{"id":18811,"date":"2017-11-01T18:26:21","date_gmt":"2017-11-01T22:26:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/?p=18811"},"modified":"2017-11-08T16:15:05","modified_gmt":"2017-11-08T21:15:05","slug":"protection-of-stable-neighbourhoods-examined","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/protection-of-stable-neighbourhoods-examined\/","title":{"rendered":"Protection of \u201cstable neighbourhoods\u201d examined"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Brock Weir
\n<\/strong>
\nShould Aurora do more to protect older, stable neighbourhoods from large-scale infill development?
\nThat is a question that will be answered early next year after Council signed off on a staff review on whether existing bylaws and guidelines surrounding stable neighbourhoods are actually being met.
\nBrought forward by Councillor Wendy Gaertner, members of the public filled Council Chambers last Tuesday night to see how local lawmakers would weigh in on the matter.
\nFirst, however, neighbours, particularly from Aurora\u2019s west side, had a chance to sound off themselves.
\n\u201cThe overwhelming majority [of the homeowners in my neighbourhood] expressed concerns about recent developments in our area and fully endorse the views expressed here,\u201d said Paul Smith, speaking in favour of Councillor Gaertner\u2019s call for a review. \u201cIt is important to remember that Aurora has grown in stages with each subdivision expressing separate and distinctive characteristics. We do not object to development, per se, but we do object to buildings which do not respect our community character.
\n\u201cI ask Council to please help your residents protect and preserve the older parts of Town.\u201d
\nPrivacy is one of their chief concerns, he said, when larger homes are shoehorned into the area. Coupled with that are concerns about blocked sun and windfall changing the overall character of the neighbourhood.
\nFor Councillor Wendy Gaertner, the healthy crowd in the audience illustrated the \u201cdissatisfaction and disappointment\u201d with the status quo.
\n\u201cSome houses have been permitted that are clearly not compatible with the development that exists,\u201d she said. \u201cThese new homes might be beautiful, of interesting design, but they are so different. They are not in keeping with the character of these older residential neighbourhoods.
\n\u201cResidents are not objecting to the building of homes that try and sometimes succeed to be reflective of what exists and therefore enhance the neighbourhood and streetscapes. Change is a reality, larger homes are a reality, but they should complement and not distract from what exists. The intent of this motion is to acknowledge the residents\u2019 concerns and determine how we can address them.\u201d
\nAurora\u2019s Official Plan, she said, is a fundamental planning tool and up for review over the next little while, she added. It is time to look at the zoning bylaws in place to see if they are reflective of what is planned for Aurora.
\nCouncillor Gaertner\u2019s motion received widespread support of Council, but with various levels of enthusiasm.
\nCouncillor Paul Pirri, for instance, said a \u201cbalance\u201d needs to be struck in addressing the needs of all property owners.
\n\u201cI think if we go too far one way, I think our community\u2019s property values will suffer as a result and that is something that weighs heavily on my mind as well,\u201d he said.
\nA similar view was offered by Councillor Harold Kim, who said a \u201cbig monster home\u201d in the neighbourhood could increase property values, an argument which prompted a few chuckles from the crowd.
\n\u201cNot everyone is going to believe me, but [that\u2019s] what over 20 or 30 years of research tells me,\u201d he said. \u201cI am not telling you I agree with it, but I am just saying I agree that you deserve to have your say: If you want your neighbourhood to have responsible growth, and we all agree with that and want to grow in a certain way, then I am certainly all for that. I just [want] everyone to make their decision based on the right information.\u201d
\nIn coming to his decision, Councillor John Abel referenced efforts made in the last Council term to turn the southeast quadrant of Yonge and Wellington into Aurora\u2019s second Heritage District, a suggestion which sparked significant backlash from area property owners.
\n\u201cThe majority of residents [said they were opposed] because they believed it would affect their ability and their property values,\u201d he said. \u201cWe have received a lot of emails, and I would say the majority are in favour of Councillor Gaertner\u2019s motion, and I certainly will support that as well. I believe in stable neighbourhoods. I believed in it with the Aurora Ratepayers, the Aurora Village on Temperance Street, and I believed it in the Regency area. I think there is a lot of merit in getting a report and coming back with it.\u201d
\nGoing through with a staff study is a \u201cwell-worthwhile\u201d exercise in light of the Official Plan review, added Councillor Mrakas. While it is still some months away, he said Councillor Gaertner\u2019s motion was a good first step for staff in making sure definitions and zoning requirements are being met.
\n\u201cA lot has been said at the table and my view is we have to keep that uniqueness within our community and that is the kind of vision we have set forth,\u201d he said, asking for further information to come back on how other municipalities around Ontario have addressed this issue. \u201cI think looking at whether the definitions within our OP do meet what the zoning is saying, I think it is a good first step for us to look at and move forward with.”<\/p>\n\"Facebook\"<\/a>\"twitter\"<\/a>\"mail\"<\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Should Aurora do more to protect older, stable neighbourhoods from large-scale infill development?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[4,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18811","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general_news","category-news"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3D2k4-4Tp","publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-09-16 17:06:50","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18811","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18811"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18811\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18811"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18811"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18811"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}