Search - Gordon Prentice at Large - Politics in Newmarket

1. Forrest unveils new last minute plans for Clock Tower giving it the highest density in Newmarket: (Blog); ... has a Floor Space Index of 4.19 giving it the highest density of any building in Newmarket. Back to rental Forrest has swung back to rental from condo and says there will be 143 rental units. ...; Created on 03 May 2017
2. New Secondary Plan means more people and more high density buildings on Mulock Drive: (Blog); The promised new GO Rail Station on Mulock will only go ahead if the Town commits itself to high density development in the area according to Metrolinx - the agency responsible for delivering Regional ...; Created on 06 October 2016
3. Slessor Square and density: (Blog); ... 1, the density of the rest of the development will be determined by the urban centres secondary plan the town is creating with input from residents I was at the meeting and, indeed, blogged about ...; Created on 26 April 2012
4. Development is extreme in both height and density: (News); ... wider affected area of Yonge street and Davis drive . It should not be permitted to be developed at the proposed density and height unless Council is prepared to see this similar scale of development in ...; Created on 15 February 2012
5. The Greenbelt Scandal: A Postscript on Southlake’s Acute Hospital at Bathurst that never got off the ground: (Blog); ... high, medium and low density residential and commercial development. There were to be elementary schools. There was also the possibility of a 320 bed Long Term Care facility - something Rice clearly wanted. ...; Created on 24 March 2026
6. Postscript: "Extraordinary assumptions" and the valuation of land at Glenway Wes: (Blog); ... and Sykes. (See graphic right) Medium Density I scoffed at the valuer’s view that a medium density Town House development could be seamlessly inserted into a rectangular piece of land which is (a) ...; Created on 16 June 2025
7. Bogus land valuation nets developer a multi-million dollar tax windfall: (Blog); ... purposes it would… support medium density residential development similar to that for the remainder of the Parent Property” (ie the Town House block at Bathurst and Sykes). One third of the donated land ...; Created on 03 May 2025
8. Southlake aims to make up lost ground after two years mired in Greenbelt controversy: (Blog); ... municipality. Rice was proposing 9,000 residential units consisting of a mixture of singles/semis and townhouses in a medium density development together with “affordable” apartment units and secondary ...; Created on 29 November 2024
9. Ford sends in the auditors to check Newmarket’s finances: (Blog); ... where it came from. And, in any event, it is totally unrealistic as the Town has no room to expand outwards. If there is an answer it is to increase density along the main corridors, Yonge and Davis, ...; Created on 26 July 2023
10. The Absurdity of Toronto's Mayoral Electio: (Blog); ... density along those corridors. As well, just last week, Toronto’s chief planner recommended allowing multiplex dwellings in the vast swaths of the city that are anachronistically zoned for single-family ...; Created on 24 April 2023
11. Servicing homes built on the Greenbelt: (Blog); ... … Erin Mahoney: That's right Mayor Taylor: 600 plus acres with however many homes or density… all would have to go into the system as well. So it's announced the new population targets and the Greenbelt ...; Created on 14 November 2022
12. Province re-writes York Region's Official Plan but without explaining wh: (Blog); Why did the Provincial Government insert a new category of “special provisions” into the York Regional Plan to allow a high-density development in Aurora (at Leslie and Wellington Street East) that the ...; Created on 12 November 2022
13. Taylor votes against York Region’s Official Plan and slams colleagues for undermining the entire planning process: (Blog); ... crisis through our planning documents. Finally, we know that low density Greenfield development also known as sprawl does not provide housing for those most in need. It's very expensive. It generally ...; Created on 19 June 2022
14. How the Glenway Developer, Marianneville, got a Tax Receipt for $14,290,000 for land it didn’t want: (Blog); ... here (a) the rules which apply for offsetting tax otherwise owed to the Canada Revenue Agency and (b) whether the donated land could realistically be developed for medium density housing as suggested by ...; Created on 18 March 2022
15. The case for prosecuting the developer Bob Forrest: (Blog); ... Redevelopment Parking meeting which was held on 20 December 2012. Bobyk's meeting notes are heavily redacted. "It was made clear by Bob that our proposed density has been reduced in the current plans inclusive ...; Created on 25 November 2019
16. Vegh now says there may never be a new library at Hollingsworth: (Blog); ... to us so we don’t know where it was gonna land, that particular building.” Victor Woodhouse says it is important to have green space close to high density and that council has made an excellent decision ...; Created on 30 May 2019
17. Tom Vegh flip-flops on key election promise: (Blog); ... a presentation from senior planner Adrian Cammaert, councillors line up to argue the case for more parkland on the Hollingsworth Arena site citing the density of the adjacent condo development and the ...; Created on 26 May 2019
18. The Clock Tower: how did we get into this mess?: (Blog); ... Bob’s plans, trying to devise a win-win that would increase density in the old downtown while protecting the Town’s built heritage. They wanted to accommodate Forrest if at all possible. And as a consequence, ...; Created on 28 April 2019
19. The Clock Tower Settlement: What aren’t we being told?: (Blog); ... a report to go up to councillors for decision on 28 November 2016 which contained information on the development’s purported density which he knew to be false. Forrest’s development application was ...; Created on 21 December 2018
20. Ron Eibel v Bob Kwapis: (Blog); ... the last term of Council. It is an incontestable fact that the Director of Planning, Rick Nethery, misled the public by allowing the development’s FSI (a measure of density) which he knew to be false to ...; Created on 18 October 2018
21. Running for Newmarket Mayor: Joe Wamback promises Accountability, Clarity and Transparency: (Blog); ... when he allowed a report on the Clock Tower to go up to councillors for decision on 28 November 2016 when he knew a crucially important metric on density – the Floor Space Index (FSI) – was false. The ...; Created on 24 September 2018
22. Newmarket Mayoral hopeful Joe Wamback sets out his stall: (Blog); ... The car showrooms would go to make way for higher density development – the quid pro quo Metrolinx insists on as the price for getting the new station. No to Mulock Station As I listen to Joe I ...; Created on 20 September 2018
23. Newmarket’s Director of Planning, Rick Nethery, breaks silence on how he was "misled" by Clock Tower developer Bob Forres: (Blog); ... submitted as part of the Clock Tower application leading him to believe the true Floor Space Index (FSI) was 2.9 when, in reality, it was over 4. The Floor Space Index is a key measure of density. ...; Created on 27 May 2018
24. Why doesn’t someone just ask him?: (Blog); ... Clock Tower was false. And, in any event, they say the FSI – a measure of the development’s density – is less important than height and massing. Just ask him. Why doesn’t the Chief Administrative ...; Created on 10 April 2018
25. Proposed new GO Rail Station at Mulock Drive is hanging on by its fingertips: (Blog); ... density development should be located”  It didn’t meet the density targets for Regional Rail with only 35 to 40 people and jobs per ha within 800 m of the station. At long last the Town is now embarking ...; Created on 05 April 2018
26. Monster House goes under the Spotlight: (Blog); ... adjoining properties sharing lot lines with the lands subject to new development.” In 2012 councillors were told: “Regulating lot coverage is an excellent way to prevent overbuilding in low density ...; Created on 23 March 2018
27. The Clock Tower: a conspiracy against the public interest: (Blog); ... the public were ostensibly more interested in height, massing and heritage rather than density (which, of course, brings more people and activity into an area) the FSI issue was deliberately left unaddressed. ...; Created on 15 March 2018
28. Why I am taking the Town of Newmarket to the Ontario Ombudsman: (Blog); ... for knowingly misleading the public about the density of the proposed Clock Tower development in the heart of the Town’s Heritage Conservation District. If approved the proposed Clock Tower would ...; Created on 13 March 2018
29. 1011 Elgin Street - a case study in what can go wrong with new developments in Stable Residential Neighbourhoods: (Blog); ... us: "Regulating lot coverage is an excellent way to prevent overbuilding in low density residential areas. If it is determined that a particular area has an average lot coverage of 25% an approach could ...; Created on 12 October 2017
30. Time for Bob Forrest to come clean on his "tacit agreement" with the Town of Newmarke: (Blog); ... Option B In its place we were given a half baked "Option B" which is planned to be built entirely within the boundaries of the land Bob says he owns. If it is ever built it will have the highest density ...; Created on 06 August 2017
31. 217 Park Avenue gets the thumbs down: (Blog); ... on a street, restricting density and proximity of buildings. In the case of an R1-D-119 zone (into which falls 217 Park Ave) the intent of a minimum 15 metre frontage is to provide a certain neighbourhood ...; Created on 27 July 2017
32. Slessor Square rises from the dead.: (Blog); ... 1) Does Redwood on Yonge have more density than Slessor Square? * No, the approved density has not changed. 2) Does Redwood on Yonge have a seniors residence? * No, it will be purpose built ...; Created on 27 June 2017
33. Councillors "request" King George developer to give unique 1881 historic home more breathing spac: (Blog); ... density of the development) was given as 2.9 whereas Nethery knew all along it was over 4. Why should Kwapis trust an "expert" who deceives? I feel your pain Regional Councillor John "I feel your pain" ...; Created on 09 May 2017
34. When Secret Plans Unravel: (Blog); ... (FSI) of 2.0 would indicate that the gross floor area of a building could be up to 2 times the gross area of the lot on which it is located." Density FSI is a tool used by planners to regulate ...; Created on 29 April 2017
35. Can the OMB - on an appeal by a developer - order the Town of Newmarket to make its own land available to that developer to facilitate a development that has been denied by the municipality in its role ...: (Blog); ... to "High Density Residential". The developer wants a mixed use development of 81 townhouses and two six storey residential buildings and commercial space. Apparently, CIM Developments doesn't own all the ...; Created on 24 April 2017
36. The Clock Tower at the OMB: Intensification v Heritage: (Blog); ... [55] Then at Policy 2.2.6(f) municipalities are to: ...facilitate and promote intensification... [56] Intensification is defined as: The development of a property, site or area at a higher density ...; Created on 23 April 2017
37. Newmarket's Planning Director, Rick Nethery, knew "comprehensive" staff report on the Clock Tower was misleadi: (Blog); ... Historic Downtown Centre Zone (UC-D1) permitted up to 80 residential units per net hectare and up to and including a 1.0 FSI. Yet Forrest wanted a residential density of 430 units per net hectare and an ...; Created on 10 April 2017
38. Rick Nethery and Monster Homes: (Blog); ... and are much higher. This disproportion is most evident with intensification developments in low-density residential areas where a new or remodelled home is situated next to one that is approximately 40 ...; Created on 05 April 2017
39. Bob Forrest looks North to Barrie for development opportunities: (Blog); ... them to be able to increase the density of the lands above the current zoning." That's my Bob! Barrie councillors will decide tomorrow (Monday 20 March). This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Update ...; Created on 19 March 2017
40. Newmarket's % population growth outpaces Canad: (Blog); ... is where a person/s permanently resides.) Population density per sq kilometre is 2,190 compared with 3.9 for Canada as a whole. And we are all squeezed into 38.45 square kilometres. Whitchurch-Stouffville: ...; Created on 08 February 2017
41. Public Engagement in the Planning Process: (Blog); ... processing and this, too, is good. The Planning Information Report, published last week, tells us: "Official Plan and Zoning By-law amendments address matters of land use (what type of activity), density ...; Created on 05 February 2017
42. The Clock Tower: a case study in a broken and deformed planning system: (Blog); ... recommendation even when it had been pointed out to him the calculation on the project's density was completely bogus. When he said the Clock Tower was a great example of the intensification the old downtown ...; Created on 06 December 2016
43. The Clock Tower and the significance of 2.9: (Blog); ... had the greatest density in the whole of Newmarket with an FSI of 4.279, eclipsing even the highest buildings in the Yonge and Davis corridors. The Town's Secondary Plan, adopted in 2014, imposes a ...; Created on 01 December 2016
44. Clock Tower Application Killed Stone Dead: (Blog); ... Forrest development was way too dense for the tight site. Planners use a tool - the floor space index - to measure density. To calculate the FSI the gross floor area of the development is divided by the ...; Created on 29 November 2016
45. The Clock Tower and Civic Vandalism: (Blog); ... on. Density is way over the top Now the Town's planners are on to Newmarket's Official Plan. They focus on density and scale and such matters. We learn: "The Historic Downtown Centre designation permit ...; Created on 18 November 2016