street District Business Improvement Area Board of Management voted 7-1 in favour of a motion calling for the policy’s three storey height cap to be respected. The BIA has also set its face against any land swap by the Town that would facilitate the development. Forrest, who has spent years sweet talking the Town, believes he can get approval for a 7 storey condo if it is rental.

Glenn Wilson, the Chair of the Newmarket Main Street BIA told members yesterday by email that a representative from the Forrest Group confirmed last month that Forrest “plans to proceed with a new application for its proposed multi-storey  Clock Tower Project early in the new year”. 

Wilson continues:

“Surprisingly, he (Forrest’s representative) also announced that meetings and discussions between Forrest Group and Town Staff were already in progress.  A heated debate followed as to whether or not any consultations had in fact occurred and the appropriateness of such discussions happening without an application being in place. Up to this point, it had been the general belief on the street that the developer’s plan to build a 6 to 9 storey complex on its Clock Tower property was effectively dead.” 

The BIA fears the Forrest development would mean the loss of crucial public parking spaces in Market Square over a lengthy construction period which would have “a devastating effect” on BIA Member businesses in the Downtown Heritage District.

Second Public Meeting on Clock Tower “likely”

The BIA says it wants to take a deputation to Newmarket Council. That’s good. But a second Public Meeting is also likely to be called. It is now coming up to two years since the first public meeting (3 February 2014) where the condo plan was condemned for its overbearing bulk and mass and insensitivity to the Town’s heritage district.

Make no mistake, Bob Forrest is determined to blight our historic downtown and get his cash bonanza. The Mayor and councillors, who traditionally bite their tongues on planning applications for fear of appearing biased, should vigorously defend the Town’s 2011 Heritage Conservation District policy. Two years ago, in November 2013, Forrest (or, rather, his alter ego Main Street Clock Inc) appealed to the OMB on the grounds that a rezoning application to redevelop 180-194 Main Street South – which his lawyers say was deemed complete by the Town on 13 September 2013 – could be imperiled by a Town By Law, passed six weeks later, which formally created the Lower Main Street South Heritage Conservation District. For years, Van Bynen, forever the bean-counting bank manager, had dragged his feet on bringing forward an implementing By-Law on the grounds that staff would have to be hired to police it. As I write, no Hearing date has been scheduled for this two year old appeal to the OMB.

Worryingly, the Town’s detached and hands-off Planning Director, Rick Nethery, says applications that do not conform to the Heritage Conservation District policy can, nevertheless, still be approved by councillors. This rather begs the question:  what is the point of having a policy at all?

Meanwhile, there are problems with the Clock Tower that need to be addressed. Masonry by the foundations requires repair.

It seems to me Forrest urgently needs to get approval from the Council for his monster condo or finally admit defeat and get shot of the old Clock Tower building and the historic commercial properties next door to it.

Forrest has very deep pockets but servicing the mortgage must be costing him a small fortune.

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BIA Motion carried 7-1 on 15 December 2015

That the BIA Board of Management only supports responsible development within the 3-storey height limitations permitted in the Downtown Newmarket Heritage Business District under the Heritage Act, in order to retain the charm, historic character and positive business climate of the District; and, in keeping with this position, that the BIA Board of Management opposes the Forrest Group’s intended plan to build a multi-storey, high-density residential project (“The Clock Tower Project”) in the heart of the Heritage Business District;

and further,

that the BIA Board of Management objects to and opposes any proposed transfer or swap of Town-owned Heritage land (specifically the land on or below the critically-important Market Square parking block) by the Town to the Forrest Group or any other developer for the purpose of providing space to build an underground parking lot for its intended project, the construction of which would have catastrophic effects on BIA Member businesses;

and further,

that the BIA Board of Management objects to and opposes the use of Town-owned Heritage property (specifically the current Market Square parking block) by the Forrest Group or any developer for the purpose of staging its massive proposed private development project because the loss of crucial public parking spaces in the Town-owned Market Square over a lengthy construction period would have devastating effects on BIA Member businesses in the Downtown Heritage District;

and further,

that the BIA Board of Management makes a timely deputation advising the Newmarket Town Council of the BIA’s position on these serious matters;

and lastly,

that this motion be reported verbatim in the Minutes of this meeting.

Details

Written by Gordon Prentice

Published: 18 December 2015

To the Ray Twinney Centre for the Open House on the Region’s Transportation Master Plan. There are about 15-20 members of the public there along with Newmarket’s Regional Councillor, John Taylor.

We are probably matched one-to-one by York Region staff who are out in great numbers. You can see the presentation from the Region’s Director of Infrastructure Management, the knowledgeable Stephen Collins, here.

It seems to me the Transportation Master Plan is in danger of being overtaken by events in a very big way. Its timetable is clearly out of synch with Metrolinx whose detailed Regional Express Rail strategy, complete with all its nuts and bolts, is to be unveiled early next year.

Despite an assurance from Metrolinx to members of York Regional Council in September that Regional staff would be closely involved in discussions on new stations and infrastructure, staff are clearly out of the loop.

Metrolinx playing its own game

With disarming candour, Stephen Collins tells me Metrolinx has not shared its thoughts on future infrastructure, new stations, grade separations and so on. York Region is waiting to be told what is going to happen – just like the rest of us. Metrolinx is playing its cards close to its chest.

Collins gives straight answers to straight questions, a trait typical of engineers but scarce amongst politicians. So when I ask him if York Region was consulted on the decision by Metrolinx to terminate the all-day two-way 15 minute GO Train service at Aurora, he says no in a matter of fact way.

Why end the gold-plated GO Rail service at Aurora?

What else did I learn? Regional Councillor John Taylor tells us the Transportation Minister, Steven Del Duca, had made it clear to him and to Newmarket Mayor, Tony Van Bynen, at their meeting earlier this month that the decision to terminate the 15 minute all-day two-way service at Aurora is final and will not be re-opened. But the Minister must have explained the reasoning behind that decision. It is just not being shared with the rest of us.

I also hear it confirmed that the Town is not buying the land at Mulock Drive which is identified as a possible site for a new rail Station. Personally, I think that is a big mistake. It is currently up for sale.

The proposed new station at Mulock Drive will remain in the Transportation Master Plan even if Metrolinx decides not to proceed with it at the moment. And although Mulock Drive is very close to the Aurora GO Station – only a matter of minutes by train – it is further than the minimum two kilometer distance which is required between stations.

I learn that grade separation at Mulock Drive is even more pressing than the traffic-choked Davis Drive because of the sheer volume of traffic.

Given the huge amount of preparation that goes into these Open Houses and the huge army of staff present, the Region needs to do some lateral thinking about how best to get more people engaged. Without getting more members of the public along, these events end up as a tick box exercise rather than a vigorous exchange of ideas between the professionals and the rest of us.

The Region is inviting comments on its Transportation Master Plan by 10 January 2016. Email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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Written by Gordon Prentice

Published: 17 December 2015

Darryl Wolk is making a career out of baiting Tony Van Bynen about the Mayor’s salary.

In a furious broadside of tweets today he tells his readers that Van Bynen “refuses to justify his outrageous salary” which is “greedy and corrupt”. He says the Mayor, Council and staff are lining their own pockets and the CAO, Bob Shelton, should perhaps be replaced on the grounds that there are “no financial controls at all. Expense fraud common. Mayor salary top secret.”

All this is completely and wildly over the top.

I like Darryl Wolk. Even though his politics are all over the place he adds to the gaiety of the nation. He is in perpetual campaign mode and refuses to go away. I like that. It keeps people on their toes. But by spraying around allegations of corruption and by endlessly repeating the so-called “fact” that Tony Van Bynen is the fourth highest paid Mayor in Canada is to undermine his more general case against the current incumbents at Mulock Drive – that he considers they are totally useless.

The Mayor’s salary and benefits are now posted on the Town’s website. I approve. Until earlier this year, we never got the whole story and it was only after I had written to the Council’s Chief Administrative Officer, Bob Shelton, pointing out that the Municipal Act required the publication of the Mayor’s remuneration from Newmarket Hydro, that Van Bynen’s total package was revealed.

Wolk’s poison darts aimed at the Mayor miss their mark when it is perfectly clear Van Bynen is not even the highest paid Mayor in York Region. Van Bynen gets more than enough to keep the wolf from the door but it is not a King’s ransom. In fact, there are police constables in York Region bringing in over $160,000 a year.  Wolk needs to keep a sense of proportion and some perspective. (If the Sunshine List's $100,000 threshold had been uprated for inflation it would be at $145,000 by now.)

Van Bynen is an intelligent man

The Mayor has some significant strengths. He appears avuncular, projecting a persona which suggests the Town is safe in his hands. He is good at chairing meetings – in the sense of keeping order and getting through the business. Van Bynen is an intelligent man so when he chooses to say nothing about some boiling controversy, or makes himself scarce, this is done out of calculation not inadvertence.

The Mayor believes openness and transparency are the enemies of good public administration instead of being a prerequisite. When changes are made - such as the new remuneration page on the Town’s website - he probably agrees reluctantly. The initiative most certainly did not come from him.

But instead of getting worked up into a lather about Van Bynen’s ranking in the salary league table of Canada’s Mayors we should concentrate laser-like on the way he runs the Town.

There are enough examples to fill a book but I select here one or two of the most egregious. Van Bynen did not give any explanation to the Glenway Lessons learned meeting about the extent of his prior knowledge of the boycott of the OMB Glenway Hearing by the Town’s top planning staff. The Town spent $500,000 going to the OMB when Van Bynen already knew it was doomed to fail and a quiet, leafy neighbourhood would be transformed beyond all recognition.

Van Bynen also has a track record of knowingly withholding relevant information from the OMB when Newmarket matters are before it and up for decision.

It will be a moment to savour if Van Bynen ever summons up the courage to campaign for his third term priority - the reform of the OMB.

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Details

Written by Gordon Prentice

Published: 16 December 2015

Like most fair-minded people, I find John Taylor genial and approachable even though he likes to hoard information, trading it with others when it suits his purpose.

So Taylor deserves a pat on the back for reporting back to Council earlier this week (14 December 2015) on his recent meeting with the Minister of Transportation, Steven Del Duca, on how Regional Express Rail would impact Newmarket.

What he didn’t say was as significant as what he did say. It is now perfectly obvious that the Town has thrown in the towel on a 15 minute Newmarket to Toronto service. In his report-back Taylor did not mention this once (see below). More astonishingly, there were no questions whatsoever from his incurious councillor colleagues on the details of one of the Province’s biggest civil engineering projects in decades.

No Grade Separation

Let’s be clear. A 15 minute service would automatically mean grade separation at Mulock Drive and Davis Drive. There would be chaos in Davis Drive were this not so. Taylor assured us we would know the outcome of grade separation studies “over the next year”. I can tell him now. Grade separation isn’t going to happen.

After Taylor concludes his report-back, a million questions cry out to be asked but all I hear is silence.

Is the Town continuing to press for a 15 minute service and if not, why not?

Has the Town taken any steps to acquire land at Mulock Drive for the GO Rail Station it says it wants to see there? If not, why not?

(When Metrolinx Chief Planning Officer, Leslie Woo gave her presentation to York Region's Committee of the Whole on 10 September 2015 she told Taylor new GO stations are not funded beyond those already planned – Gormley and Bloomington in York Region – and that there are no provisions for safeguarding land that might be needed for a new station. She said Metrolinx will recommend the new stations for consideration in Spring 2016.)

Taylor talks about the proposed new station at Mulock having sufficient parking to take the pressure off the Tannery (which he says is “stressed”) and Aurora. How big would the footprint of this station be? Would it affect in any way the proposed adjacent development of townhouses on protected meadowland at Silken Laumann Drive which he voted for and which was conditionally approved by the OMB in September 2015?

Transportation Master Plan Open House

Fortunately, some of these questions can be posed to York region planners who are holding an open house at the Ray Twinney Centre tomorrow night (17 December) from 6pm – 9pm to discuss the updating of the Region’s 2009 Transportation Master Plan which is rapidly being overtaken by events.

The old Transportation Master Plan talks about partnering with “GO Transit, Metrolinx and local municipalities to assess the feasibility of new park-and-ride stations along several existing rail lines”.  It wants to develop further promotion of walking, cycling and transit connections to and from GO Rail Stations (page 141). It also points to the advantages of purchasing properties around stations “to assist in the development and value capture opportunities” citing the Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority as an example (page 146).

So there’s lots to talk about – new stations, grade separations, the impact of the proposed new developments along Green Lane.

What plans are there to co-locate the Town’s GO Bus and GO rail stations?

What is happening to the GO Rail Station Mobility Hub Study at the Tannery? (The Town’s recently adopted Secondary Plan proposes limited park-and-ride.)

Leslie Woo tells us Metrolinx is working very closely with York Region staff on a range of issues thrown up by the RER program – including the new station program - so tomorrow’s open house could be very informative.

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What Tayor said

In his Regional Report to Newmarket Council on 14 October 2015, John Taylor said:

"Last week, the Mayor (Tony Van Bynen) and myself, Mayor Dawe (of Aurora) and the Member of the Provincial Parliament for Newmarket-Aurora, Chris Ballard, met with Steven Del Duca, the Minister of Transportation (with) regards to Regional Express Rail, the all-day GO train service that is being slowly rolled out throughout the Greater Toronto Area (GTA).

"This is not the first time that we’ve had an opportunity to raise questions. They’ve been in front of Council, in front of the Regional Council. Both the Mayor and myself have attended the quarter Committee meetings with elected representatives along the corridors and in all of these instances we have raised concerns or areas of concern. Obviously we begin by expressing support for RER and the all-day GO in general and we know a lot of our residents will benefit from that enhanced service but we still regardless have to raise those areas of concern and one of those is parking.

"We know the Tannery is extremely stressed and so we raised that. Also at-grade crossings and how that causes train whistles and we’ve been having numerous discussions about that. There are studies that are being undertaken by Metrolinx to examine both issues - parking and at-grade crossings. Those studies over the next year will be released and will show the various issues and levels of need at different areas and where they will be addressing them or where they will not be addressing them.

"The other area that they are going to be coming out with next year is a study into the need for new stations. There are several areas within the GTA that are being looked at for potential new stations and, as a Council, we have sent our own motion forward and we have highlighted this at the Region and in the various meetings. In fact, we’ve been highlighting this as a Town going back decades. And it has been recognized by GO themselves – prior to being Metrolinx - that there is the potential for a new station at Mulock and the train tracks which, of course, is very close to where we are sitting right now.

"There was a primary purpose to this meeting. We had a very good discussion with the Minister. There is a study that’s going on into various locations for new stations. They’ve reduced the study down to 50 locations and we are on that shortlist, if you can call it a shortlist.

"We highlighted again the advantage of not necessarily needing an expansion of parking in Aurora and Newmarket at the Tannery if a new station (at Mulock) were implemented with parking there so there would be costs saved in other locations were this moved forward.

"So it was a good discussion. Obviously the Minister can’t pre-judge the outcome of the study but, you know, we are just making sure there is a great level of awareness on this.  We put forward the strongest case we possibly can (at) every opportunity we possibly can and I think that was accomplished. And we really thank Mayor Dawe and MPP Ballard for participating in that discussion.

(This is at 1hr 14 mins on video)