Sunday, March 7, 2010

Markham Council considering motion to reduce condo property taxes

Click here for the news article

Markham Council has a motion afoot to allow Council to request the Province for the power to tax condominium apartments and town homes at a lower rate than single-family houses.   I'm not clear as to the rationale for such a motion, as the justifications in the news article does not seem valid for Richmond Hill.  This, if carried through to implementation, would be very interesting for Condo owners;  however, I personally don't think it can be justified fairly - the Province has in the past basically stated so.  Also, most homes in York Region (and Ontario) are single family houses - if such a tax change will increase the property tax on house owners, then it would also be politically unfeasible.


...something to keep an eye out for...

Possible new condos at south east corner of Yonge/Observatory Lane

Click here to see current development on Google Streetview

Click here for Google map view

There is a proposed amendment to Richmond Hill's official plan and zoning by-laws, 9471 Yonge St, to allow for mixed use development.   The proposal covers the small 59m x 170.88m parcel at the SE corner of Yonge St/Observatory Lane, which current includes a Harvey's and some open land.   The plan amendment would change the "highway commercial zone" and "agricultural zone" designations to "high density/mixed use zone" to allow for a mixed-use development which will include 2 condominium/apartment buildings (17 and 21 stories), with ground level commercial/storefront/live-work units.   The 2 buildings will create 438 residentail units and 1961.4 sq.m. of commerical space.

There is a public meeting scheduled for Wednesday March 24, 7:30pm, in the Council Chambers of the Municipal Offices (225 East Beaver Creek).  Click here for more information (town website).