Bradford residents, councillors and even a neighbouring developer all had plenty to say about plans for the eastern section of field that has sat vacant for decades at the corner of Holland Street West and Professor Day Drive.
Priscilla Lan, town planner, made a presentation from staff followed by another from Michael Smith of Michael Smith Planning Consultants, on behalf of Mod-Aire Homes, about their application for zoning bylaw amendment and draft plan of subdivision as part of plans to build a subdivision with 72 semi-detached houses and 93 townhouses, plus a park, stormwater pond and two mixed-used buildings, during the special council meeting on Tuesday evening, Feb. 27.
To facilitates all that, Mod-Aire has applied for a zoning bylaw amendment to rezone the property from neighbourhood commercial (C2) to residential two (R2-1), residential two with exceptions, core commercial with exceptions (C1), open space (OS) and open space with exceptions.
The 7.43-hectare property is currently an open field bordered by fully-detached homes to the north and east, Holland Street West to the south and a hydro corridor plus more open field to the west.
Nearby residents turned out to express concern over how the new development would impact the existing detached homes along the north and east of the property.
One such resident, Cheryl Fryer, worried about the impacts of heavy truck traffic, noise and dust during construction, how displaced wildlife could affect homeowners and how building over an existing pond could redirect water to nearby homes.
“I’m counting on you, our mayor, to make sure it gets done right,” Fryer said in reference to the strong mayor powers the province provided Bradford last year and the housing targets that came with them.
Those concerns were echoed by several other residents, including Patricia Nash, who felt the semi-detached units along the north and east would be too close and too tall to abut the existing properties.
“We’re all bungalows on Thornton (Avenue), so they’re going to be peering into our yards. The semis will be towering over the yards,” she said, noting potential loss of both privacy and sunlight.
Mod-Aire requested to reduce rear-yard setbacks to just seven metres from the required 7.5 m, and Smith confirmed those units would be three storeys tall.
However, he explained the semis would still be no more than 11 metres tall, which is the maximum height permitted for semis in the town’s zoning bylaw (R2-1). That’s still shorter than the maximum height of 15 m which is permitted with similar setbacks for neighbourhood commercial (C2) for which the property is already zoned.
While he still encouraged larger setbacks, resident Tim Preager felt the height may not be as much of an issue, given the property is at a lower elevation than the existing homes. However, when Ward 5 Coun. Peter Ferragine later asked if there are plans to alter the elevation, community planning manager Alan Wiebe said that had yet to be determined.
Ferragine also cautioned against reduced parking minimums, an option he regularly opposes.
“Parking is always one of the biggest issues we have in this town in any subdivision and this is no different,” he said.
Both Fryer and Nash shared concerns about increased traffic and demand for on-street parking on nearby residential streets, with Mark Hodsdon worrying that having only one way in and out of the new development will make an existing intersection at Holland Street West and Miller Park Avenue even worse.
“It’s bad enough now, but you’re just creating more trouble,” he said.
Ward 6 Coun. Nickolas Harper later asked to have a set of traffic lights considered for the intersection, from which a new road is planned to extend north into the new subdivision before turning west and aligning with the signalized intersection at the entrance of Bradford District High School on Professor Day Drive.
However, the property is divided by a hydro corridor and the portion on the west side is not owned by Mod-Aire Homes, but instead by Millford Development Limited, and representative Frank Orsi was present to warn council that plans for their portion had not been determined yet.
As a result, the western extension of that new road and other suggested features in Mod-Aire’s plans might never come to be, and Orsi cautioned council to only consider Mod-Aire’s designs in determining approval for the bylaw amendment.
Where the new road connects with Holland Street West would also be the main access for the two mixed-use buildings, with one on either side, and both fronting Holland Street West with commercial space on the ground floor and parking lots behind.
The western building is planned to be eight storeys with 91 residences and 205 parking spots (72 surface and 133 below ground), whereas the eastern building is planned to be five storeys with 36 residences and 90 parking spots (25 surface and 65 below ground).
In addition to residents’ concerns about shadows and adequate parking spaces, Fryer also worried about the safety of having people live in an eight-storey building right beside high-voltage wires and transmission towers.
In response to a question from Ward 4 Coun. Joseph Giordano, Smith said he wasn’t sure if residential units would be apartments of condos, because they are set to be built in a future phase by a different developer.
That didn’t sit well with councillors.
Giordano said he was “extremely disappointed,” Ward 3 Coun. Ben Verkaik added long-time residents have been waiting for commercial development since a mall was proposed in the 1980s (but never came to be), and Ward 7 Coun. Peter Dykie reminded Smith that “it’s not going to get cheaper” to build with the way inflation has been trending.
Mayor James Leduc echoed the desire to see the mixed-use buildings developed sooner, but said he is “excited about this development,” calling it “a density we can live with.”
While plenty of other concerns were raised about landscaping, floor plans, exterior features, and architecture as well as park size, amenities and access, Smith explained those would be addressed in the more detailed site plan, which would only come if the zoning amendments are approved.
Based on the feedback from the meeting, staff will provide a report and recommendation to council at a future date.
Anyone interested in providing comment or being notified about the development can email Lan at [email protected], or mail Priscilla Lan, planner, Town of Bradford West Gwillimbury Office of Community Planning, 305 Barrie St., Unit 2, P.O. Box 419, Bradford, Ont., L3Z 2A9.
