Posted On: February 26, 2025, Posted By: Lisa Queen, YorkRegion.com, Original Article.
Aurora Mayor Tom Mrakas is indicating he may use his strong mayor powers to override Tuesday night’s council decision to pave the way for a controversial men’s emergency and transitional housing shelter at 14452 Yonge St.
In a notice sent out to councillors on Wednesday, Mrakas asked them to “please accept this as notice of my intent to consider vetoing part of the confirming bylaw, specifically the decision regarding the Request that York Region Resubmit the Application for a Men’s Shelter at 14452 Yonge Street, that was adopted at the February 25, 2025 Council meeting.”
Mrakas’s notice came following Tuesday night’s reversal of fortune, which saw council pass a motion to ask the Region of York to resubmit its application for the shelter.
That came after a year ago, when council voted against the controversial location in a split 4-3 vote.
It was another 4-3 split vote again Tuesday night.
Only this time, Coun. John Gallo, who had voted against the location in 2024 because there’s a sewage pumping station on the land, was successful in getting council to support his motion to ask the region to resubmit its plans.
“At its core, this is a matter of compassion, responsibility and community well-being,” he said.
“I can no longer allow the search for perfect to become the enemy of doing what’s right.”
For weeks, Gallo has been questioning why no new potential shelter locations have been brought forward, as directed by council a year ago.
“I’m well aware that my actions one year ago has delayed the provision of safe and stable shelter for our most vulnerable. I cannot change that decision. I truly felt I was doing the right thing,” he said.
“A shelter is not just a place to sleep. It is a foundation for rebuilding lives, fostering stability and helping individuals regain their independence.”
Concerns from some residents about the site continue.
For example, Mike Zelyony told council that while it’s important to be compassionate, the community has been put through enough over the facility.
Gallo said he’s committed to working with residents, staff and support agencies to ensure the shelter is properly integrated into the community.
Councillors Rachel Gilliland, Ron Weese and Wendy Gaertner supported Gallo, while Mayor Tom Mrakas and councillors Harold Kim and Michael Thompson voted against asking the region to resubmit its application.
Adam Mobbs, founder of Aurora Cares, Housing for All, a residents’ group created after the shelter site was rejected a year ago, was visibly moved following council’s decision Tuesday.
“I’m inspired. We saw our community come together to support people who truly need help,” he said, praising councillors who took a “tough stand” to move the proposed shelter forward.
“I know there’s still lots of work to be done but our community, they’re up for the job, they’re up for the fight and they’re up for bringing something forward because it’s worth it.”
During the meeting, Mobbs urged councillors to help York Region’s most vulnerable residents.
“Many people in our country are in trouble. We see them struggling around us. We see them, keep walking and we tell our kids to do the same. We sometimes pretend they don’t exist. But they do. They exist here, in Aurora. I see them, because I see choose to see them,” he said.
“People in trouble can rebuild themselves with some help. Some real help that sets them up to rejoin their communities as people with dignity and pride.
Mobbs argued Mrakas and council had initially indicated their support for the shelter site in 2021, before there was an outcry from some residents leading up to the 2024 vote.
“I was proud of (Mrakas’s) leadership in 2021, today I am not,” he said.
Mobbs also pointed out that following last year’s rejection of the site, the Ontario Human Rights Commission wrote the town to say people’s fear of homeless residents is not a legal reason basis for planning decisions and warned denying the project may be discriminatory.
The last emergency housing Aurora approved was Yellow Brick House for abused women and their children 47 years ago, said Aurora Cares member, Kimberley McLean.
“Over the past several years, regional emergency and transitional housing needs have been addressed primarily in Newmarket, followed by East Gwillimbury and Richmond Hill. Aurora has put forth nothing, in spite of its commitment to do so. We expected and deserved a result,” she said.
“Aurora has not done its share.”
Resident Steve Fleck spoke about encountering a homeless man as he walked home last winter at 1 a.m. follow council’s rejection of the site.
“I thought it rather ironic and cruel that in the warm and comfortable confines of this chamber, his fate about the possibility of finding a warm place to sleep that night with professional help available to him on-site to help him get his life back in order had been denied,” he said.
“Meanwhile the general crisis in housing and homelessness in York Region and Aurora becomes worse by the month.”
Last year, Michael Braithwaite, CEO of Blue Door, the largest provider of emergency housing and support services in York Region, which hopes to operate the shelter, called a public outcry against the facility and council’s rejection of the site “NIMBYism at its worst.”
He was thrilled with Tuesday night’s vote.
“It’s incredible to see the community stand up and push forward to say that Aurora is not a community for some but for all,” he said.