For two and a half hours, the Feb. 6 Committee of the Whole heard from 16 written public comments and eight delegations regarding a request by developer Johnsson Studio for a bylaw amendment to convert a property at 336 Appleby Line from an R2 single-family lot (low density residential) to an R4 designation (maximum four storeys, four units, residential).
Currently, a single detached home with a driveway off of Appleby is on the lot. The developers want to build a semi-detached dwelling, two storeys in height, that fronts onto Cottonwood Drive with two parking spaces per unit, for a total of four parking spaces.
The matter of parking off Cottonwood addresses the concern of having multiple vehicles exiting onto Appleby. At the same time, moving the parking access to Cottonwood potentially risks the removal of two mature trees (one on city property), to which some residents voiced objection.
In response to this concern, a representative of the developer could not confirm whether or not the trees would be removed. Rather, it would be subject to further discussions with the city.
A virtual pre-application community meeting (a relatively new innovation by Burlington) to present the original proposal was held on Dec. 8, 2022. However, delegations noted that after that meeting, on hearing the public’s concerns, the developers ignored their suggestions and made no changes to their proposal.
Among the concerns brought up by residents, including a group calling itself Active Community Network (ACT), were issues such as the cutting down of the trees impacting the low tree canopy coverage in the city; the perceived height of the structure and privacy issues; the lack of notice of a recent comment period, given that it came during the December holiday weeks with limited staff availability; concerns about stormwater run-off given the mass of the new structure and the history of flooding in the area (the last flood event was in 2014); the change in neighbourhood character, which is currently of single-home lots; the notice sign (as required) was located on the side of the building (on Cottonwood) rather than on the front-facing Appleby Line side; a concern that conceptual drawings of the planned structure showed exterior staircases that could indicate the internal expansion to four units (now available to developers as a condition of the recent $21 million grant from the federal government); and the increased level of traffic to and from the residence.
City planner Mariana Da Silva made a presentation to council outlining the zoning amendment request needed to accommodate the new development. Da Silva explained that the current Official Plan allowed for minor variations allowing an increase in density per hectare. She also noted that the application is subject to the Provincial Policy Statement and A Place to Grow guidelines (and other regulations) that recommend the city embrace higher density to accommodate the planned increase in population.
A delegation by representatives on behalf of Johnsson Studio made a more detailed presentation and presented the rationale for the necessary changes, citing the need for more affordable housing and intensification of residences to accommodate provincial housing targets.
In the end, city staff reported: “At this time, public and technical comments have been received, and a fulsome review and analysis has been completed based on the applicable planning policies,” and that “Planning staff therefore recommends the approval of the application with the inclusion of a holding provision under the amending bylaw.”
A holding provision requires further discussion between the city’s planning department and the developer to address one or more issues. In this case, the main sticking point was the removal of the two trees.
Once that issue is resolved, and any other minor issues dealt with, council will then make a final decision to approve or not approve an amendment to the zoning on this particular property.
Committee of the Whole approved the zoning bylaw amendment application for the property located at 336 Appleby Line to permit one semi-detached dwelling of two storeys in height fronting onto Cottonwood Drive.
For more specific details on this development visit www.burlington.ca/336appleby. Other developments under consideration by the city are also listed at www.burlington.ca/Modules/News/en/Development.
