To the Mayor and Councillors,
Newmarket.

I wish to express my strong opposition to the proposal for the Slessor site.

This important site must be planned and coordinated in conjunction with the much 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 many other locations along the Yonge and Davis frontages within Newmarket. Once established , the proposed development will set the precedent for all other applications .

The Slessor development is extreme in both height and density and more suited for locations such as those abutting the provincial 400 highways, and those with access to high volume mass transit much closer to Toronto.

Allowing this development to proceed outside of a new Zoning bylaw for the Yonge and Davis frontages will eliminate the only real opportunity for wide public input and rational planning . Variances of the scope needed to amend the existing Zoning for the Slessor site are far beyond those which should be approved , or in my opinion even be allowed to be submitted. Approving these kind of variances makes a mockery of good planning, and reduces the planning process simply to one of developer money and influence on a site by site basis. This is what zoning bylaws are intended to avoid, and variances to amend zoning bylaws should be the minimum necessary to comply with the intent of the bylaws, not to subvert them. The variances needed for this Slessor development will dramatically change the intent and purpose of the existing zoning on the site.

In conclusion, I believe that this application had been put together by accountants and engineers. There is minimal thought gone into the actual planning for this development. The intent seems to be to simply come up with a development proposal which will generate the highest financial return to the developer, and to then intimidate Newmarket Council into approval by its grandiose appearance.

Respectfully submitted,

Mr D Nelson
Newmarket