The subject property is located in the Victoriaview subdivision which was Draft Plan approved in July of 2005 and registered as Plan 61M-137 on February 19, 2007. The site is the only multiple residential site in the subdivision and it is zoned R.3A which either allows cluster or stacked townhouses. The planning and approvals for this block were done at the same time as the rest of the subdivision.
Since July of 2007 staff have been dealing with a site plan application for this property. I can’t comment on what Reid’s Uptown Homes might have promised the neighbourhood (47 high end cluster towns) but the site has always been zoned for either cluster or stacked townhouses. At the encouragement of City staff to try and increase the density of the project and in keeping with Places to Grow and our growth management strategy, the developer is planning to build a stacked townhouse development. At this time, 122 stacked townhouses are proposed.
The status of this project is that is has received conditional site plan approval. The main condition is that the project does require several zoning variances which need to be approved in order for formal SPA to be issued. The variances were the subject of the C of A meeting last night. Therefore, all of the technical issues with the project raised by the e-mail below (e.g. snow removal, traffic impact, emergency access) have all been sorted out to the satisfaction of City Staff during site plan review. Staff are pleased with the design.
The application last night was deferred by the chair even before the application or any resident had a chance to speak due to the fact that there were several errors in the original notice. It is important that proper notice be provided and in my view the chair did the correct thing so as not jeoparize the decision being appealed on a technicality (i.e. improper notice). This was not a stalling technique.
The deferral was ‘sinedie” meaning that the application or a modified version can come back any time within the next year without paying for a new application fee.
As I understand the situation, one of the primary issues from the neighbourhood is traffic impact on Carere Crescent and Atto Drive. This access was always contemplated by Staff at the time the subdivision was approved, as there is a 0.3 metre reserve along Woodlawn Road which was one of the conditions of the subdivision approval recommended by Engineering. Therefore, at this time legal access is not available from Woodlawn Road. Notwithstanding the reserve, it is also my understanding that the applicant will be examining providing a direct access to Woodlawn Road oppositve Muskoka Drive as part of a redesign of the project. This would obviously be subject to staff review. Staff