More infill is planned in Bradford along Barrie Street.
Council approved a zoning bylaw amendment for the property at 281 Barrie St., just north of Britannia Avenue, converting it from Residential Three (R3) with exceptions to Residential Two (R2) with exceptions, during its regular meeting on March 19.
The change was requested by JKO Planning Services on behalf of 10568848 Canada Limited to allow the construction of 28 townhouses in four blocks with a new internal road on the 6,072-square-metre property, which is on the east side of the street.
Surrounding the property are single-detached homes to the north, Lions Park to the east, another 14-townhouse development under construction at 263 Barrie St. to the south. Across the street is a vacant lot to the west at 266 Barrie St., for which council previously approved zoning for 18 stacked townhouses yet to begin construction.
Mayor James Leduc said he’s “quite happy,” to see the “great application,” and thanked Mana Masoudi, senior planner for the town, for her work on the file, which has been “a long time coming.”
“I’m looking forward to seeing the development of this move forward,” he said. “Hopefully we can see this get into the ground ASAP.”
The proposal was initially deemed complete by town staff in Nov. 17, 2021.
As part of the exceptions, the developer requested the minimum lot size be reduced from 170 sq. m to 130 sq. m and the rear yard setback be reduced from six metres to five metres.
The developer also asked for the second storey of the southern two blocks to be permitted to encroach into the rear yard by .7 m, and in her report, Masoudi notes the other development under construction directly to the south is planned to have a private road on its north side, meaning the encroachment would not pose a problem.
The developer had originally proposed reducing setbacks to as little as three metres and including heights of 15.2 m, but after feedback from the public and councillors during a public meeting on Dec. 14, 2021, the setbacks were increased and the height reduced to 10.6 m, which is within the 11-m heights allowed in the R2 zone.
“The applicant has now successfully addressed all comments pertaining to the zoning by-law amendment application and as a result staff are supportive of the approval of the proposed site-specific zoning for the subject lands,” Masoudi said in the report.
Ward 2 Coun. Jonathan Scott thanked residents of nearby Orsi Avenue and Gordon Court for feedback on the proposal, and the developer for working with staff to find “reasonable solutions” to the issues raised.
“Infill development can be tricky ... but everyone was reasonable and came to a solution,” he said.
The property at 281 Barrie St. has 54 m of frontage along the road and the existing building was previously used as the Exhale Spa and Salon, according to the report.
Each of the proposed 28 townhouses is expected to have two parking spaces, with the development also offering 14 visitor spaces, with one being barrier free.
Ward 3 Coun. Ben Verkaik noted that “ample parking,” and said “the end product looks good.”
Those visitor parking spaces, along with a community mailbox, bicycle parking and snow storage are planned for the east side of the property, where a pedestrian path is also proposed to provide easy access to Lions Park.
All of that, as well as some common space, is all intended to be maintained as part of a plan of condominium.
Not only is the property right beside a public park and along one of the town’s transit routes, in her report, Masoudi notes the property is also only 1.5 kilometres from the Bradford GO Transit station.
The developer also submitted an application for site plan approval, but staff are still reviewing it.
