CORNELL MASTER PARKS AGREEMENT

 

 

THIS AGREEMENT made the         day of April, 2006

 

BETWEEN:

 

 

KIM BECKMAN, Barrister and Solicitor, OF DAVIES HOWE PARTNERS, Trustee of the CORNELL LANDOWNERS GROUP

(hereinafter collectively called the “Group”)

 

OF THE FIRST PART

 

-and-

 

 

THE CORPORATION OF THE TOWN OF MARKHAM

(hereinafter referred to as the “Town”)

 

OF THE SECOND PART

 

WITNESS THAT:

 

WHEREAS Kim Beckman is named as the trustee (“Trustee”) of the Group pursuant to a cost sharing agreement dated July 24, 2002 and registered as Instrument No.  YR178421 (the “Cost Sharing Agreement”), against certain lands within the Cornell Planning District Secondary Plan Area (the “Secondary Plan Area”) in the Town of Markham subject to Official Plan Amendment No. 20 (the “Secondary Plan”).

 

AND WHEREAS the Cost Sharing Agreement has been entered into by the owners listed on Schedule “A” hereto (“Owners”), who are the registered and beneficial owners of lands located within the Secondary Plan Area;

 

AND WHEREAS it is a requirement of the Town, pursuant to policies contained in the Secondary Plan, that all land which is developed within the Secondary Plan Area be subject to an obligation to participate in the Cost Sharing Agreement and any ancillary agreements which provide for the equitable sharing of community infrastructure and community land costs among the owners of development land within the Secondary Plan Area.

 

AND WHEREAS the Town entered into two agreements related to the delivery of park land and school sites within the Secondary Plan Area with the Owners’ predecessors in title including a Development Agreement dated June 26, 1996 (the “Development Agreement”) and a School Site Agreement dated July 28, 1997 (the “School Site Agreement”) which are applicable to lands within the Secondary Plan which were designated as urban when the Secondary Plan was approved (the “Cornell Development Lands”);

 

AND WHEREAS the Owners and the Town have come to an agreement concerning certain matters relating to parkland and other open space land dedications within the Cornell Development Lands, whether or not such land is presently owned by the Owners and whether or not such land is presently subject to a development application; 

 

AND WHEREAS the Owners and the Town intend that this Agreement shall replace and supersede the Development Agreement and the School Site Agreement as they apply to the Cornell Development Lands and as they relate to the dedication of park land;

 

AND WHEREAS the Owners and the Town intend that all owners of land within the Secondary Plan Area shall be subject to a condition of development approval which requires participation in the Cost Sharing Agreement and this Agreement;

 

NOW THEREFORE this Agreement witnesseth that in consideration of the mutual covenants herein contained and other good and valuable consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which are hereby acknowledged, the parties hereto agree as follows:

 

Parkland Dedication Requirements

 

1.         The Owners and the Town hereby agree that the minimum parkland dedication required for Secondary Plan Area shall be 137.5 acres (“Minimum Parkland Dedication”).

 

2.         Subject only to clause 12 of this Agreement, regardless of any changes to the quantity of proposed residential units or commercial and employment lands, the Minimum Parkland Dedication for the Cornell Development Lands shall remain at 137.5 acres and each of the Owners covenants and agrees to convey the parkland required in accordance with the Parks and Open Space Master Plan, dated ?, attached hereto as Schedule “B”.

 


3.                  The Minimum Parkland Dedication shall be satisfied as follows:

 

(a)       106.58 acres of parkland shall be conveyed to the Town at no cost and free of any encumbrances save and except as approved by the Town Solicitor and shall be distributed between community parks, neighbourhood parks and parkettes within the Cornell Development Lands in accordance with the locations depicted in the Parks and Open Space Master Plan, of which 14.7 acres was previously dedicated by the Law Group as part of the development of those Cornell Development Lands referred to as Phase 1 Lands, specifically described in Schedule “D” attached hereto;

 

(b)       The Town acknowledges a pre-existing parkland dedication credit of 20 acres for previous dedications to the Town by the Law Group pursuant to the provisions of the School Site Agreement;

 

(c)        9.23 acres of a total of 51.2 acres of woodlot to be dedicated to the Town at no cost and free of any encumbrances save and except as approved by the Town Solicitor, (the “Woodlot Trail Lands”) , schematically illustrated in the Parks and Open Space Master Plan; and

 

(d)       The remaining 1.69 acres shall be provided by the provision of infrastructure in lieu of land, as follows:

 

 

            (i)         The Owners shall construct woodlot trails, trail entry features and a pedestrian bridge having a construction value of a minimum of approximately $650,000.00 in 2004 dollars to the satisfaction of the Commissioner of Development Services, which improvements are schematically illustrated on the XXX Plan attached hereto as Schedule “C”.  The details of the infrastructure to be provided shall be determined through subdivision approval for the related draft plans of subdivision to the satisfaction of the Commissioner of Development Services; and

 

            (ii)        the Owners shall remove the existing roadbed and dispose of the material from the existing Markham By Pass roadway shown as Community Parkland on the Parks and Open Space Master Plan.

 

4.                  The Owners hereby agree to dedicate to the Town, at no cost and free of any encumbrances save and except as approved by the Town Solicitor, the lands described in clauses 3 (a) and (c) above located within each of the Owners’ Lands prior to or as a condition of registration of each plan of subdivision containing any part of these lands.

 

Other Community Land Dedication Requirements

 

5.                  In addition to the Minimum Parkland Dedication, the following additional lands, shown more particularly on Schedule “B” hereto, within the Secondary Plan Area shall be dedicated to the Town, at no cost  and free of any encumbrances save and except as approved by the Town Solicitor:

 

(a)       6 acres of land which are designated as urban open space areas (“Urban Open Space Lands”) of which the Law Group has previously dedicated 1.4 acres;

 

(b)       the lands which are currently referred to as the “Ninth Line Queen’s Golden Jubilee Greenway” (the “Ninth Line”)[ add that it is 6.4 acres?];

 

(c)        the balance of the 51.2 acres of woodlot referred to in clause 3(c) above, being 41.97 acres (the “Woodlot and Woodlot Buffer”); and

 

(d)       a woodlot expansion area and stormwater management ponds, (“Woodlot Expansion and SMP Lands”)[29.66 acres?];

 

all in accordance with the Parks and Open Space Master Plan;

 


7.                  The Owners hereby agree to dedicate to the Town at no cost and free of any encumbrances save and except as approved by the Town Solicitor, the Urban Open Space Lands, the Ninth Line, the Woodlot and Woodlot Buffer and the Woodlot Expansion and SMP Lands located within each of the Owners’ lands prior to or as a condition of registration of each plans of subdivision containing any part of these lands.

 

 

Location of Parkland Dedication and Other Community Land Dedication

 

8.                  The parties hereto acknowledge that the dedication of the Minimum Parkland Dedication, Urban Open Space Lands, the Ninth Line, the Woodlot and Woodlot Buffer and the Woodlot Expansion and SMP Lands shall be made in accordance with the locations and specifications schematically illustrated on the Parks and Open Space Master Plan, to the satisfaction of the Commissioner of Development Services.

 

9.                  The precise location and boundary specifications of the Minimum Parkland Dedication, Urban Open Space Lands, the Ninth Line, the Woodlot and Woodlot Buffer and the Woodlot Expansion and SMP Lands shall be determined during the draft plan approval and registration process, to the satisfaction of the Commissioner of Development Services.

 

Additional Parkland Dedication Requirements

 

10.             It is acknowledged that of the 7,760 residential units for the Secondary Plan Area derived from the Development Phasing Plan Update dated November 21, 2003 as approved by the Town on December 16, 2003 (the “Phasing Plan”) , 159 residential units were proposed along the Highway 7 corridor within the area designated Potential Higher Density Area on Schedule ”B”. The Parties acknowledge that additional density may be permitted or required in this area based on the outcome of the Highway 7 corridor study and the Cornell Centre review.

 

11.             The parties acknowledge that the distribution of the 159 units along the Highway 7 corridor shall be determined in accordance with the Phasing Plan.

 

12.             Notwithstanding clause 2 of this Agreement, in the event additional density is developed along the Highway 7 corridor and a unit count in excess of 159 units is developed in the area depicted in Schedule “B”, then conveyance of additional parkland or payment of equivalent cash-in-lieu of parkland will be required for the additional units at a rate not less than the rate specified in the Town’s parkland by-law in effect at that time.

 

13.             The Owner seeking to develop lands within the Potential Higher Density Area at a density in excess of the base level of density permitted shall be required to provide additional land for park, or cash-in-lieu, to the satisfaction of the Commissioner of Development Services.

 

Delivery of Central Community Park

 

14.       The Owner(s) of the lands currently referred to as the "Central Community Park” depicted on Schedule “B”  shall use their reasonable best efforts to dedicate the required land, in whole or in useable functional parts, as approved by the Commissioner of Development Services, as early as practically possible during the development process.

 

Miscellaneous

 

15.       This Agreement shall be interpreted in accordance with the laws of the Province of Ontario and the laws of Canada applicable therein.


 

16.             The Town acknowledges and agrees that each Owner shall only be required to dedicate to the Town those lands which are within its ownership or which are owned by an entity that is controlled by the Owner, within the Cornell Development Lands. The amount of parkland which is dedicated to the Town pursuant to this Agreement shall be monitored by the Owners and the Town.  The Owners agree to provide the Town with a regular reporting of the parkland dedicated by the Owners, as well as projected dedications, in order that the Town may satisfy itself that the Owners are complying with this Agreement.    The Town acknowledges and agrees that an individual Owner’s plan of subdivision, or phase thereof, may be approved and released for registration where it is deficient in parkland dedication, provided that the Town is satisfied that:

 

(a)       the shortfall in parkland dedication will be made up by an excess dedication in another phase of that Owner’s plan of subdivision or in another Owner’s plan of subdivision;

(b)       the Owners’ overall dedication requirements will ultimately be achieved in accordance with the requirements contained in this Agreement; and

(c)        the value of security held by the Town is sufficient to ensure compliance with this agreement and provided that the Town will not reduce the securities held below the value of the parkland dedication shortfall.

 

17.             In the event that any provision or any part of any provision hereof is deemed to be invalid by reason of the operation of any law or by reason of the interpretation placed thereon by a court, this Agreement shall be construed as not containing such provision or such part and such severance shall not affect the validity of any other provision or the remainder of such provision hereof and all of the provisions hereof which are otherwise lawful and valid shall remain in full force and effect. In the event that any section or provision in this Agreement is determined by a court of law to be void as being outside of the powers of the Council of the Town to bind a future Council, then such section or provision shall be severed from the remaining sections and provisions of this Agreement and shall have no force or effect.

 

18.             It is acknowledged that the provisions of this Agreement shall enure to the benefit of and be binding upon the parties hereto and their respective successors and assigns and shall be binding upon and benefit the Cornell Lands and the successors in title to the Owners.

 

19.             The Trustee warrants that she has authority to bind the members of the Landowner’s Group set out in Schedule “A” hereto.

 

20.             The following Schedules are attached hereto and form part of this Agreement:

 

SCHEDULE “A”        List of Owners who are members of the Cornell Landowners Group

SCHEDULE “B”        Parks and Open Space Master Plan

SCHEDULE “C”        XXX (the Schematic Illustration of infrastructure in lieu of parkland)

SCHEDULE “D”        Plan of Phase I Lands

 

IN WITNESS WHEREOF the parties hereto have hereunto affixed their corporate seals under the hands of their duly authorized officers in that behalf, and the other parties have hereunto set their hands and seal as of the day, month and year first above written.

 

 

DATED at                                   this                              day of                                         , 2006

 

SIGNED, SEALED AND DELIVERED

in the presence of

                                                                        )

                                                                        )

                                                                        )

_______________________                    )           _____________________________

Witness                                                          )           Kim Beckman, Trustee

                                                                        )           Davies Howe Partners

                       

 

THE CORPORATION OF THE TOWN OF MARKHAM

 

 

 

 

Don Cousens, Mayor

 

 

 

                                                                                   

Sheila Birrell, Clerk