FORE? MILD FALL MEANS GOLFERS PAGE B1 STILL TEEING UP
PRESENT PROBLEM
OUR VIEW
WHERE DOES ENOUGH END AND TOO MUCH BEGIN? PAGE A3
VIVA YELLOW JUST START OF DAVIS CHANGES PAGE A10
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YOUR TAXES
Municipal land transfer tax scrapped Toronto remains only municipality with power to collect land transfer levy
Lights, camera ... Are you or one of your neighbours festive outdoor light enthusiasts? Are you in awe every time you drive by and see that house on the corner lit up in festive colours? Let us know where the best lights are in your neighbourhood and we’ll come by and take a photograph. Or, if you are handy with a camera, take a shot and send it in and we’ll add it to our photo gallery of Best Lights in Town. Send the address with the best holiday lighting to tkibble@yrmg.com.
H
GET CONNECTED
BY LISA QUEEN
lqueen@yrmg.com
omebuyers will continue choosing York Region and other 905 regions over Toronto after the provincial government backed off plans to allow municipalities outside the city to impose a land transfer tax, the president of the Ontario Real Estate Association says. Toronto will still be the only municipality where homebuyers pay a municipal land transfer tax in addition to the provincial tax, a policy that has already driven thousands of people to purchase homes in the regions surrounding the city since it was implemented in 2008, Patricia Verge said.
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Tell us what you think about this issue. Email tkibble@yrmg.com.
“I think (the government scrapping extending the municipal tax outside Toronto) will just keep helping you guys sell homes because some people tried to avoid it, so they go outside Toronto proper so they don’t have to pay the tax,” she said. “It already has helped your area. We’ve proven with our studies that Toronto has been seriously hurt by this tax and even though they have a wonderful market and all is well, it could be that much better. We certainly know people who are
HERE COMES SANTA CLAUS!
looking outside Toronto proper so they don’t have to pay the tax. So, that will continue, unless it’s repealed in Toronto.” A homebuyer purchasing a $450,000 home in Toronto has to pay $4,725 to the city in addition to $5,475 for the provincial land transfer tax. On Tuesday, Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Ted McMeekin announced the province is backing off plans to extend the tax to municipalities outside Toronto following a review of the Municipal Act. “While we are currently reviewing the feedback from our partners, it is clear that there has been no call for a municipal See page A8.
WEATHER
Santa is brightly lit for his grand entrance during Saturday’s Santa Under the Stars parade. For more photos, see page A9.
Warmer winter in store: climatologist But despite mild autumn, weather will still cool mal, he said. As of Dec. 1, we’ve only had 4.4 cm of snow, compared to an accumulation of 23 cm a year ago. While our relatively benign autumn has kept grass green, saved energy and made commuting easier, we shouldn’t believe winter has been cancelled, Phillips said with a chuckle. “Fall has been a tease. It will cool and there are no guarantees,” he said. Reiterating his department’s winter outlook, a general forecast through March 1, we can expect a friendlier, warmer winter than the last. With El Niño in play, Canada won’t suffer the polar vortex that put us in a deep freeze last winter, he said, adding we can expect less arctic and Siberian air this winter and softer, milder southern air. We shouldn’t expect any abnormal precipitation, he said. The unknown, with warmer temperatures predicted, is whether that precipitation will be rain or snow. “With it being milder, we may see less snow than last year,” said Phillips. “Snow won’t last. It’ll melt. That means less shoveling.” Will we have a white Christmas? “Can’t say,” Phillips said. “El Niño doesn’t tell us that.”
BY CHRIS TRABER
W
ctraber@yrmg.com
STAFF PHOTO/STEVE SOMERVILLE
SPORT & RECREATION
Parks and recreation, sport plans taking shape
W
BY TERESA LATCHFORD
tlatchford@yrmg.com
hile the recommendations for Aurora’s parks and recreation master plan and sport plan look promising, Stephen Kimmerer is eager to see council put the money where their mouth is. The final public consultation meeting regarding the creation of the plan that is meant to guide the future of the town’s leisure facilities into the
year 2021 has wrapped up and the final versions of the master and sport plans are expected to be presented at the Jan. 19 general committee meeting. “It’s great to have a plan, but (council) has to be prepared to fund it,” Kimmerer said. Sport Aurora, an organization representing 31 sport organizations, played a large role in the consultation process, especially the See page A2.
hat may well be York Region’s warmest autumn on record could be a dress rehearsal for our winter, Environment Canada senior climatologist David Phillips predicted. “I love the fall,” the sage forecaster said. “It’s my favourite season. Problem is it’s usually only three weeks long. This year it’s been three months long. It’s a bonus. We’ve been booking tee times instead of waxing skis. “This could be the opening act for our winter to come.” Our unusually temperate autumn is courtesy of the phenomenon called El Niño, an occurrence when warm water near the equator migrates to Atlantic and Pacific shores, he explained. The changing ocean patterns create an atmospheric circulation shift, affecting weather globally. This often translates into milder temperatures and drier than normal weather throughout North America. “We’ve been on a roll,” Phillips said of temperatures since the official end of summer Sept. 23. We’ve enjoyed three balmy months to date, each between 2.5C and 3.5C higher than nor-
COMMUNITY
Residents get glimpse of possibilities for cultural precinct
D
BY SIMON MARTIN
smartin@yrmg.com
owntown Aurora was abuzz Saturday morning. Cars lined Victoria Street as residents meandered into the Trinity United Church Christmas bazaar. Across the road, at the Aurora Cultural Centre, the Aurora Community Band hosted its annual Holiday Market. A block down the road, the hum of a circular saw filled the air around Town Park as workers toiled away in the cold building the Wells Street Lofts. It’s against this backdrop Aurora hosted Culture Quest, a chance for residents to discover some of the possibilities for the town’s vision to establish a cultural precinct. The precinct is considered the area bordered by Yonge Street to the west, Larmont Street to the east, Metcalfe and Church streets to the south and Mosley Street to
the north. What makes it stand out is the number of mixed uses, including residential, institutional — such as churches — and municipally owned properties such as the armoury, the Aurora Cultural Centre, Town Park, the Aurora Public Library and the buildings that comprise Library Square. The three-block area also possesses the largest number of heritage and cultural landscapes in the downtown core. “It’s a day of discovery for residents to think about what this space will turn into,” Aurora parks and recreation director Al Downey said. Residents braved the cold to learn about some of the potential options for the area. Heather Masters has lived in Aurora for 50 years. While at first she didn’t like the idea of changing the area too much, she has
See page A8.
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Sarah Millar stands in front of the old library with some of the poster board materials used during Saturday’s Culture Quest detailing the possibilities for the cultural precinct.
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