Report to: Development Services Committee Date Report Authored:
SUBJECT:
PREPARED BY: Brian Lee, Manager, Development
Allen Wu, Senior Development Engineer
RECOMMENDATION:
1) That the report to Development Services Committee entitled “York Region’s Draft Water and Wastewater Master Plan”, be received;
2) And that the comments attached as “Appendix A” be forwarded to the Region of York as Markham’s preliminary response to the Region’s request for input on the draft Water and Wastewater Master Plan;
3)
And that the Region of York be requested to update
their Water and Wastewater Master Plan upon completion of the Town of
4) And that Staff be authorized and directed to do all things necessary to give effect to this resolution.
PURPOSE:
The purpose of
this report is to provide York Region with the Town’s preliminary comments on
the Region’s draft Water and Wastewater Master Plan and request the Region to
coordinate the infrastructure improvements with the Town to support
Further Town
comments will be provided to the Region once the Town’s Growth Management
Strategy and Master Servicing Study have been completed to the satisfaction of
the Markham Council.
BACKGROUND:
York Region has been preparing a growth management undertaking entitled “Planning for Tomorrow” since 2005. The Region is required to establish policies to conform with the requirements as outlined in the Province’s Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe. In conjunction with the Planning for Tomorrow initiatives, other related studies such as the Master Plan updates on water and wastewater servicing and transportation are also being conducted concurrently to identify necessary infrastructure to support the Region’s growth.
York Region initiated the update to the Water and Wastewater Master Plan (WWMP) in 2006 and has conducted public consultation which included three rounds of public consultation centers and several Technical Advisory Committee meetings with the area municipalities. The purpose of the WWMP was to examine the existing Regional infrastructure to support the projected future growth of the Region. The WWMP will provide guidance to the Region on its infrastructure needs on water and wastewater servicing for the next 25 years and beyond to support the growth as recommended in the Region’s Planning for Tomorrow initiatives and the Province’s Growth Plan. Recommendations are provided in the Region’s WWMP to ensure a sustainable growth pattern and servicing across the entire Region.
A draft of the
WWMP was released to the public for review and comment in May 2009. The Town
staff has had meetings with the Region staff on the issues of growth
distribution, timing of infrastructure requirements, and coordination of the
Region’s WMMP and the Town’s Master Servicing Study (MSS) for infrastructure
upgrades and improvements. The WWMP was adopted by the Regional Council at its
meeting on
Staff from the
Region of York presented an overview of the WWMP and outlined the proposed
infrastructure improvements to support the Region’s future growth at the
Development Services Committee meeting on
Staff comments on the WWMP are included in this report as Appendix “A”, to be forwarded to the Region for consideration as part of the update and amendment to the WWMP.
OPTIONS/ DISCUSSION:
The Town is
currently undertaking the Master Servicing Study (MSS) in support of the Town’s
Growth Management Strategy exercise currently underway. The MSS will identify
the existing servicing capacity of the infrastructure and provide
recommendations for improvements and upgrades as necessary to support the
future growth scenarios under consideration by Town staff and Council. Staff
has reviewed the Region’s draft WWMP and has conveyed our initial comments to
the Regional staff for consideration in the finalization of the master plan.
The overall preparation of the Region’s WWMP is based on achieving the 40%
intensification scenario across the Region as required in the Provincial Growth
Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe. The projected growth assigned to
FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS AND TEMPLATE
Not Applicable at this time.
HUMAN RESOURCES CONSIDERATIONS
Not Applicable at this time.
ALIGNMENT WITH STRATEGIC PRIORITIES
Aligned with Growth Management, Transportation and Environmental components of the Building Markham’s Future Together process.
BUSINESS UNITS CONSULTED AND AFFECTED:
This
report has been reviewed by the Planning Department and their comments have
been incorporated.
RECOMMENDED BY:
________________________ ________________________
Alan Brown, C.E.T. Jim Baird, M.C.I.P., R.P.P.
Director
of
ATTACHMENTS:
Appendix “A” – Comments on the Region’s Water and Wastewater Master Plan Update
APPENDIX “A”
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Region of |
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Comments |
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Distribution
of the Growth Projections |
The
Region has assigned population and employment projections to the Town based
on projected growth in accordance with the Provincial Growth Plan for the Greater
Golden Horseshoe. The specific distribution of the population and employment
targets within |
|
Regional
Infrastructure Proposal |
Pending
the completion of the Town’s Growth Management Strategy (GMS) and Master
Servicing Study (MSS), the recommendations identified in the Region’s WWMP
may need to be updated to adhere to the proposed servicing options as
recommended in the GMS and MSS. In addition, the time schedule to deliver the
key Regional infrastructure may also need to be adjusted to address the
development phasing of the growth areas. |
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Servicing
Allocation |
Sanitary
Servicing Allocation is currently provided to the Town on an annual basis,
and in turn allocated by the Town to residential development areas and
projects. Town staff will initiate discussion with the Region on the need to
rationalize the allocation process to allow for longer range planning and
distribution (say 5 to 10 year increment) rather than the current one year
distribution. It is the Town’s intent to acquire a lump sum allocation which
will have sufficient capacity to serve the Town’s annual growth for a period
of 5 to 10 year, as deemed appropriate to the Town and the Region, and not to
await allocation on a yearly basis. |
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Sustainable
Technologies |
Proposals
are identified in the Region's Official Plan and the Water and Wastewater
Master Plan to develop policies on implementing sustainable technologies
related to enhancement of water conservation and minimizing the impact on the
environment as a result of climate changes. The Town will coordinate with the
Region to review and identify the impact on the servicing infrastructure
requirements as a result of the climate change, the enhancement of water
conservation, and the implementation of sustainable environmental technologies. |