Please , take the time to consider our future homes and the wildlife around us. The neighbourhood is quiet and full of natural surroundings and there is a big worry about the new development being considerably higher that the other homes in the area. I back onto the green space and I am worried about the noise, the over use of the land for the wildlife, the over use of the tiny park on Milson Cresent. I beautiful area will be scared when looking at a 4 story apartment building and no parking for these people to put their cars. They will be parking on Milson Cres. and on Doune yRd. and what will they do in the winter during snow removal time. How will garbage be dealt with? The school busses willl be an issue and the schools are packed.
We have had deer live in the back, and many wild birds and animals that depend on the water wet land that is in the middle of this conservation land, NOW this will change, the apartment is planning to be VERY CLOSE to the water when it floods out in the spring, and every year it has been different depending on the snow fall. This apartment will b too close to the water. How much study has gone into this and how it will damage the wildlife, plus if I was to live there I wold be worried about flooding of the area. If it is being built up , how is it going to affect the flow of the water and change its movement affecting the other residents in the surrounding green space area.??
My family moved here to live with nature but still be part of Guelph, we love the city and were born and raised here. We LOVE the VALUES and STANDARDS that CITY represents. We hope you consider the environmental aspects of what this will do to the area. We do not mind the land being developed, but we would like to see it not be higher that the homes In the area. We moved here for this reason and for the quiet peace of nature. It hurts to see very old trees being torn down and a heritage home being surrounded by more cramped living space. This is not what this city is , or has been and I hope it sticks to it’s high standards of quality of life for the people that choose to live in the area. Please consider the area, and just like the idea that nothing can be build higher that the church of OUR Lady down town, please put a zoning level that allows only buildings of the same height as the surrounding area residents of the Kortright Hills neighbourhood.
Please note the many concerns below:
The property includes a wedge of land identified by the City of Guelph as “lands with one of the following: locally significant wetlands, significant wood lots, natural corridor or linkage”, and is adjacent to a Provincially Significant Wetland, a wildlife corridor, and a major green space that connects to other green spaces in the City of Guelph. I am concerned that the documentation submitted by the developer does not address the critical issues involved in construction in such a sensitive and important environment. The developer is proposing eliminating 241 of the 256 trees on the development site, and requesting special exemption so that the development can be even denser than standard zoning allows with less landscaping that required. What is now a beautiful property full of mature trees will become a barren wasteland of paved road, parking lots and concrete sidewalks.
Groundwater from portions of the property will drain directly onto the meadow and wetlands that are adjacent to the property. Since most of the property will be covered with impenetrable buildings, roads, parking spots, driveways and sidewalks, a great deal of runoff will be generated and this may have a deleterious effect on the adjacent meadow and wetlands.The developer is asking for special zoning for the eastern portion of the property because of the right-of-way required by the high-pressure natural gas pipeline that runs across the property. The basement walls of the proposed apartment building will directly abut the easement, and construction so close to the gas pipeline poses a significant risk to the entire neighbourhood as a single accident could result in a cataclysmic explosion.
The developer’s plans appear incomplete as they show a setback of 6 metres for the townhouses, but he then requests permission to build the front of the townhouse within 3 metres of the sidewalk.
The developer is requesting permission to allow “an attached or detached garage to be located within the rear yard” of the houses on Downey Road, but the plans do not reflect this. This form is completely inconsistent with the neighbourhood as there are no homes in this area with rear garages.
The developer is requesting minimum setback far less that permitted in current zoning standards. This will contribute to shadowing and magnify the dominance of these buildings over the existing neighbourhood.
The developer is requesting smaller lot sizes and less landscaped area than current zoning requires. The density of this development is completely inconsistent with the existing neighbourhood.
While the developer is claiming that the existing house will be retained, the proposal is requesting zoning changes to allow splitting the house into four separate apartments. This is inconsistent with the existing neighbourhood.
The property has a difference in elevation of 5.5 metres, and the developer mentions adding fill to the east side of the property. Where will this fill come from and what efforts will the developer make to contain dust and runoff during construction.
Adding fill to the east side of the property will increase the prominence of the apartment building even more. To what the developer calls a “four storey apartment”, there is added lower level parking, a roof, and the height of the fill. The “four storey apartment” quickly approached the height and dominance of a six storey apartment building
These points above prove that there are a lot of issues that need to be addressed before going ahead and approving the plan for what the builder wants for his flexibility. Please consider all of them, this is the future of our neighbourhood and you are the future planners of this GREAT city and we want to keep it great!YOU ARE THE LEADERS OF THIS GREAT CITY, THAT CARE ABOUT THE ENVIRONMENT, THE HERITAGE AND THE WAY THE CITY LOOKS TO THE PUBLIC. PLEASE KEEP UP THE STANDARDS YOU BELIEVE IN. I live here because you have kept this city a great place to raise a family and a place that lives up to high standards of living NO MATTER who tells you otherwise.
PLEASE COME AND SEE THE DAMAGE THE HIGH 4 STORY APARTMENT WOULD DO TO THE PEOPLE AND WILDLIFE THAT LIVE THERE NOW. KW