The size of a proposed development on the city's western fringe may have gotten smaller, but the concerns about it don't seem to have.
Armel Corp. has proposed Paisley Park for 361 Whitelaw Rd., a 17-acre vacant property bordered by Whitelaw and Paisley roads.
The public meeting on a revised proposal was held last night at city council's planning meeting.
No decision was made.
Originally proposed for 800 units, the high and medium density development has been scaled down to 700 units, including four apartment buildings eight or nine stories tall, two six-storey apartment buildings and 128 stacked, back-to-back townhouses.
A 3.5-acre park on the development's southern tip is also part of the proposal.
It would have three access points, two off Whitelaw Road and one off Paisley Road.
The applicant is seeking an Official Plan amendment and a zoning bylaw amendment.
Delegate Hugh Whiteley expressed concerns about the effect the development would have on traffic volume in the area and recommended traffic calming measures on Whitelaw Road between Fife Road and Shoemaker Crescent be required. Whitely recommended the city actually look at closing Whitelaw Road at the southern end of the development, as a traffic calming measure.
Ward 4 councillor Christine Billings had several questions including ones about the reduction in parking requirements in the proposal, something city staff said the developer asked for because of an expected lack of demand.
Several councillors mentioned the parking shortfall, which coun. Bob Bell said was about 100 spots short of what the proposal called for under current zoning.\
Hugh Handy, representing Armel Corp., said the apartment building parking was 60 spots short of what is required.
He said he is aware that there are "pressure points" on council worried about parking spilling into the adjacent neighbourhood.
Area resident Gerry Johnston echoed parking concerns.
"That's one of the big problems," Johnston said, adding concerns about wildlife being disrupted.
His wife Kathy Johnston said "there seems at this point there's a lot of questions we don't have answered to. That needs to be addressed."
Paul McNamara called the zoning changes being requested "significant."
"This raises the question of how much intensification is too much?" McNamara said, adding up all the high density units added and proposed for the neighbourhood in recent years.
Concerns expressed by council, delegates and letters will be part of the review staff will now do before coming back in the future with a recommendation.