More density and commercial opportunities could be coming to Bradford’s south end.
Town planner Madeline Luker made a presentation from staff, followed by another by KLM Planning’s Tim Schilling on behalf of property owner Bradford Capital Holdings Inc., about an application for a zoning bylaw amendment as part of plans to build a three-storey mixed-use building on the south side of Line 6, about 125 metres west of Simcoe Road, during a Nov. 28 special council meeting.
Bradford Capital is planning for the building to include 12 commercial units on the ground floor and a total of 12 residential units on the second and third floors, which would require the property officially known as Block 404, Plan 51M-1063, to be rezoned from Future Development (FD) to Neighbourhood Commercial Exception (C2*X), according to a report from Luker.
The commercial units are each proposed to be between 62 and 66 square metres for a total of 768 sq. m of commercial space, and each of the 12 residential units are proposed to be about 126 sq. m with the exception of the end units which are proposed to be about 130 sq. m. Each residential unit is also planned to include a balcony of four square metres.
Councillors were largely supportive of the plan to add density and commercial spaces to the area.
Ward 7 Coun. Peter Dykie said he’s had positive feedback from residents about the idea of community commercial and asked if the units would be condominiums or if the building would be single-owner with units rented out, but Schilling wasn’t certain if that had been finalized yet.
Recalling the feedback he received while campaigning in the area, Deputy Mayor Raj Sandhu said many residents were frustrated at the distances they needed to go just to purchase something as simple as a bag of milk, and expected this development would help resolve the issue.
“This is a perfect spot in my mind,” he said.
Mayor James Leduc praised the larger size of the residential units for the possibility of having more bedrooms to create more rental options for families.
“That’s what we critically need in our community is rentals,” he said.
The building is planned to have a gross floor area of about 2,603 sq. m, which is planned to be serviced by a driveway with two access points along Line 6. It would curve around behind the building and provide access to 51 parking spaces — including two barrier free spots — as well as one loading area and 10 interior bicycle storage spots.
The residential units are proposed to be independent from the commercial units with separate entrances on the east side of the building, with retail entrances on both the east and west sides.
Specific exceptions requested by the owner include
- Allowing residential units on the second and third floor that are not accessory to the ground-floor commercial units.
- Barring a day nursery from being permitted in the commercial units.
- Reducing the minimum number of required parking spaces to 51, despite the town’s zoning bylaw requiring a total of 61.
Those parking restrictions drew criticism from some councillors, including Ward 3 Coun. Ben Verkaik. He was skeptical 51 parking spaces would be enough.
Schilling suggested parking wouldn’t be an issue because most customers would be visiting the businesses during the day while most residents were out at work, allowing some spots to pull double duty; however, Ward 4 Coun. Joseph Giordano disagreed, saying he had experience with a similar building in Vaughan and claimed many businesses are open until 8 or 9 p.m., when people are coming home from work.
“The parking ... it was a disaster,” he said.
Leduc believes the parking be fine, so long as more people take advantage of the public transit route that runs on Line 6.
“We need to get people to understand that we have a bus service,” he said.
This property sits across the street from the Bradford Valley Care Community and a stormwater detention pond but is otherwise currently surrounded by low-density single-detached homes.
However, the property is also in the Bradford Urban Area and designated Residential Built Up in the official plan, which supports a range of low-, medium- and high-density residential uses, as well as neighbourhood commercial uses such as convenience stores, personal service establishments and small-scale eateries.
In response to a question from Ward 1 Coun. Cheraldean Duhaney about the proposed location compared to the property on the south-east corner of Line 6 and Inverness Way, Leduc reminded council that only residential uses were permitted on that corner property as the result of a ruling by the Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT).
Luker said that of the external agencies and town departments that have provided comment, so far none have expressed concerns or objections to the application; however, Schilling noted that other comments were still being received by KLM Planning including from the County of Simcoe and the Lake Simcoe Regional Conservation Authority.
At the time of the meeting, only one resident had submitted comments about the application. They shared concerns about impacts on their property value and privacy at 40 Cayton Cres., and the uses of the commercial spaces on the ground floor.
Ward 6 Coun. Nickolas Harper emphasized the need for fencing around the property to maintain privacy for neighbours and cut down on noise disturbances; Ward 2 Coun. Jonathan Scott wants fencing and landscaping to keep garbage storage and collection out of sight.
No members of the public made comments during the meeting.
Staff will provide a report on the matter to council at a future date.
Anyone interested in providing comment or being notified about the development can email [email protected].
