King Township Council Meeting - April 14, 2025
- JA
- Apr 16
- 9 min read
Updated: Apr 30
At Monday's meeting we heard King's Service Performance Report where staff provide an update on their performance levels. Staff are to be commended for this initiative as King is the only township in York Region that offers this level of data and transparency so residents can see their dollars at work.
Quick Links
Mayor’s Comments
• Meet the Mayor & Councillors is on April 23 3pm-7pm - Voice your questions, concerns and ideas (or just come say hello!) during a 15-minute, one-on-one conversation. Book a 15-minute appointment for one-on-one conversations - pre-registration is encouraged but not required.
• 175 Years of King - Thursday, Apr. 24 from 4:30 - 6:30 p.m. at the King Township Municipal Centre. The King Township Historical Society presents the launch of The History of King Township: A Community Shaped by the Land. Pre-order your copy for $30 online at kingtownshiphistoricalsociety.com. The books will be available for pick-up at the book launch, and copies will also be available for sale during the event. After April 24, copies can be purchased online for $40 and picked up at the King Heritage and Cultural Centre.
• Spring Maintenance is underway to ensure roads, parks, trails and public spaces are in top condition for everyone to enjoy. Staff are street sweeping, catch basin cleaning, ditching, grading trails, pruning trees and maintaining courts. Asphalt patching is underway and you can report a pothole here.
• King Community Clean Up: Celebrate Earth Week on April 19. Register your clean-up location or join us at Tasca Park, Memorial Park or Dufferin Marsh. More info here.
• King’s Lions have all come together to host the Easter Egg Hunt at the King Heritage & Cultural Centre on Apr 12, 2025 – 10:00am - 12:00pm. The Easter Bunny is “hopping” by with Easter Eggs scattered across the museum – waiting to be found! In this family-friendly event, participate in an egg hunt, themed craft, and Easter photo booth. Pre-registration is required. More information here.
• Green Yards: Support pollinators by purchasing a native wildflower kit, rain barrel, or backyard composter. Registration opens April 21 at king.ca/GreenYards.
Service Performance Report
Staff presented the annual Service Performance Report, inclusive of 158 Headline Performance Measures across five departments and twenty-four service delivery portfolios (divisions). This initiative was introduced by staff last year and King remains the first and only municipality in York Region to publish their service performance measures in this way, and produce an interactive online dashboard which you can review here.
Following are the highlights from each division:
Some of these improvements will be as a result of staff keeping better track of the various metrics and data to feed into these results. This is to be expected with a new system that will pay dividends over time as we are better able to track work and demonstrate value to residents. I'm certain, for example, that the increase in the number of Council Requests seen in the Governance section is directly related to an increased focus for councillors to direct their questions to staff using this system.
If you have any questions about the service levels you can ask ServiceKing (905-833-5321, serviceking@king.ca) or me (janstey@king.ca).
ThinKING Green Sustainable Development Standards
While King first introduced Green Development Standards in 2012, the first required Green Development Standards were introduced in February 2021. In May 2024 King approved the new ThinKING Green Sustainable Development Standards to encourage more environmentally friendly standards for new builds. Unfortunately, while the Planning and Municipal Acts allow the township to develop green standards programs, they don't provide a mechanism to require compliance. To encourage participation, last September King introduced the Bronze, Silver and Gold framework whereby the bronze level represented the minimum target based on current legislation while the silver and gold levels represent increasingly environmentally friendly options. There are no incentives to achieving higher levels other than the ability to market those achievements.
On Monday, Council approved staff’s request to investigate further non-financial incentives to improve the uptake of sustainable development standards. Examples of options being investigated include:
- Recognition & Award Programs to help enhance the marketability of green buildings.
- Expedited Review for planning applications that commit to achieving higher sustainability scores.
Financial incentives are likely more effective at getting developers to use green building standards, but they are costly to the taxpayers. Staff included this summary of financial incentives and the specific "Considerations for King" to highlight the costs involved:
1. Development Charge Rebate/Refund: Development Charge (DC) reductions, exemptions, or grants to provide a financial incentive usually after the project is completed and higher-level standards are verified. The City of Toronto has implemented a Toronto Green Standard (TGS) Development Charge Refund Program for verified Tier 2, 3 or 4 projects. Considerations for King: Any development charge (DC) incentive would need to be replaced by tax funding to avoid shortfalls in the DC reserves. This could introduce an additional financial burden on taxpayers and complicate budget planning, making it unfavourable.
2. Community Improvement Plans (CIP): A designated project area where specific policy initiatives are implemented, with various financial incentives available. The City of Richmond Hill recently approved a CIP for Affordable Housing and Sustainable Design.
Considerations for King: The Township’s current CIP focuses on the revitalization of the Village Core areas of King City, Nobleton, and Schomberg as well as the Township’s Countryside, including the hamlets, agricultural and rural uses, and the Highway 11 Corridor. The Township currently has an annual budget of $70,000 to offer CIP grants. If the Township were to consider expanding the program in the future, additional funds will be required through the budget process. The CIP program would also need to be updated.
3. Feasibility Study Grant: A grant to aid the design process in identifying cost effective design features necessary for constructing sustainable practices in buildings. This incentive can be implemented through a CIP.
Considerations for King: Should the Township consider expanding the CIP program to include this type of incentive in the future, it would be necessary to increase the budget for CIP grants. This would ensure adequate funding is available to support an increased number and extent of applications.
4. Tax Increment Based Rebate: Partial or complete waiver of property tax for a fixed period of time. This incentive can be implemented through a CIP. This is currently an incentive as part of the Township’s CIP and the City of Richmond Hill’s CIP for Affordable Housing and Sustainable Design.
Considerations for King: For tax increment-based rebates, additional funding would be required to offset any rebates given and would need to be prioritized with other requests as part of the budget process. This would necessitate prioritizing these rebates over other crucial budgetary needs, potentially requiring additional budget to provide more rebates which will overall increase the financial burden for taxpayers.
5. Loan Support: Offers financial support through a loan to mitigate perceived risks when implementing sustainable design. This incentive can be implemented through a CIP. Considerations for King: Implementing loan programs would be problematic for the Township because it requires extensive administrative work to manage the loans effectively. Additionally, the loan rates must align with market rates to avoid contravening the Municipal Act, which prohibits municipalities from providing financial advantages to specific businesses (known as municipal bonusing). This administrative burden and the need for compliance can complicate the Township's operations and financial planning.
Note: Staff are going to add the Green Development Standards into the Service Performance Report for next year so we can keep better track of the successful of the program. In the meantime, I've asked staff how many applications have been received in each category and will update this post when I hear back. UPDATE: staff have received no applications beyond the minimum standard.
Public Art Reserve Fund
The Township of King has a longstanding history of supporting arts and culture through the ownership and operation of the King Heritage & Cultural Centre (KHCC), and support for community groups such as Arts Society King, among others. Through these channels, several small, community-led public art initiatives have been realized, including the Banner Program, the installation of the York Region Trail Marker at the KHCC, and the rotating art displays at the King Township Municipal Centre. To better support those initiatives, council approved staff’s request to establish a framework for a public art reserve fund which has not existed to date.
The fund will address the production, installation and maintenance of public art, and also ensure that artists are compensated fairly for their work. Individual artist fees will vary based on their experience and reputation, as well as the size and scope of the work proposed. As this can be subjective, King will be using the guidelines set by the Canadian Artists Representation Le Front Des Artistes Canadiens (CARFAC) which creates an annual schedule of fees to establish minimum fees to be paid to Canadian artists.
The reserve fund will accumulate with contributions from the capital budget and will be capped at $250,000. Any use of the reserve fund would be as part of the annual budget process or as a separate report to council for approval of any use of the reserve funds. It is recommended that an allocation of capital projects greater than $100,000 have a contribution to the reserve fund to be determine with consultation of the project manager (below or up to a limit of 1% of budget value). This would include public facilities, parks, trails, specified road projects, and other public gathering spaces. This will exclude any capital project funded by development charges (DC) as culture projects are not DC eligible.
To reduce financial risk to on-going approved projects the reserve will be established through a staged process over a three-year period:
2025: Policy and Procedure
2026: Consult with departments as part of the 2026 budget process to allocate funds to the Public Art Reserve Fund. To start an Interdepartmental Public Art Planning Team and the Public Art Committee.
2027: Identify future capital projects to be funded by the Public Art Reserve Fund.
In addition, considerations will be made for the long-term maintenance and repair of these public art projects. Each artist will be required to submit a maintenance plan, including proposed costs, as part of their proposal, which will impact which proposals are selected. Projects with complex or expensive maintenance needs may not be accepted, although all works will require some annual care. To assist with this, the existing $7,500 currently allocated in the budget will be designated for annual maintenance and repair, with any increases requested through the annual budget process as required.
Designation of 313 Main Street
Council endorsed the designation of the Schomberg Presbyterian Church at 313 Main St, a 1-storey vernacular building of Gothic Revival style built in circa 1859.
The property at 313 Main Street originated as part of a 200-acre parcel, Lot 34 of Concession 9, first patented by Joel Lloyd in 1844. That same year, Lloyd sold 50.5 acres to Thomas Brown, who later sold a portion back to Lloyd and Trustees for the establishment of a chapel, likely the “six-square” Methodist Church. Joel Lloyd, a Methodist and son of King Township pioneer Jesse Lloyd, likely played a key role in acquiring the land for religious use. By 1881, after a new Methodist Church was built, the Baptist Church Trustees purchased the property, and in 1895 erected the current building—possibly incorporating elements of the earlier Methodist church. In 1903, the land was designated as Village Lot 48 of Plan 87 for Schomberg, and fire insurance maps from 1904 and 1910 identify the structure as a Baptist Church with a brick veneer. The Baptist Church sold the property to the Presbyterian Church in 1929. In 1995, a movie filming accident damaged the building, revealing an earlier structure beneath—believed to be the original “six-square” Methodist Church, which had been cut into sections and reassembled. Archival images and window shapes suggest this earlier building featured neo-classical architecture, a style popular in 19th-century Ontario.
Road Closure - 15th Sideroad
The 15th sideroad will be closed until July 18, 2025 to facilitate the re-construction of the road including the new jog at highway 27.
New Business:
• Kinsland Community Garden is a community led not-for-profit organization located at 13685 Weston Road. They have a variety of plot sizes and still have availability for this upcoming season. If you are interested email community@kinsland.ca and visit the website.
• Jane's Walk in Schomberg on May 3 - Meet King Township's Jane's Walk chapter at the Schomberg Community Hall between 11am and 3pm. Jane's Walk participants will be able to tour the Hall, learn about the history of the community, and celebrate community milestones. Snacks and refreshments will be provided. Organized by the creators of our highly popular "Hidden Histories of Schomberg Main Street" events!
• Schomberg Agricultural Fair - May 23 -25 - The Schomberg Agricultural Fair is a heart-warming (and fun!) local tradition that has been upheld for 175 years. Every May, rain or shine, Schomberg plays host to a colourful celebration of local agriculture, art, and talent.
• The King Heritage and Cultural Centre is proud to partner with the King Theatre Company for their next professional production: “ART” by Yasmina Reza! How much would you pay for a white painting? Would it be “art”? This sharp, hilarious comedy delves into the chaos that unfolds when a simple piece of art challenges friendships, perspectives, and personal convictions.
• Congratulations to Doug Bolton on his well-earned promotion to Deputy Fire Chief with the Georgina Fire Department, overseeing Fire Prevention and Education. Doug began his fire service journey right here in King Township over 25 years ago and has been a dedicated leader ever since, most recently serving as Assistant District Chief at Firehouse 34. Doug has been the hilarious MC at King's annual Firefighter's appreciation dinner and will be sorely missed.
• Northern Orchards Inc - hosted Minster Mulroney, the Mayor, and others to witness the technology and innovation being used here is truly remarkable. The company employs 11 or 12 local workers—choosing to support the community rather than rely on foreign labour. One of their standout techniques is the use of Controlled Atmosphere storage, a process that carefully regulates temperature, oxygen, carbon dioxide, and humidity levels to place apples into a state of hibernation—essentially putting them in “suspended animation.” It’s thanks to this method that we’re able to enjoy crisp, flavourful apples all year round.
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