Planning Archives	> Back to Plannning

Cornell Advisory Group - 1st Meeting

Andrew Keyes – I recently attended the Town of Markham "Cornell Advisory Group" inaugural meeting. Both myself and Renée Torrington, crpa president have been appointed to this group as representatives of Cornell residents and the CRPA. In addition to Renée and myself, the group includes representatives of surrounding resident's groups, land owners, developers, Markham-Stouffville Hospital, York Regional Transit, schools, town council, and other consultants.

The purpose of the Advisory Group is to help Markham Town planners and council understand the various perspectives of stakeholders related to future development in Cornell. The primary focus will be to monitor and provide input into the application and amendments to the Cornell Secondary Plan. If you're not familiar with the plan, which has been in development for many years now, you can have a look at it here:

> More Information on Cornell Secondary Plan

At this first meeting we primarily covered a review of the existing Cornell Secondary Plan and how it is evolving with the proposed amendments.

The most significant amendment is the increased population density that is being planned for. The town is primarily encouraging the increased density to be concentrated along Hwy 7 - now being referred to as Avenue 7. Also part of the proposed amendments include a significant expansion of the hospital campus and the addition of a commercial/office campus to the south east of Cornell.

As I mentioned, much of this information has been out in the public realm for some time now, in a general sense. There have been a number of public meetings and "workshops". Cornell residents have had representation at each event.

Comments and concerns that I am aware of, and that I raised during the meeting last night include:

• Cornell is a very special community, and great care has been taken to ensure that strict new urbanism guidelines are adhered to in development thus far. We must continue to be diligent in enforcing these guidelines in any further development.
• over-all timing on development has not been well communicated. Many residents have very different ideas of how long it will take for major projects to be completed.
• traffic is a concern - when will Bur Oak be extended and 9th Line widened?
• when will transit service in Cornell be improved, in particular when will we get Viva?
• when will Cornell be getting the promised recreation centre?
• why is the proposed community centre now associated with the hospital wellness centre? And is this a benefit to Cornell residents or is it a compromise?
• why is there not an ice arena included in the community centre plan?
• will future land development plans ensure there is good pedestrian access to existing natural areas and parks?

The advisory group has agreed to meet the 2nd Monday of each month. I would like to represent any concerns or comments that residents of Cornell have so please let me know if you'd like something addressed by emailing me at planning@mycornell.ca.

 

 

back to top