Despite numerous concerns about the impact on traffic and other things, city council unanimously approved a south end development featuring two six-storey buildings and 20 three-storey townhouses.
“This would be, probably, a major failure if this (motion of support) were to fail and go to the (Ontario Land Tribunal) because it is a staff recommendation to approve,” Mayor Cam Guthrie said ahead of the vote. “We are in a housing crisis and we need more housing, and we need this type of housing,” he noted. “This is the density that we need in an area that has been zoned for this.”
A variety of official plan and zoning amendments were approved for 1166-1204 Gordon St. on Tuesday evening, allowing the development to move ahead. Among them are increased permitted density (to 155 units max. per hectare from 100 max.) and lessened minimum lot area per unit (to 145 square metres each from 180 square metres each).
Several reductions are also approved for setbacks, buffer strips and common amenity areas, as well as increases for garage width.
“This revised plan is significantly better,” said Coun. Dominique O’Rourke, referring to three previous versions of the plan submitted to the city since 2022.
Among the key changes for her were enhancements to the site’s permeability, fewer townhouse blocks and increased amenity space.
“I was really pleased to see these concessions being made,” she said.
The site, which is located on the east side of Gordon between Landsdown Drive and Valley Road, is about 1.12 hectares in size and currently contains six houses, which are to be demolished.
In addition to the requested zoning and official plan amendments, council approved a motion calling on staff to conduct a study by the end of this year to determine if a pedestrian crosswalk is warranted on Landsdown – something Guthrie noted was “extremely rare” but has been done before.
“Frankly, it’s quite dangerous what’s taking place,” said Coun. Ken Yee Chew, referring to a combination of traffic volume on Gordon and people jaywalking to catch buses on the other side of the road. “There is a serious need for staff on the operational side to really look at this more holistically.”
Ahead of council’s vote, it heard concerns about traffic volume, pedestrian flow, noise and more from nearby residents, though the impact on traffic volume was raised most frequently.
“My greatest concern, and the one shared unanimously amongst everyone in the Landsdown community is traffic flow,” said Neil Parker, president of a neighbouring condo corporation. “We are adamant there has been insufficient analysis of the impact this … development will have on Landsdown Drive, which is a quiet, narrow two-lane street that serves precisely 64 detached homes.”
Lindsay Sulatycki, a senior development planner with the city, explained Landsdown was built to accommodate 450 vehicles per hour and this latest development isn’t expected to surpass that limit.
In addition to traffic volume itself, Parker and others noted issues with the steepness of Valley Road as it approaches Edinburgh Road. Not only is there a problem with vehicles losing grip when the road gets icy, Theresa M De Nardis noted the asphalt slid downhill when laid for the road.
In raising their concerns, numerous delegates and city council members pointed out the area’s ongoing intensification.
This is the fourth version of the development to be proposed, with the first submitted to city officials in May of 2022.
The original proposal called for two six-storey buildings with 134 units, along with 22 three-storey on-street townhouses divided into four blocks.
During a public meeting on that version of the plan, held in July 2022, nearby residents raised a variety of concerns, including the impact on local traffic, parking, privacy of existing homes, overflow parking, lack of green space and more.
The following May, the project was changed to include two six-storey buildings with 122 units and 21 townhouses in three blocks. A December revision took it back to four blocks of townhouses.
In the end, it returned to three blocks of townhouses.
