• Mayor Iain Lovatt’s proposal to explore redevelopment options for 6240 Main Street was defeated 3–4 at Council’s Oct. 15 meeting.
  • The motion sought to issue a Request for Interest to identify potential public-private partnerships for the municipally-owned site.
  • Lovatt’s goal was to determine whether the property could accommodate both an expanded 55+ Club and new affordable housing without costing taxpayers.
  • Councillor Sue Sherban opposed the motion, saying Town-owned land should be preserved for future community and recreational needs.
  • Sherban argued the 55+ Club’s facility issues could be fixed without redevelopment.
  • Councillor Bartley said the intent was simply to gather ideas, not to make any commitments.
  • The motion failed, with Councillors Sherban, Upton, Acton, and Kroon opposed.

 

A proposal from Mayor Iain Lovatt to explore redevelopment options for 6240 Main Street, home to the 55+ Club, was narrowly defeated during the Oct. 15 Council meeting. The motion failed in a 3–4 vote, with Councillors Sue Sherban, Rick Upton, Keith Acton, and Hugo Kroon opposed.

Lovatt’s motion, seconded by Councillor Richard Bartley and supported by Councillor Maurice Smith, would have directed Town Staff to issue a Request for Interest to identify potential public-private partnerships for the municipally-owned property. The goal was to determine whether the site could accommodate both an expanded seniors’ centre and new affordable housing without direct capital costs to the Town.

“This is a motion about exploring possibilities and nothing more,” Lovatt said before the vote. “It’s a motion that demonstrates, I believe, Council is creatively seeking ways to support [needed] programming growth for our seniors, and uphold the approved housing values of our Official Plan, that don’t burden the taxpayer.”

Councillor Sherban said she appreciated the Mayor’s initiative but questioned whether 6240 Main was the right property for such a proposal. She argued that the Town’s limited inventory of public land should be reserved for future community and recreational needs rather than opened to private redevelopment.

“All of us have residents who are asking, ‘When are we going to put in the next community facility? When can we get a basketball team off the ground? When can we get swim lessons within our community?’” Sherban said. “I know that our seniors [population is] growing, but so is the rest of our community.”

Sherban also referenced issues raised by 55+ Club members in recent correspondence to Council, including heating, accessibility, and parking concerns. Noting some may hope the project could resolve those challenges, Sherban said they could be addressed by the Town without resorting to a public-private redevelopment agreement.

“My history on Council, not just this term but from all other prior terms, is you open the door, crack the barn, and the horses leave it and it’s no return,” she said. Sherban instead encouraged the Town to work with other landowners interested in affordable housing projects, pointing to potential partnerships and utilization of the forthcoming Affordable Housing Community Improvement Plan.

Lovatt countered that the two objectives, meeting community space needs and advancing affordable housing, were not mutually exclusive.

The intention of the motion was to achieve “ a public-private partnership that could deliver a new seniors facility at 6240 Main Street to accommodate the growth of the 55+ Club at no capital cost to the taxpayer. Zero,” Lovatt said. “Any expansion that we would do in the future for our 55+ Club would be taxpayer funded.”

Stouffville’s long-term capital forecast already includes major recreation projects, such as a new leisure centre for the Highway 48 MZO lands and a second pool at the Leisure Centre on Park Drive. The new leisure centre alone is projected to cost more than $139 million, and neither project has secured funding.

Funding has not been allocated for the 55+ Club’s expansion or replacement, which is absent from the Town’s current Leisure and Community Services Master Plan. Lovatt said the plan, drafted when club membership was smaller, does not reflect the scale of today’s demand.

“In 2022, when the Leisure and Community Services Master Plan was done, the 55+ Club [had] 300 members,” he said. “Now, there are over 2,000 members and growing. In three years.”

Lovatt further defended the housing portion of the concept, stressing that the Town would not become an affordable housing provider. “That’s not our role as a lower-tier municipality,” he said.

“And to be crystal clear, neither I, nor staff, nor Council, to my knowledge, have had any conversations with any developer about 6240,” the Mayor added. “This resolution is truly coming from a place of blue-sky thinking.”

He also suggested that encouraging moderate residential density downtown could help strengthen the local business community. “This Council has heard many times that adding density to our downtown will be a key economic driver for our businesses…that we hear are struggling on a daily basis,” Lovatt said.

As Members prepared to vote, Councillor Bartley reiterated that the objective was to invite ideas, not to approve or commit to any development. “I think the big word here is exploration… We’re not asking anybody to put their hand up with any decision,” he said. “This is a valuable piece of property that we should certainly look at all avenues to see what may be available to us.”

Despite the clarification, Council ultimately rejected the motion. “That’s disappointing,” Lovatt said after, adding that he expected to hear from Stouffville’s senior community in the days ahead.