A developer is pushing to prevent a long-vacant field in Bradford’s urban area from sitting empty much longer.
Mod-Aire Homes Limited filed an appeal with the Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT) on Sept. 19, because they feel council has taken too long to make a decision about Mod-Aire’s proposed plans to develop two multi-storey buildings and a new subdivision near Professor Day Drive and Holland Street West.
That appeal came under sections 34(11) and 51(34) of the Planning Act, which only provide council 90 days to decide on zoning bylaw amendments and 120 days to decide on draft plans of subdivision respectively.
“We strive to enable timely advice and recommendations to town council within those timelines,” town community planning manager Alan Wiebe said in an email.
For the 90- and 120-day timelines, the clock starts ticking from the day the applications are deemed complete, and in this case that was Jan. 9, 2024.
Council held a public planning meeting about the proposed development on Feb. 27 last year, and Wiebe explained that prior to the appeal being filed, staff did not yet have an estimated timeline for their follow-up report to council, adding they were waiting on the developer to provide responses to comments on the proposal.
Various legislative requirements and planning policies impact just how quickly staff can prepare reports for council’s consideration.
For example, zoning bylaw amendments require public meetings, and Wiebe explained the Planning Act generally requires municipalities to determine if an application is complete within 30 days, provide notice of complete application within another 15 days and provide at least 20 days notice for the public meeting.
In addition to comments from council and the public, provincial planning policies generally require developers to provide studies or documents on a range of fields such as transportation, engineering, architecture, natural heritage and geoscience. Planning staff then circulate those to experts in town departments and external agencies (such as conservation authorities) for review and feedback.
Previously, the province allowed more time for staff to complete their work and for councils to make decisions before developers could appeal a non-decision. However, between 2017 and 2019 the province changed the deadlines for zoning bylaw amendments from 150 to 90 days, and for draft plans of subdivision from 180 to 120 days.
While planning staff use those timelines to inform workflows and schedules, the town has already faced other appeals of non-decision under the new deadlines, according to Wiebe.
“As service providers, we continually seek out and welcome opportunities to improve responsiveness and service delivery,” he said.
The 7.43-hectare property for the proposed development (officially known as part of Block 107 on Plan 51M-271) 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.
The plans for the eastern portion of the field previously included 72 semi-detached houses and 93 townhouses, but in Mod-Aire’s notice of appeal, that is updated to 64 semi-detached houses and 107 townhouses.
Plans also include a park, stormwater pond and two mixed-used buildings — one eight storeys and one five storeys — with commercial on the ground floor fronting Holland Street and about 127 apartments above.
While the appeal transfers the decision making authority from the town to the OLT, Wiebe explained staff are still permitted to continue work on the file and discussions with the developer including technical reviews of any submission materials.
As part of the reason in Mod-Aire’s notice of appeal, they emphasize that the proposed development would “facilitate the intensification of an underutilized site” and “create a mix of new housing opportunities to support the creation of a complete community.”
However, council didn’t seem to take issue with any of those points during the public meeting, and even suggested the mixed-use buildings should be included in earlier phases of development than planned.
That included Mayor James Leduc who said he was “excited about this development,” calling it “a density we can live with.”
Whether or not Mod-Aire’s appeal will actually expedite the approval process has yet to be seen as it is still in the pre-hearing stage.
