Newmarket Council Highlights on November 2, 2020

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Council reviewed the findings from the Established Neighbourhood Compatibility Study and the proposed Official Plan and Zoning By-law Amendments in order to implement the study.

Council’s discussion consisted of updated development regulations for residential zones; these include new lot coverage schedule, reduced maximum building height for some zones and changing how front yard setback and exterior side yard setback are determined.

The main themes of the proposed amendment are:

  • Combining existing “Stable Residential” designation and “Emerging Residential designation” as a single “Residential” designation and updating relevant policies

  • Establishing Character Areas and policies for each Character Area

  • Adding more details to the Compatibility policies of the Official Plan to strengthen the section

After thorough discussion, the matter was referred back to Council for further discussion at a future Council meeting to ensure the findings from the study and the amendments address development compatibility within existing neighbourhoods.

Learn more by viewing the full report on the

Neighbourhood Compatibility Study


Council Discuses How To Address Vibration Complaints

Council continues to explore different options to address the impact of vibrations caused by driveway or parking lot paving projects in residential areas that are currently not addressed in the Planning Act.


There are two types of construction projects that may result in vibration complaints: large scale constructions like residential subdivisions and large developments where provisions can be made through the Planning Act and ones that don’t fall under the Planning Act, which includes projects like driveway repaving and parking lot repaving.


Council discussed various options to deal with these types of construction projects and decided to direct staff to come back with an amended version of the noise by-law for council consideration at a later date and for staff to investigate the impact of carrying out a permitting process.

See full report here.

Kelly BroomeComment