Mayor Steve Hammell called the public meeting to order at 9:30 a.m. He stated that the purpose of the public meeting was to consider a proposed Zoning By-law Amendment for Tyler Becker. The property is located at 88 5th Ave S.W. in Chesley.
Rebecca Elphick, Planner for the County of Bruce, attended the meeting and presented her report.
She noted that the application proposes to rezone the property, municipally referred to as 88 5th Avenue, Chesley, from R3-3 to a site specific R3 zone to permit the development of a five-unit cluster townhouse at the rear of the property. If approved, the proposed amendment would reduce the setback between a townhouse and lot line from 7.5 to 1.5 m, reduce the minimum Gross Floor Area per unit to 75 m2, revise the definition of Cluster Townhouse, and would allow more than one main building per lot. The existing six unit dwelling at the front of the site would be retained.
The subject lands are located within the Chesley urban settlement area on the west side of 5th Avenue, south of 2nd Street. The subject lands are approximately 0.3 hectares in size with approximately 32 metres of frontage along 5th Avenue and slopes up in grade as you approach the rear of the site. The lands are surrounded by low density residential to the south and Chesley Heritage Trail and agricultural uses to the west, low density residential and the North Saugeen River to the north and low density residential to the east. It should be noted that there is an approximately 11 m wide parcel which separates the subject property from the Chesley Heritage Trail owned by the adjacent property owner to the south. No development is proposed on that parcel of land and it remains wooded.
The northwestern corner of the site is located within the Saugeen Valley Conservation Authority regulated area.
The proposal will be developed on full municipal and water services.
Comments were received from the following agencies:
- Saugeen Valley Conservation Authority: The application is acceptable to SVCA staff.
- Historic Saugeen Metis (HSM): The Historic Saugeen Métis (HSM) Lands, Waters and Consultation Department has reviewed the relevant documents and has no opposition or objection to the proposed Zoning By-Law Amendment as presented.
- Saugeen Ojibway Nation (SON): SON confirmed that given the extensive disturbance on the site, only a very small component, if any, would benefit from an archaeological assessment. Therefore, an archaeological assessment is not required at this time but SON has advised the applicant that should any archeological resources be revealed in the future, to contact SON immediately.
- Arran-Elderslie Building Department: No comments.
- Public Works: It is expected that this proposal will require another water and sewer service connection as it is unlikely that existing services will be sufficient to service both buildings on site. The property owner will be required to pay for any upgrades that are required for their needs (if that means paying for a set of new water and sewer services) at our existing prices.
Staff response: This comment will be addressed at the site plan and building permit stage.
Public Comments:
A total of eight comments were received from neighbouring landowners and the comments are attached in full. Below is a summary of the comments received:
1. There were concerns raised regarding the ownership of the adjacent rail line lands, which were illustrated as included within the property in the County’s mapping.
2. There were concerns raised regarding the reduced rear yard and side yard setbacks related to privacy, overlook and trespassing.
3. There were concerns related to the appearance of the existing 6-plex on the property and garbage and recycling being left on the property for days, sometimes weeks, after collection day.
4. There were concerns related to the proposed density and suitability of a cluster townhouse on the property.
5. There were concerns related to the location of the driveway and cutting down the century old maple trees to make room for it.
6. There were concerns raised about accessing/leaving the driveway due to its slope and how these issues are further amplified during the winter months.
Staff response:
• Regarding the adjacent former rail line: we have confirmed that there was an error on the online mapping system which illustrates that this parcel forms part of the subject property. The Zoning By-law Amendment only applies to the parcel of land owned by Mr. Becker and therefore the reduced 3.0 m setback to the rear lot line will be to the parcel of land which separates 88 5th Avenue to the rail line.
• Regarding the reduced side and rear yard setbacks: when reviewing requests to reduce the side yard setback staff typically consider whether the reduced setback will cause privacy/overlook concerns and whether there will be concerns
regarding drainage onto the adjacent property. For rear yard setbacks, we also consider whether there is sufficient amenity/open space for future residents. The existing 6-unit dwelling on the property (which is proposed to remain) is setback less than 1 metre from the property to the south and the proposed cluster townhouse will setback 1.5 metres from the property to the south and 3.0 m to the rear lot line. The suitability of the reduced yard setbacks will be evaluated in the future recommendation report once the updated grading plan has been reviewed.
• Regarding concerns about garbage and recycling pickup: these concerns cannot be addressed through the planning process as they relate to the Property Standards By-law. However, these concerns can be raised with by-law enforcement should they continue to arise. The waste management strategy for the new townhouse block will be evaluated through the future site plan approval process which will require the property owner to enter into an agreement to be registered on title and will require that they develop the property in accordance with that agreement.
• Regarding concerns about illegal activities: these concerns cannot be addressed through the planning process and should be raised with law enforcement.
• Regarding the concerns about density: The current site specific zoning permits a 6-unit dwelling on the property. The Official Plan permits townhouse and apartment dwellings on the property provided they do not exceed a density of 48
units per gross hectare. This proposal achieves a density of 34.2 units per gross hectare. When evaluating whether this medium density development should be permitted, the Official Plan requires consideration of compatibility, parking and
access, buffering, sufficient open space, landscaping, grading, stormwater management and servicing. The suitability of the additional 5-unit cluster townhouse is to be evaluated in the future recommendation report, once the updated grading plan has been received.
• Regarding the concerns about the driveway location and access: The access and design of the driveway location will be further explored through the site plan approval process. At this time, there have been no concerns identified by Public Works on the proposed driveway location, slope, or access.
The Mayor asked Members of Council if they had any questions.
Councillor Steinacker asked about the change in the setback and how it affects the subject property. He also asked about the increase in density on the property as well as proposed fencing.
Councillor Penner asked about the setback on the existing building. She asked who would be maintaining the property, if Mr. Becker is planning on fixing up the existing building and are these low income apartments?
Councillor Hampton had questions regarding drainage and grading. He feels this information is required for Council to make an informed decision. Is there a plan to connect to storm water for the units?
Deputy Mayor Shaw noted that the space that remains to have outdoor enjoyment on the property appears to be very limited for future tenants. There appears to be a lot of lot coverage. She asked if there was a splash pad proposed for the property. She asked the applicant how he would respond to the concerns of Council and the neighbours. Mr. Becker noted that he will be getting a dumpster on site for garbage. The front of the building has been looking rough and he is now renovating the existing building.
Councillor Nickason asked if there was any consideration regarding the garage located next door that appears to be right on the property line.
The Mayor asked if the applicant or agent were present and wished to make a submission.
Planner Vaishnan Muhunthan, of Cuesta Planning Consultants, made a presentation to Council. He presented the proposal to Council regarding the proposed 5-plex and his planning report. Mr. Becker is looking for senior citizens as future tenants. The property is already zoned with a site specific zoning having it zoned as medium density. Public works did not have any issues with the expansion of the driveway. There will be a fence between the property and the walking trail. They will provide a revised grading and drainage plan and increasing the setback to 3 m.
The Mayor asked if any members of the public wished to make a submission either in favour or opposed to the proposed application.
Chris Warnica expressed his concerns regarding the proposed application. He are concerned about the expansion of the units on the property. By approving this project, Council will be putting the financial gains of one person over that of the community. The project will enclose his lot and increase traffic. There is no room for people to park and will be worse when there are more units on the property. The development will have a negative impact on social structure as there is little upkeep on the property and they have had to add security cameras to their property. The structure will lower the value of the surrounding properties and increase the cost of emergency services and creating a negative tax revenue.
He noted that the tenants leave more garbage out than allowed. Garbage and recycling is left out and they now burn their garbage instead. He also noted that there has only been the absolute minimum to maintain it and it does not meet property standards. There are other lots that are able to support this type of development rather than this lot.
The Mayor asked the Clerk if any written submissions had been received. The Clerk noted that correspondence had been received from Brian Phillips which was forwarded to Planner Rebecca Elphick for inclusion in her planning report.
Tyler Becker noted that that existing neighbouring garage is located closed to the existing structure and the drainage off the new build would not affect it.
Steve Young confirmed that he agreed with Mr. Warnica's concerns.
The Clerk confirmed that she had received correspondence regarding this proposal and had forwarded it to Bruce County Planning for inclusion in the planning report.
Members of Council and the public were provided a final opportunity for questions prior to the closing of the public meeting.
The Mayor declared the public meeting closed at 10:22 a.m.
Council passed the following motion: