One Hastings project delayed, one approved
Councillors send crowded townhouse project back to developer
Grey Jay Developments had one revised project approved and one postponed by Trent Hills council on Tuesday.
Council deferred a decision on a Hastings development that several councillors have opposed because it doesn’t meet minimum lot requirements set out in the municipality’s bylaws.
Grey Jay, based in Peterborough, was seeking approval to go ahead with 20 townhouses and four semi-detached homes at 192 Front Street West in Hastings, former site of an auction/dance hall.
Council was asked to approve a plan of condominium and a zoning change for the site but during the meeting on Tuesday it became clear that four councillors – Rob Pope, Rick English, Daniel Giddings, and Dennis Savery – had issues with that plan because it would allow a home with a back yard that is only 5.5 feet (1.7 metres) deep, far less than the six metres (19.7 feet) set out in the bylaw.
Planner Cameron Law argued that the home’s yard would back onto a wide driveway and wouldn’t overlook another home. He seemed to miss the fact that councillors doubted anyone would want a home with such a tiny backyard.
Deputy Mayor Mike Metcalf suggested that the municipality needs to consider allowing small lots and greater density in order to keep home prices lower.
“It’s not a precedent that I want to set,” Pope said earlier when he led off opposition to the idea.
“We have heritage to protect, and this would be setting a precedent,” Giddings said.
Realizing the project was headed for defeat, Planning Director Jim Peters suggested, “maybe we could go back to the developer rather than put this to a yay or nay.”
All councillors voted in favour of deferring a decision until the next meeting. Mayor Bob Crate and Councillor Gene Brahaney were absent Tuesday.
Grey Jay’s other project was its plan to redevelop the White Building and tannery lands on Front Street. It was seeking to change the designation of those properties from employment areas to mixed use and rezone them to residential
Amanda Timmermans, Intermediate Land Use Planner, with D.M. Wills Associates Ltd. made a presentation to council about the Tannery Redevelopment Project.
She started off by noting that her firm just got involved in the project last fall after a previous consultant neglected to attend a municipal public hearing on the plan. The municipality pushed the developer to hold another public session last week in Hastings to listen to any concerns.
Timmermans pointed out that the original plan had been to designate the lands residential instead of mixed use, which under provincial law would have allowed six-storey wooden buildings. After hearing opposition to such tall structures and requests for commercial or office space, the company was requesting a mixed-use designation.
The first phase will be adding a third floor atop the White Building and creating 36 rental units.
Plans for the tannery site will depend on the results of several reports that are required to determine the floodplain, and environmental and pollution issues, given the historic use of the land. The current plan calls for 205 condo units in two buildings but that is very much up in the air.
“Phase 2 and 3 remain flexible in terms of unit designs and numbers – will depend on the community needs and market trends at the time of development,” her presentation said.
Law said under the municipality’s bylaws any building could be 12 metres high, about three or four storeys.
$100,000 office renos
Council approved a plan spend $100,000 to shift offices around and improve the heating and ventilation systems on the second floor of the municipal office on Front Street South.
Chief Administrative Officer Karen Frigault said the goal was to improve use of the space and allow staff to be closer to those they interact with the most often, instead of being on different floors.
A couple of tiny washrooms will also be expanded to make them more usable.
As well, under the current set up staff of the building department who are often out doing inspections have large offices. They will be getting less space, freeing up more room for those who currently work in tiny cubicles.
Painting the Toad
Pamela Searle, owner of the Toasty Toad café at 47 Bridge Street East in Campbellford, location of the former Master Sub, will get $5,000 to help pay the $12,000 cost of painting, brick repairs and new signage. The money will come from the Community Improvement Plan.
Not 570 pages, just 512
A story I wrote yesterday said the agenda for Tuesday’s meeting was 570 pages long but there seemed to be some duplication.
Frigault said some pages had been duplicated when the agenda was compiled. So, in the interest of accuracy, the agenda is 512 pages. You can read it all here.
I’ll have more stories once I rest up.
You can read all Trent Hills News stories on my website here.