Welcome

Chapter 1 Incoming Events in March 2025:

Second Annual International Women's Day Celebration Week

Richmond Hill Small Business Enterprise Centre (SBEC) is proud to host the International Women’s Day Celebration Week from March 4 – 8, with a kick-off event as one of the party hosts for StrikeUP Conference Live Viewing Party on February 27. This week-long series of events celebrates the achievements of women entrepreneurs, empowers them to overcome challenges, and equips them with tools to thrive in their entrepreneurial journeys.

Event Summary:

• Feb 27: StrikeUP Conference Live Viewing Party
• Mar 4: Creating a Business Plan Virtual Session
• Mar 5: From Side Hustle to Full-Time Business Virtual Session
• Mar 6: Mastering Sales Strategy Virtual Session
• Mar 7: The Resilience Formula: Grit, Grace, and Growth Virtual Panel Discussion
• Mar 8: Nowruz Bazaar and Women in Business Marketplace

Full event and registration details can be found at www.RichmondHill.ca/IWD

Tuesday, March 4, 2025: Health & Wellness Workshop - Emotions and Health

Emotions and Health: Understanding and Preventing Disease. This 90-minute nutrition workshop explores the powerful connection between emotions and physical health, diving into how emotional patterns can contribute to disease. Participants will learn practical tools for nurturing both mind and body for better overall wellness

Date: Tuesday, March 4, 2025 1:00 pm - 2:30 pm

Venue: Oak Ridges Community Centre

https://anc.ca.apm.activecommunities.com/richmondhill/activity/search/detail/113683?onlineSiteId=0&from_original_cui=true

Tuesday, March 4 and Wednesday, March 5: E-Bikes And E-Scooters Be Used

Richmond Hill – The City has drafted new policies on how devices such as e-bikes and e-scooters should be used in the city and wants your feedback on the proposed recommendations. 

The City’s new Micromobility Strategy will guide decisions on regulating the use of devices such as e-bikes and e-scooters on roads, trails and parks, as well as cycling on sidewalks. The draft recommendations have been developed in consultation with the public through two public information centres and an online survey in 2024. 

• In-Person: 

Date: Tuesday, March 4, 2025 Time: 6 – 7:30 p.m. 

Location: Langstaff Community Centre, 155 Red Maple Road

• Virtual:  

Date: Wednesday, March 5, 2025 Time: 7 – 8:30 p.m.

Register online at RichmondHill.ca/Micromobility.

Astronomy Series - March Break at RHDDO

Have a blast at the Richmond Hill David Dunlap Observatory this March Break! Choose from a variety of activities offered for all ages from March 8 to 16!

• Saturday, March 8, 2 - 4 p.m. - Space Action: Craters and Comets! (5 - 12 years)
• Saturday, March 8, 8 - 10 p.m. - Astronomy Family Night “Mercury and Lunar Eclipse" (7+ years)
• Monday, March 10, 2 - 4 p.m. - Astro Crafts (6 - 12 years)
• Tuesday, March 11, 1 - 3 p.m. - Cosmic Detectives (11 - 17 years)
• Wednesday, March 12, Noon - 2 p.m. - Out of this World: The Solar System (5 - 12 years)
• Thursday, March 13, 1 - 3 p.m. - Astronomy through Art for Children (6 - 11 years)
• Friday, March 14, 2 - 4 p.m. - Planetary Science 101 (12 - 17 years)
• Saturday, March 15, 10 a.m. - Noon - Sun Fun! (5 - 12 years)
• Saturday, March 15, 7 - 9 p.m. - Astronomy Family Night (7+ years)
• Sunday, March 16, 12:30 - 1:30 p.m. Sunday Sungazing (6+ years)
• Sunday, March 16, 2 - 3 p.m. - Space Fun (3 - 7 years)

Registration required. Adult participation is program dependent.

Venue: Richmond Hill David Dunlap Observatory, 123 Hillsview Drive, L4C 1T3

Saint Patrick's Day Dance

The Richmond Hill Legion presents their Annual All Song Request .

• Bring your song & dance requests
• Trivia Game
• Door Prizes
• Late Night Hot Table
• Music by DJ Russ
• Featuring an Irish Dance demo by Richmond Hill's own Aroon Academy of Irish Dance

Date:  Saturday. March 15, 8PM, Doors open 7:30 pm

Venu:  233 Centre St. East, Richmond Hill, ON

For tickets, contact Lori at lori.caruk@legion375.ca or call (905)884-7030. 

Solar Panel Seminar 

Discover the value of installing solar panels on your property at this in-person and online event.

Date:  Saturday, March 29th, 2025, Time:  2:00 - 4:30 p.m.

Registration Link: Email Esther Collier at esther.climateactionrh@gmail.com (zoom link will be emailed the day before the event).

In-person Venue Location:  10201 Yonge Street (Richmond Hill United Church)

2:00 - 3:00    Speakers / Panel / Q&A 

• Audrey Bayens - Energy Advisor, Goldfinch Energy

• Peter DeVita - Solar Panel Homeowner and professional engineer

• Derek Power & Chris Nickle - Solar Integrators, Solar Installers Canada

• Derek Lau - Project Manager, Climate Change & Sustainable Development, City of Richmond Hill

3:00 - 4:30    Exhibits and Networking

Chapter 2 Community, City and Regional Service Changes

April 8, 2025 Council Public Meeting:

FILES: OPA-24-0007 and ZBLA-24-0013

OWNER: Yonge MCD Inc.

ADDRESSES: 0, 11014, 11034, 11044 and 11076 Yonge Street, 0, 47 and 59 Brookside Road, and 12 and 24 Naughton Drive

LEGAL DESCRIPTION: Part of Lots 1, 2 and 23, Registered Plan 1642, Lots 1, 2, 3 and 4, Registered Plan 3600, and Lots 1 and 4, Registered Plan 3799

SUMMARY: The applicant has submitted a request for approval to amend the Official Plan and Zoning By-law to permit the construction of a medium and high density residential/community use development comprised of five (5) high-rise residential buildings of 29, 31, 33, 38 and 49 storeys, as well as 45 townhouse dwelling units and two (2) community centres on the subject lands. The development is proposed to have a total of 1,850 units and a gross floor area of 174,675 square metres (1,880,186 square feet) at a Floor Space Index of 6.8. A total of 1,348 parking spaces are also proposed.

FILES: OPA-24-0008 and ZBLA-24-0015

OWNER: Monage 24 Brookside Holdings Corp

ADDRESS: 24 Brookside Road

LEGAL DESCRIPTION: Part of Lot 3 and Part of Block A, Registered Plan 1642

SUMMARY: The applicant has submitted a request for approval to amend the Official Plan and Zoning By-law to permit a high density residential development comprised of a 23 storey apartment building on a six (6) storey podium with a gross floor area of 17,015 square metres (183,148 square feet) and a density of 7.33 Floor Space Index, containing 207 residential apartment dwelling units and 186 parking spaces on the subject lands.

April 29, 2025 Council Public Meeting:

Planning Act Applications: Official Plan Amendment and Zoning By-law Amendment Applications

Applicant: The Biglieri Group Ltd.

Owner: Amir Meysam Nahvi

Subject Lands: 50, 54, 62, 72, 78 and 86 Elgin Mills Road West

City Files: OPA-24-0010 and ZBLA-24-0018

Purpose: A request for approval of Official Plan and Zoning By-law Amendment applications to permit the construction of a 7-storey residential building with a proposed gross floor area of 16,956 square metres (182,512.87 square feet) and 227 apartment dwelling units.

 2024 Strategic Plan Annual Report 

In February 2024, the City created a Strategic Plan with the community to outline the goals for the city to deliver services to residents and build create a vibrant and inclusive city of neighbours. The Council approved plan has three pillars: Growing a Livable Sustainable Community, Focusing on People and Strengthening our Foundations.

Highlights of the City’s accomplishments in achieving the priorities of the plan include:

• Approving planning applications which represent 4,437 new residential units.
• Adopting the Affordable Housing and Sustainable Design Community Improvement Plan, amending the zoning by-law to minimize and streamline required approvals and other work toward implementing the City’s commitment to build more housing as part of  the grant the City received from the Federal government as part of the Housing Accelerator Program.
• Establishing Bird-Safe Design Standards for new development and planting 12,067 trees.
• Engaging over 8,000 participants in community consultation and welcoming over 75,000 attendees at City Events.
• Implementing traffic calming measures that reduced speeding in neighborhoods by up to 22% and decreased traffic volume by up to 17%.
• Strengthening the City’s relationship with its Treaty Partners, including the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation (MCFN), by hosting an exhibit on their history in southern Ontario at the City’s Heritage Centre.
• Receiving over $5 million in grant funding from other levels of government to support capital projects and other community priorities, such as from the Province’s Housing Enabling Water Systems Fund (HEWS) and Federal funding to support Canada Day celebrations.
• Launching the City’s first Service Charter which includes nearly 40 service commitments which set clear service standards for residents.

To learn more about 2024 achievements and for a look ahead to exciting projects in 2025-2026, read the report at RichmondHill.ca/StrategicPlan.

2025 Lake Wilcox Parking Passes Now Available 

RICHMOND HILL – Paid parking for the City of Richmond Hill’s Lake Wilcox Park will once again be in effect from April 1 until September 30. Richmond Hill residents can get their free 2025 parking pass for the park and Oak Ridges Community Centre starting today at Parking.RichmondHill.ca. Please note, 2024 permits have expired, so be sure to pick up the current year. 

As one of the City’s Destination Parks, Lake Wilcox Park offers beautiful waterfront scenery and family-friendly amenities that attract visitors from the community and afar. Pay parking helps ensure visitors from outside the city contribute to park monitoring and maintenance.

Free parking passes are linked to a licence plate number and residents can obtain one pass per household. During spring and summer, carpooling is strongly encouraged to help manage traffic. In addition, weekend parking on neighbouring Lake Wilcox Park streets is restricted to residents and their guests with a permit. Permit parking is in effect seven days a week on Bayview Park Lane, the west end of Dariole Drive and Sandbanks Drive. Street parking permits are available for residents who live in the area.

For more information and to obtain your free Lake Wilcox Park resident permit, visit RichmondHill.ca/Parking. 

New five-year sponsorship includes concerts and older adult programs for 55+

The City of Richmond Hill and Delmanor Elgin Mills have teamed up to continue to offer a variety of programming for older adults as well as community opportunities to get out and enjoy music this summer.

Delmanor Elgin Mills will be the presenting sponsor of the City’s Adult 55+ programs such as Lunch and Learns, the annual Seniors Month barbecue and ice cream social, ongoing trivia and bingo, along with an annual Seniors Information Fair. In addition, this local business will continue to sponsor our popular Concerts in the Park summer series for the next five years. 

Visit the City’s website to see all the programs, activities and events offered for Adults 55+ at RichmondHill.ca/Seniors. 

Community business partnerships like this are one of the many exciting ways the City is working to maintain programs and services for residents. The City welcomes local businesses to support City-run events and initiatives, and offers a wide range of advertising and sponsorship opportunities. More information is available online at RichmondHill.ca/Partnerships. 

Snow Service:

In the past 3 winters from 2022-2023, 2023-2024 and 2024 to 2025, my office has been engaged by many residents via emails, calls, social medias regarding our snow removal service.  Based on the conversation, emails and chats, I have collected the following feedback from you and would like to share with you for the findings, recommendations and feedback from all neighbors and will return to the city for a further discussion.

Please see the following service issue chart, which lists all the concerns that residents raised.  The slow Windrow Service, Sidewalk service, Missing windrow or Sidewalk service and Snowbank (2rd or 3th) caused by the street plow are the top 4.

We will have a snow service meeting to review all the feedback and solutions for service enhancement and will provide you more details when the information is available.

Blue Box Regulation

In June 2021, the Ontario Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks released the Blue Box Regulation (O.Reg. 391/21), which establishes the transition of the current Blue Box program from municipalities to Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR). This transition will make producers of recyclable materials financially and operationally responsible for the collection and end-of-life management of their products and packaging. Producers include companies such as Coca-Cola, Costco, Walmart and  Loblaws that generate blue box materials in Ontario. The intent of this new regulation is to provide producers with financial incentives to reduce waste and improve recycling across the province.  The new Blue Box Regulation will:  

• establish a common recycling program across the province with a standardized list  of acceptable materials regardless of where residents live in Ontario; 
• expand the list of acceptable recyclable materials; 
• establish diversion targets that producers will be required to meet; 
• and  implement a province-wide promotion and education program including a recycling  app, guides, and a dedicated webpage for each municipality

Richmond Hill, along with the rest of York Region, will transition on December 31, 2025. Starting January 1, 2026, the City will no longer be responsible for administering or funding the residential Blue Box Program.

Non-eligible sources: 

• 28 City facilities
• 88 businesses in the BIA
• 14 religious institutions
• 3 non-profit organizations
• 6 daycares
• 64 industrial and commercial properties
• 60 of the City’s 375 super mailbox recycling containers (this is the number of recycling containers that exceeds the producer obligated amount)