WHEREAS, in September 2023, students are anticipated to start enrolling at York University’s new Markham Campus; and,
WHEREAS, York University Markham Campus will have a student body of 4,200 within four years; and,
WHEREAS, a significant portion of York University Markham students are expected to rent in Markham near the campus; and,
WHERAS, York University has commissioned a student housing study but has not shared this with the City; and,
WHEREAS, York University understands that student housing near Markham Campus including rooming houses and condos could become problematic, and is currently in the early stages of working with the private sector to develop a purpose-built student residence; and,
WHEREAS, Remington is exploring the possibility of building a purpose-built student residence building independently of the York University process; and,
WHEREAS, the City of Markham has no information at its disposal to indicate whether efforts noted above will meet student housing needs for the new York University Markham Campus; and,
WHEREAS, it is a common problem for municipalities across the county in which post-secondary institutions are located that they face major issues with illegal student accommodation around the school; and,
WHEREAS, illegal rooming houses have been discovered in Scarborough near the University of Toronto Scarborough and Centennial College Morningside Campuses, where students have been living in unsafe conditions with as many as 11 in separate rooms under the same roof and paying individual rent, thus violating zoning regulations; and,
WHEREAS, the City of Toronto has recently put forward A New Regulatory Framework for Multi-tenant Houses to amend zoning and licensing-bylaws that have allowed for unlicensed operations and unsafe living conditions for tenants; and,
WHEREAS, the City of Oshawa solved their problem of illegal and unsafe rooming houses and bad student behaviour near Ontario Tech University (formerly UOIT) by requiring a licence to rent most properties and by offering incentives for developers to build purpose-built student accommodation; and,
WHEREAS, on January 24th, Oshawa Council directed staff to undertake a consultation regarding a potential city-wide expansion to its Residential Rental Housing Licensing program and they are currently in the process of such consultation; and,
WHEREAS, the City of Hamilton has recently launched its two-year Rental Housing Licensing pilot program mandating property owners in certain parts of the city to apply for a rental licence for every rental property with four or fewer dwelling units as a response to illegal dwelling and secondary suite units, absentee landlords, poor property standards and inadequate yard maintenance; and,
WHEREAS, poor maintenance of rental properties is already a common problem in Markham; and,
WHEREAS, illegal and unsafe rooming houses accommodating students and others are known to already exist in Markham; and,
WHEREAS, the experiences of GTHA municipalities which are home to postsecondary institutions clearly demonstrate the importance of proactive planning in anticipation of the new York University Markham Campus; and,
WHEREAS, without foresight and proper planning, the City of Markham will likely experience the same issues as other GTHA municipalities; therefore,
- BE IT RESOLVED THAT Markham Council direct City staff to study the potential implications of student housing around York University Markham Campus and elsewhere in the city, and report back via the Unionville Subcommittee on viable solutions to address these anticipated issues.