Residents of a Bradford neighbourhood are worried about what could happen if a developer is allowed to put 41 new homes on a nearby property that’s just .75 hectares.
More than 150 people packed into the Don Harrison Auditorium at the Bradford and District Memorial Community Centre on Tuesday for a public planning meeting about three different proposals, including plans to convert a single property into a block of townhouses off an existing cul-de-sac at the end of Milligan Street.
That didn’t sit well with nearby residents, a group of whom submitted a petition with 58 signatures opposing the development based on concerns about disturbance from construction, traffic increases, pedestrian safety, loss of privacy, environmental impacts, and potential declines in property values.
Emile Ng said he lives across from the site and couldn’t fathom adding a development with about three times the density of the surrounding neighbourhood.
“It doesn’t make any sense,” he said. “It’s insane.”
According to a report and presentation from Mana Masoudi, senior planner for the town, 1000468270 Ontario Inc. is proposing a new block of 41 townhouses at 2856 Line 6.
Based on plans and a presentation from Madelaine Gutelius and Marshall Smith, of KLM Planning Partners Inc., that’s set to include 23 rear-lane townhouses and 18 front-loaded townhouses — all three storeys tall and 4.5 metres wide with about 142 square metres (1,530 square feet) of interior space.
That height was a “huge concern” for several residents, including Ken Watt, who explained the proposed site already has a higher elevation than the surrounding properties, to the point where the headlights from a car in the existing driveway off Line 6 are roughly level with one of his second-storey windows.
“They’re going to build these townhomes so high, we’re not even going to see the sun,” said a woman identified as Sonia. “There will be no privacy.”
Ward 1 Coun. Cheraldean Duhaney represents the area and thanked the residents for their petition.
“I am really not in favour of the 41 homes,” she said, adding she opposes connecting the new block to Milligan Street. “It’s just not realistic.”
That was echoed by Deputy Mayor Raj Sandhu, who didn’t think the 204 square metres of shared outdoor space proposed on the southwest portion of the property would be enough for all the homes.
Each unit is expected to have two resident parking spaces for a total of 82 and another 21 spaces for visitors. Even though that exceeds the town’s requirement, Ward 5 Coun. Peter Ferragine didn’t think it would be enough, and felt the garages would be too small for most vehicles.
“Everybody’s going to park on Milligan. It’s going to happen. We’ve seen it everywhere,” he said.
While he acknowledged the property is currently zoned for eventual development, he suggested it would be better suited to a more typical residential court with 10 to 12 houses.
Several councillors agreed, and asked the developer to reduce the total density to help the project better blend with the surrounding two-storey detached homes and provide better quality of life for residents.
Gutelius explained the plan was intended to take advantage of existing services, including the BWG Transit route along Line 6, as well as nearby parks, schools, and the Holland Street shopping area about a 1.3-kilometre straight-line distance away.
The new block is planned to be a private condominium, but Smith explained the roads are still designed to accommodate typical emergency vehicles and garbage trucks.
Charlie Shaw lives in the area and said, as a former volunteer firefighter, there might not be enough room to properly use the fire engines.
In response to a traffic study that found the new homes will only result in an extra 16 automotive trips each morning, Shaw said, “I think we’re dreaming.”
He and others suggested the access point for the new block should be off Line 6, similar to the driveway for the existing home.
The new block is also planned to have a private stormwater system with storage tanks to hold runoff until it can be released into the town’s storm sewers, which worried residents who said they had already needed to hire contractors to deal with drainage issues.
In order to make the development happen, 1000468270 Ontario Inc. is asking for a zoning bylaw amendment to have the property rezoned from future development to residential two with exceptions to increase the maximum height to 13 metres from the current 11 metres, as well as approvals for site plans and a draft plan of subdivision.
Located on the north side of Line 6, east of West Park Avenue, the property has about 91 metres of frontage on Line 6, according to the report.
Currently on the property is a two-storey detached home listed on the town’s heritage register but not yet designated under the Ontario Heritage Act.
Council is not expected to make a decision until after staff provide a report based on both the public feedback and the developer’s response.
Until council does make a decision, residents can still request information or provide feedback about planning files D14-25-03 (zoning bylaw amendment), D12-25-03 (draft plan of subdivision) or D11-25-01 (site plan), contacting the office of community planning at 905-778-2055, ext. 1406, or [email protected].