TP 's Plan To "Clean Up" Main Street Newmarket

From afar everything looks great on Main St but...

I've often heard people say they'd like to see Newmarket's Main Street and nearby surroundings cleaned up. And depending on whom you are speaking with, " cleaning up", means different things to different people - from sometimes overflowing garbage can complaints, to boarded up units, to graffiti, to people 'begging' for money, and my plan would cover them all.

Frequently hit spot - current wall camera faces wrong way to catch them

Garbage & Waste Pick-Up

Main St. should be recognized as a tourist area, in summer especially, as that increase in visitors in summer, means an increase in waste tossed out both by stores and by visitors to Main St.. Often our containers are overflowing for days in a row which is something that needs addressing immediately to make it more eye appealing and attractive for visitors. It makes little sense to dress up our streets with beautiful flowers as we do, only to have overflowing garbage and refuse strewn on the streets ruin the experience.

Notice no graffiti? Image taken in Toronto

Beg Off Main

There are a number of domicile units and shelters located within walking distance of Main St. - homes that house and feed people who cannot manage it on their own - and they are left with little money after the providers take their share of their incomes, often asked to leave their 'homes' during the day, and thus you end up with some needing more money or hanging out, either unable to work or to find work. In winter, homeless men gather, because warm areas exist around Main. So my plan is to engage anyone hanging around and see if I can't get them something else to do. Sounds simple huh? Indeed.

Engage Them

Sound far fetched? I'm a doer. I've created similar "programs' in the past, getting an entire crew of homeless and "at risk of homelessness" workers, in renovating the House Of Hope, which is now ready and available for a housing provider to operate, and which could house 18 persons, located at Newmarket's border with Sharon. I've also successfully placed borderline homeless workers into restaurants and into catering and maintenance - paid training need be - and plan to concentrate efforts for placement from Main St, the library and the Riverwalk commons public bathrooms - another spot they often use to get warm. One of my Newmarket clients recently showed interest in setting up a program that trains and puts guys like this to work for which I'll be sitting down with him to look at grant options I'm aware of to help make it so. Perhaps a street cleaning and maintenance partner program utilizing these guys could be arranged if the budget is not there.

Only I have a plan to stop the boarding up of Main St. businesses and residences

Some also make for great food bank volunteers, especially if you feed them and send them off with something when they've helped. It was also I who raised the story of a homeless father and son living in Ward 5 and who ultimately located them a place to live and a job for the father - cleaning up the ward if you will. That Era Banner story was one of the biggest in their history - in fact so much so they wrote a follow up to it the 2011 story in 2015, as reaction-wise, Newmarket residents had responded in droves with offers of food and sleeping bags, but connecting them to their basic needs, like a home first, was the key. Community building again.

Wall in " rundown" are of Toronto on King St West

Graffiti

I've written about numerous times in which I've mentioned dressing up hard hit spots to reduce " tagging" and creating areas that actually encourage graffiti art - controlled areas if you will that allow for youthful expression Engage, instead of just criminalize, and then perhaps connect them to arts or help put them on the right track through that engagement. I've noticed Markham and other areas are now picking up on Toronto's lead for dressing up electrical boxes and other smaller targets as well, which I've also mentioned in the past we should adopt here. And create some wall murals on walls such as those leading to River Walk Commons ( often targets for tagging) that depict Jazz Playing and music and farmers market stuff and skaters etc., similar to Aurora's flagship wall. Stats show that these types of methods do reduce graffiti and I see no reason why Newmarket would be any different. We can also light better and aim exterior cameras more effectively in trouble spot areas to catch the perpetrators. One such area that is often hit has a camera but it faces the wrong way to capture anyone tagging the walls. See more great examples of my vision here.

Pathway leading to railway trestle

Railway Trestle Project

One project I'd love to see done is a site right near the youth centre ironically enough, an old, now rundown looking and graffiti laden, historic, railway trestle that features a plaque explaining its historical significance. Anyone read it? It's an eyesore that I believe could become an amazing attraction if we allowed youths to get artfully creative - and again, use that opportunity for engagement, which leads to holding them accountable as part of the community. A bridge into the community if you will. More Community building 101.

Historic graffiti-ed Trestle could be used as a rallying beacon for youthful expression

Boarded Up Units

No one else running or in council has a viable plan to end the boarding up of buildings on Main St and elsewhere in town but I do. Follow this link to learn more about it.

Vote Tom Pearson for Ward 5 Councillor Newmarket

 I Really Do care

To view the complete platform please visit www.tompearson4newmarketcouncil.blogspot.com
 or Email @ tompearson4council@gmail.com

Dress up frequent targets

Tie in some mural / graffiti art into Main St Art Festival

A similar walls / alleyways could be created leading to Riverwalk Commons from Main St

Ideal spots for a wall mural

Everyone need do their little part. Clean this up when it happens immediately.

Can be seen from River Walk Commons still - 6 months later

Forced out of business, residents removed, and has now sat empty two years

Emptied, then boarded up and left decrepit looking. Only I have a plan for ending this!

Newmarket's Clock Tower Issue a Non-Issue Really

Clock Tower a symbol for what is happening to our town

For many, it seems the clock tower development issue is an important one. It's just too bad none of us matter in the scheme of things. And that has to change. Firstly our opinions and council vote on the issue matter not one iota right now - something I'm keen on changing for future town / Main St. development by striking up a committee tasked to identifying loop-holes in our Planning Act - presently used by developers to control what is being built in our town, on our farms and on our Main Street. B.C. has recently legislated one such loop-hole, making it tougher for residences to be made vacant, boarded up and neglected to forcing zoning changes for condo building, without penalties.

Right now, we can complain all we want but the decision will still come down to an adjudicator deciding, based on the law and no one's opinion. So that is number one. This needs legislated through our provincial parliament and to get it there we would need a committee comprised of various individuals including M.P.P.'s, municipal politicians, York Region Legal Clinic and Real Estate Lawyers among some partners at the table.

The Clock Tower attracts movie productions to Newmarket right now

I have a long standing, amicable, working relationship, with Dennis Bailey, CEO of the YR Legal Clinic and I'm sure I can get them on-board. This would be similar to the non-partisan "Square-Table" on Poverty" that I organized and chaired which had representatives from every level of government and included Belinda Stronach and Frank Klees as well as Regional Councillor Taylor, only our focus will be closing or narrowing loop-holes in our Planning Act that are frequently exploited by developers on unsuspecting towns and cities. Until we do this, any and all of our town's Main Street buildings and farm residences will continue be at risk.

Why Have An Official Plan if they can just do what they want? Why invite the public to participate in the plan process if they are just going to do what they want anyway? Tom Pearson

Nothing stops a developer now from buying up Main St and boarding it up until we do as they wish. Only TP has a plan.

Evening entertainment attractions need addressing

Unfortunately Sparro Restaurant closed down after less than a year. Did parking woes play a part?

TP has a graffiti plan

As far as my opinion goes, my opinion is we follow whatever our official plan states before the town's desire to amend it - which means 3 floors,  however, as I say, our opinion matters not in the process - only that of the law.

Not everyone understands how planning works, as we invite the public to the first meeting if they wish to participate, as interested parties, as participants and they can attend all planning meetings from then on unless asked to leave by the adjudicator. At that point anyone not named as a participant or interested party can no longer attend unless invited to do so, even a Mayor.

So that official plan is then formed, taking a number of variables into effect, such as for parking and access to highways, infrastructure and a number of variables most may not be privy to, so councils have no right simply waltzing in and changing a plan such as this - which also has the provincial stamp on it after its been approved. I feel there should be stringent criteria before official plans can be amended by a council as they can be used to appease developers or council's own wants over the town's Plan's or residents wishes without going through the proper process. We have a planning process for good reason, like to protect against future councils, mayors and property owners from imposing their personal wills on us - another loop-hole that needs addressing, again through amendments to the Planning Act and in some cases amending The Heritage Act as well.

Just outside Newmarket sitting empty

Right now no laws stop this from happening, on YR Road

In fact the Heritage Act and heritage bylaws designed to 'protect" heritage buildings are in fact being used by developers to destroy, not save, heritage homes. How? Well a heritage home not yet designated for it can be emptied of residents, then left empty and its repairs ignored until such time as they apply for demolition. Since the property has no official designate they may very well be granted a demolition permit without going through the process. even buildings designated are right now being held, unused, just waiting until they are no longer repairable - with virtually no process in place to hold the owners accountable. For example a tree growing in to a roof left unattended to will eventually destroy the roof and expose the home to the elements further ensuring it's demise. And we have nothing in place to stop this! Main St is not an exception - look at at Davis and Main - how long have those historic buildings been boarded up? Years and years now of eyesore-hood because no one has acted. But I will.



The developer is obliged, by corporate law essentially, to try and get the biggest return possible on that property within our laws and that is what they shall do. And we cannot fault them for that, so whatever is decided we must all get along and move forward, and I will support whatever decision the legals decide. I worry though about brick colour esthetics or a claim again in a few years that is not " sustainable", and then them applying to expand again (more loop-holes). 

 

Did you know the Town of Newmarket cancelled its after hours bird and reptile rescue service recently?

But I do hope they do their homework this time, as last time around we had numerous seniors displaced who had to move after the owner decided it wasn't " sustainable". All, presumably, after they'd done the math to find the maximum $''s they could get from a full seniors residence.

So with that in mind, I believe they can build something "sustainable" within the 3 floors designation of the original Official Plan, but that that, is a pipe dream.

Picture this Street off Main as Penny Lane for Beatle MAINia

With new high-rise buildings on Davis within walking distance of Main slated to open in 2017, and future redevelopment of a few other sites around Main, I believe we can achieve the  intensification sought without building grandiose, sky-scraper types all around our historic Main St. and we need to get that control back. We can't turn back time but we can act responsibly now that we are where we are.

Meantime we need an informed decision made now before we lose anymore time and ultimately tax $'s.

Click here for TP's up-to-date clock tower development info - Soil sample now in!

You can read more on Tom Pearson's vision for Ward 5 and for Newmarket here. 
Email: TomPearson4Council@gmail.com

Vote Tom Pearson for Newmarket Council  - I Really Do Care