Aurora Banner, March 9, 2017

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ONLINE at yorkregion.com News, events and information on your desktop, laptop or mobile device

Events Calendar

After struggling with sky-high hydro bills, Ontario residents like Daren Goodchild are going to see some relief with the government’s rate cut this summer. But he’s not celebrating and neither are critics who say the system is still broken /p3

See what’s happening by visiting our online community calendar. www.yorkregion.com/events

uReport the News newsroom@yorkregion.com www.facebook.com/yrmgnews @yorkregion yorkregion.com/ureport

Susie Kockerscheidt/Metroland

NEWS

Hotels eye lower development fees LISA QUEEN lqueen@yrmg.com With York Region poised to slash its hotel development charges, it appears the industry is jumping in to build lodging here. Wyndham is planning the Aurora Microtel Inn and Suites, a four-storey hotel southeast of Leslie and Wellington streets. While a company spokesperson could not be reached for comment, both Mayor Geoff Dawe and the town’s long range and strategic planning manager, Anthony Ierullo, agreed the pending cut to the region’s hotel DCs helped attract the hotel.

"The change has made a big difference, big in capital letters," said Dawe, adding there have been no new hotel projects in York since the region changed its DC models in 2012. "The drop doesn’t guarantee a hotel, but the former DCs were definitely an impediment when trying to attract a hotel developer." Development charges, or DCs as they are commonly called, are the fees developers pay municipalities to fund growth-related costs such as roads and water and sewer pipes. Aurora had been working on bringing a hotel to town for some time, but high development charges

were a major deterrent, Ierullo said. Meanwhile, a hotel company is looking at building in Newmarket, Coun. John Taylor said. "A well-known hotel chain has approached us for a preliminary discussion and indicated that they are moving forward at this time because of the proposed DC reduction for hotels," he said. "Without the reduction, they would not be advancing their project." Under the region’s existing DCs, a 124-room, 73,000square-foot hotel now costs $40.31 a square foot. l See HOTEL, page 4

York Region is looking to drastically cut its hotel development charges, a factor in attracting proposed Microtel Hotel and Suites to Aurora.

NEWS

Future of former Canadian Tire property worries residents AMANDA PERSICO apersico@yrmg.com

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Concerns have been raised in the community about the future of the Canadian Tire lands currently up for sale in Aurora.

For less than a year, the former Canadian Tire lands, located at 14700 Yonge St., have remained empty. Now the property is up for sale. While many shoppers would welcome new retail in the area, residents in the adjacent neighbourhood are worried hard-fought victories over lighting and noise would be tossed aside by the new property owners.

Lines between the Mosaics community and the vacant Canadian Tire lands are so blurred, you cannot visit one without trespassing on the other. "Look at the circumstances," said former Mosaic board member Robert Ryan. Ryan, a former environmental planner with Environment Canada, moved into the area in the late 1990s and has worked with the townhouse board for years. "It’s the hallmark of planning - when things are

more compact, you have to be more careful." The Mosaics community, an 86-townhouse complex, shares an entranceway with the plaza at both the north and south ends. Currently, there is a three-party agreement between the Mosaics Community, Canadian Tire and Winners, to manage issues such as noise, delivery times, waste pickup and lighting - something residents have worked for years to obtain. l See VACANT, page 4

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