{"id":29381,"date":"2021-05-28T20:01:14","date_gmt":"2021-05-29T00:01:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/?p=29381"},"modified":"2021-05-28T20:01:45","modified_gmt":"2021-05-29T00:01:45","slug":"aurora-on-track-for-a-population-of-84900-by-2051","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/aurora-on-track-for-a-population-of-84900-by-2051\/","title":{"rendered":"Aurora on track for a population of 84,900 by 2051"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Aurora is on track to reach a population of 84,500 by 2051 to meet growth targets put forward by the Province of Ontario.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With numbers allocated by the Region of York, Regional Officials presented growth forecasts to Council last week, leading some elected members to question what would happen if the Town stepped forward to say no.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over the next 30 years, the community is expected to see a population increase of more than 21,000 people, a population target that will mean further growth on remaining greenfield lands and intensification of existing areas, particularly those close to Major Transit Station Areas (MTSAs) such as the Aurora GO Station.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFor community land needs, the Region\u2019s population growth of 800,000 people translates to a requirement of 276,000 new housing units and half of these units fall within the existing built-up area in the Region in order to reach the 50 per cent intensification target,\u201d said Paul Bottomley, Manager of Policy, Research and Forecasting for the Region of York, referencing targets for York as a whole. \u201cWe have 78 MTSAs along corridors in York Region and there\u2019s other infill areas that can accommodate intensification. In Aurora, there is the Aurora GO Station MTSA, the Promenade Area, as well as smaller-scale infill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAurora also provides opportunities to accommodate a share of the Region\u2019s greenfield growth as the Town provides an ideal market for ground-related homes and Aurora\u2019s housing type forecast calls for 57 per cent ground-related homes and 43 per cent apartments. There is also 4,600 intensification units that are anticipated to be built within the Town\u2019s existing built-up area. The Town\u2019s intensification target is 45 per cent and that is an increase from the 29 per cent rate that was recorded between 2006 and 2019. The Aurora GO Station is well-placed to attract intensification and there is also additional opportunities assumed within the Promenade area as well as the broader Aurora community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Town\u2019s forecast calls for a fairly balanced growth between greenfield and intensification. Intensification will play a more prominent role in the latter part of the forecast as the greenfield land supply diminishes. Over a third or 37 per cent of Aurora\u2019s household growth is anticipated to be apartments and the Town is planning for more choice in the housing market moving forward with an increased role for intensification. There is also potential for intensification primarily within the Aurora GO MTSA, the Promenade area, and with smaller scale infill opportunities with the Town \u2013 for example, the Highland Gate [development] and the development within the Aurora South community.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By the end of the forecast, the Town\u2019s total housing stock is anticipated to be 78 per cent ground-related with 22 per cent apartments by 2051. That compares to the current stats of 89 per cent ground-related and 11 per cent apartments today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The growth plan also includes a density target of 55 people and jobs her hectare.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the population front, however, Councillor John Gallo questioned what would happen if Aurora wanted less.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr. Bottomley said the Region has put forward a deadline of July 15 for York Region\u2019s nine municipalities to provide formal feedback on the Growth Plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI would like to continue this discussion at least from our own perspective and we\u2019ll have some other opportunities to provide input and do a proper job when it comes to a Made-in-Aurora solution,\u201d said Councillor Gallo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Concerns were also raised by Mayor Tom Mrakas on the population growth and whether Aurora would be able to retain what has often been described as the Town\u2019s \u201csmall-town feel.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMeeting the Provincial Policy, our 50 per cent intensification, 55 people and jobs her hectare\u2026can we meet all of these objectives in the Town of Aurora yet still retain the uniqueness of us and maintaining our height restrictions maintaining our density?\u201d he asked. \u201cCan we continue to be that unique and have those restrictions in place yet meet those targets.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The short answer, according to Regional officials, as yes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI am a firm believer that local Official Plans should determine the look and feel of what your community would like to see in the future in terms of where growth occurs, the type of intensification,\u201d said the Region\u2019s Paul Freeman. \u201cIntensification happens in many forms, even a second suite in a home is intensification, and so is a 40-storey building and 60-storeys we are seeing in some areas\u2026along our subway corridors in York Region.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Concluded Mayor Mrakas: \u201cWe can be a small hamlet in the Region of York where we have our own uniqueness.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Brock Weir<\/strong>
Editor
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter<\/em><\/p>\n\r\n\"Facebook\"<\/a>\"twitter\"<\/a>\"mail\"<\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Aurora is on track to reach a population of 84,500 by 2051 to meet growth targets put forward by the Province of Ontario. With numbers allocated by the Region of York, Regional Officials presented growth forecasts to Council last week, leading some elected members to question what would happen if the Town stepped forward to […]<\/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_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-29381","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general_news","category-news"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3D2k4-7DT","publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-05-25 05:03:44","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29381","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=29381"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29381\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29381"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29381"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29381"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}