King Township Council Meeting - September 14, 2026
At Mondays' meeting we heard about the expansion of ServiceKing Lite to community centres and protecting Nobleton's Wellhead drinking water. We also approved the heritage designation of one building and the demolition of another which created some interesting discussion.
Mayor's Comments
• The Township of King extends sincere condolences to the family of Harry VanderKoy who served as King's Ward 6 councillor from 1994-2003. He passed away July 17th.
• Congratulations to acclaimed councillors David Boyd Ward 2, Jennifer Anstey Ward 3, and Avia Eek Ward 6.
• Thank you to King Fire who answered calls for mutual aid and deployed four full fire trucks to Vaughan during the crisis on Sept. 3 while maintain full fire service in King. Vaughan Fire Chief Zvanitajs sent King's Fire Chief Allen a letter of thanks saying in part: "In a span of less than three hours, our crews responsded to eight structural fires, six of which were confirmed lightining strikes, along with eleven water rescues involving stranded motorists and dozens of additional storm-related incidents, including downed trees, hydro emergencies, alarm activations, and public assistance calls."
• The grand re-opening of the Nobleton Lion Community Park on Saturday September 12th as a great success. The revitalization of the park includes a winter skating rink that converts to a wading pool in the summer, an ampitheatre, a lit pickleball court, a new soccer field, accessible walking paths designed for sustainable stormwater management. A special thanks to the The Goldie Foundation which contributed $250,000 towards the skating rink. Importantly, the rest of the capital costs for the revitalization project came from Development Charges, no residential tax dollars were used.
• King's annual Safe Street campaign is underway. Get a free lawn sign to Slow Down here.
• The Fall Recreation program guide is available. Book now to save your spot.
• Applications for the 2026/2027 Seniors Snow Removal Assistance Program. The program provides partial snow windrow removal for eligible households where all members are 65 or whre no person over the age of 12 is physically able to remove the snow. Apply here.
• Congratulations to Denny Timm on his 10th year of service to King Township. Denny is a trusted, respected and valued member of the team who consistently demonstrates professionalism, integrity, and unwavering commitment to community service.
2026 Terry Fox Run in King
The Terry Fox run is scheduled to take place Sunday September 20th between 9:00 AM and 12:00 PM at the Wellesley Park (King Rd and Keele St). Participants can choose from several distance options including 2K, 5K, and 10K. The event aims to encourage family attendance through various activities such as an ice cream truck and appearances by King Fire and Emergency.
Local businesses have been generous in their support to ensure the event's success.
• Tim Hortons is donating coffee, hot chocolate, and tea bags.
• TD Bank is providing bottled water.
• Pine Orchard is supplying fresh apples.
• No Frills Nobleton is donating granola bars and snacks.
• Molly's Market is donating smoothies.
ServiceKING Expanding to Community Centres
King is expanding ServiceKING beyond the Municipal Centre through a 12-month pilot intended to make routine Township services easier to access, particularly for residents who do not live near King City or cannot visit during regular business hours.
ServiceKING was launched in 2019 as a single point of contact to help residents navigate municipal services. The new ServiceKING Lite model takes a selection of those services into community centres while leaving more complex and specialized matters at the Municipal Centre.
Beginning in December, ServiceKING Lite will operate at both the Trisan Centre in Schomberg and Zancor Centre in King City.
Trisan weekday 8 am - 4 pm Zancor -Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday 8 am to 4 pm, &
-Thursday 11am - 7 pm, and Saturday 6:30 am - 2:30 pm
Nobleton Arena has been identified as the intended next location, but any expansion there will depend on what is learned from the pilot.
Residents will be able to get general information and help navigating Township services, receive recreation and facility support, and make tax, water and ticket or fine payments. Payments at the community centres will be limited to debit or cheque, with no cash accepted. More complicated matters, including permits and specialized requests, will continue to be handled through the Municipal Centre.
Importantly, the pilot does not require additional staff or a new budget allocation. The Township will use existing staff and operating dollars and will track demand, wait times, customer satisfaction and whether residents are getting their questions resolved on their first contact. Targets include resolving at least 80 per cent of requests without a hand-off, serving 90 per cent of customers within 10 minutes and achieving at least 85 per cent customer satisfaction.
For residents who already call or visit ServiceKING, nothing is being taken away or requiring them to change how they contact the Township. The intention is simply to add more places and hours where certain services can be accessed.
Intent to Designate 292 Kettleby Rd
Council approved the recommendation to designate Kettleby Christ Church and its Parish Hall at 292 Kettleby Road under the Ontario Heritage Act.
The church, constructed in 1891, is considered a representative example of Gothic Revival architecture with Norman Romanesque influences. Its distinctive features include a castellated bell tower, substantial buttresses, stained-glass lancet windows and ornate architectural detailing. The neighbouring Parish Hall was built in 1933. Beyond their architecture, the buildings have strong connections to Kettleby's Anglican community and to the residents and community organizations that raised the money to build them. Together, the church and hall have served as a centre of religious, social and community life in Kettleby for more than a century and contribute to the historic character of Kettleby Road.
What makes this designation somewhat unusual, and welcome, is that it is being undertaken with the support of the property owner. Township staff have worked with the Anglican Diocese of Toronto and the local congregation since 2025 to identify which features should be protected. The Diocese approved the proposed Statement of Cultural Heritage Value earlier this year, and the Heritage Advisory Committee also supported designation. It was noted that efforts to secure protection for the church have been underway for many years, making the owner's support for designation particularly significant.
There is also some urgency to King's current heritage work. Provincial changes require listed properties that are not formally designated to be removed from municipal heritage registers by January 1, 2027.
Intent to Demolish 12650 Highway 27
Council reluctantly approved the demolition of a historic house at 12650 Highway 27, but the discussion led to a broader direction to staff to investigate what King can do to prevent other heritage buildings from deteriorating to the point where saving them is no longer realistic.
The Hambly-MacTaggart House is an Ontario Cottage with Gothic Revival influences dating from approximately 1840 to 1879.
The property has been on King's Municipal Heritage Register since 2012, when the house was described as being in "fair" condition. Since then, however, its condition has deteriorated dramatically. An engineering review found extensive damage, including major roof deterioration, a flooded basement and deterioration to structural elements of the roof, second floor and porch. The building is no longer considered structurally sound or habitable.
Staff made an important observation in the report: much of the deterioration occurred gradually and might have been avoided through regular maintenance. At the same time, the building has now deteriorated so extensively that restoring it would require work to most major building systems and could itself result in the loss of significant original heritage material.
For that reason, staff recommended removing the property from the Heritage Register and allowing demolition rather than designating a building for which meaningful conservation may no longer be achievable. Before demolition, however, the owner must comprehensively document the house and prepare a Heritage Salvage and Commemoration Plan identifying opportunities to save heritage materials and commemorate the property's history.
I supported the immediate recommendation because of the condition of the building, but raised a larger concern: how do we stop other heritage properties from reaching this point? I asked whether King could be more proactive rather than waiting until a building has deteriorated beyond repair. Staff noted that King's bylaw enforcement is generally complaint-driven and that the Township currently has limited tools unless an owner is violating property standards or another bylaw. One option discussed was Hamilton's vacant-building registry, which allows that municipality to identify and monitor vacant buildings before they deteriorate.
Council therefore added a new direction requiring staff to report back by the end of the first quarter of 2027 on the regulatory, policy and enforcement tools available to address and prevent demolition by neglect.
That, to me, is the more important outcome from this report. We cannot save this particular house, but we should be asking what we can change so that we are not having the same discussion about another heritage building ten years from now.
Nobleton Wellhead Protection
Council has endorsed changes to Nobleton's Wellhead Protection Area following the addition of a new municipal well and increased groundwater pumping needed to accommodate the community's planned growth.
York Region completed a servicing study in 2021 that identified the need for additional water and wastewater capacity in Nobleton. As part of that work, the Region constructed Nobleton Well 6 and obtained approval to increase water taking. Provincial source-water protection documents must now be updated to reflect the new well and the area from which groundwater travels toward Nobleton's municipal wells.
New hydrogeological modelling has increased the mapped Wellhead Protection Area by approximately 36 per cent. Despite the increase in area, York Region identified only ten new potential drinking-water threats. Risk-management plans are already in place for seven, and the Region will work with the remaining three property owners. No significant existing drinking-water problems were identified.
For most property owners and future development, the practical effect is limited. The newly expanded areas have relatively lower vulnerability scores, and the only new land-use restriction is on facilities handling, storing, processing or manufacturing certain dense non-aqueous phase liquids, or DNAPLs. These include some industrial degreasers, dry-cleaning chemicals and paint thinners. Normal household quantities are exempt.
Staff advised that the new restrictions are very limited and are not expected to prevent existing or planned employment uses.
Telecommunication Siting Process
The federal government is considering changes intended to speed up approvals for telecommunications towers, but King is concerned that some of the proposals would weaken municipal oversight and public consultation.
King has had its own tower protocol since 2008, including broader public notification and community information meetings. Staff support some proposed efficiencies, such as moving application information online, but oppose changes that could significantly reduce who is notified or allowed to raise concerns.
King is also pushing back on proposed automatic approvals where municipalities do not respond within a prescribed timeline, and wants stronger support for co-location, meaning carriers should use existing towers where feasible rather than building new ones.
Council endorsed staff’s comments, which will be submitted to the federal government before the September 22 deadline.
New Business
• This fall, King Township Public Library invites residents to explore everything their local library has to offer during Library Discovery Days, a series of free open houses showcasing the many ways the library supports learning, creativity, connection and lifelong discovery.
Browse collections for all ages, try maker tools and creative technologies, learn about digital services and discover opportunities to get involved, including serving on the Library Board.
Library Discovery Days schedule :
Nobleton branch: Saturday, Sept. 26 from 1 to 3 p.m.
King City branch: Saturday, Oct. 17 from 1 to 3 p.m.
Schomberg branch: Saturday, Nov. 7 from 1 to 3 p.m.
• September 19th is the Schomberg Mug Run
• September 26th is the Schomberg Country Run starting at 9am
• September 26th is Tree Planting at Cold Creek starting at 10am
• October 3 is Schomberg Sidewalkable Saturday from 11am to 2pm
• October 3 is Movie Under the Stars from 6pm to 10:30pm
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