| Thursday, 30 June 2011 |
Majesty abounds in King CityBeautifully landscaped neighbourhoods and greenareas in King City are surrounded by rural countrysideDIANNE DANIEL Is King City, Ontario, fit for a king? Ask one of the community’s 5,000 residents and they’ll likely say they feel privileged to live there. The affluent village is the largest in King Township, an area north of Toronto known for its rolling green countryside. Situated on the southern slope of theOakRidges Moraine watershed, one of the most significant land forms in southern Ontario, it is the ideal setting for the sprawling one- to two-acre estate properties that are its trademark. Builder Fabrizio Cortellucci, president of Zancor Homes goes so far as to call it “one of Ontario’s most exclusive” locales. “Because new development was restricted for so long, it has become a premium location,” says Cortellucci, currently developing King’s Ridge in King City. “It has this amazing balance between a maturing town and conservation, and everything is just so green there.” What makes King City so special is that it has its veryownprotective “moat” in the Oak Ridges Moraine conservation plan, a plan that clearly defines levels of population concentration to both protect an extremely sensitive environmental area as well as to prevent future urban sprawl. So, while the current population is expected to double by 2016, it isn’t likely to grow any bigger, says King City Councillor Debbie Schaefer, who has called the village home for the past eight years. “It really is a lifestyle choice because it is not the big city and it has no intention of becoming the big city,” says Schaefer. “... King City will be where the people are and where we have the subdivisions, but five minutes from any location you can be into rural countryside where it is a working landscape with apple orchards and farms.” The current growth spurt is in response to the completion of theKing City Sanitary Service Project – or The Big Pipe–which replaced septic systems with municipal services. With delivery of municipal water and sewage now in place, builders are proceeding with new development, within the restrains of the stringent conservation guidelines. In addition to wetlands, creeks and forested areas, the community offers awonderful trail system and each new development builds on that. Lot sizes also remain larger than you’ll find elsewhere, with no more than two to three homes per acre in most cases. “We’re trying to ensure that in 20 years, this is still a community where people are in touch with the environment,” notes Schaefer. “People choose to live here because they want to be in an environment that is a landscape and they feel a degree of responsibility for protecting it.” Another “neat” characteristic of King City, she adds, is its overwhelming spirit of volunteerism. Among the long list of community organizations are a historical society, hiking club, cricket club, horticultural society and local hospice. While some may complain that amenities are limited in King City, Schaefer hopes to see it stay that way, noting that Newmarket and Aurora are justashort drive away. After living in major urban centres like Toronto, Baltimore and Brussels, she says she welcomes the opportunity to retire in a rural environment. “What I really ended up doing was flipping two aspects of life,” she says. “I decided to live whereIwas in a beautiful landscape right out mydoor ... and whenIwant the big city, I go.” With limited development, King residents are proud of their closeknit community, including King City Mayor, Steve Pellegrini: "On behalf of our Council, residents and businesses we welcome you to visit and consider King City and our Township asaplace to live and establish your roots for generations to come. Our friendly, rural, but vibrant community of communities provides endless opportunities to get involved and experience and enjoyaquality of life second to none." FAST FACTS
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