Bradford’s Danube Seniors Leisure Centre could be seeing even more new neighbours in the future.
Senior planner for the town, Mana Masoudi, made a presentation from staff that was followed by another by KLM Planning’s Tim Schilling on behalf of property owner Bradford East Developments Inc., about an application for official plan and zoning bylaw amendments and draft plan of subdivision, as part of plans to create a residential subdivision with 93 new homes just off Danube Lane. The presentations occurred during a Nov. 28 special council meeting.
The proposed development would be built over eight existing properties on the east side of Simcoe Road, across the street from Marshview Public School, between the Danube Seniors Leisure Centre and the Portuguese Cultural Centre of Bradford, and abut another development by the same owner.
The subdivision is planned to consist of a mixture of 61 townhouses with frontages of 6.2 metres, 24 single detached homes with frontages of 11.6 m and eight semi-detached houses with frontages of 9.2 m — all of which would be accessed by a 373-m long street looping through with two access points to Danube Lane. No direct entrance or access to Simcoe Road is proposed.
Two parking spaces are projected for each unit with visitors expected to be accommodated by the inclusion of 25 on-street parking spaces — 10 on a widened Danube Lane and 15 on the proposed loop street.
Mayor James Leduc called it “a good plan” adding “the parking looks fine for me.”
Ward 7 Coun. Peter Dykie had concerns about the increased traffic volumes on Simcoe Road, which he noted already sees many large trucks coming up from the nearby farms, and asked that staff look into the need for a traffic signal.
“Safety is No. 1 in my book,” he said.
Ward 6 Coun. Nickolas Harper echoed traffic concerns and suggested that the standard holding provision be extended to ensure the inclusion of traffic mitigation measures.
Being so close to the canal, the eastern part of the property currently known as 53 Danube Ln. contains floodplain mapped by the Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority. As such, a 0.2 hectare portion is proposed to be dedicated to the town as green space.
Ward 2 Coun. Jonathan Scott supported the plan and suggested the green space could make “a great entrance” into the town’s anticipated future recreation trail following the nearby canal and Holland River — an idea Schilling said he would take back to the development team.
The developer is looking to rezone the lands from future development and environmental protection to a mixture of residential with exceptions in order to reduce lot area, increase heights and allow lots to back onto Simcoe Road rather than front onto it.
Schilling explained the height increases were intended to accommodate roof pitches and increased ground-floor heights.
The western half of the properties, where the townhouse blocks are proposed, permit low-, medium- and high-density residential uses and neighbourhood commercial uses; whereas, the eastern portion, where the single and semi-detached houses are proposed, falls within a designation that only allows for low-density residences, with a maximum density target of 30 dwellings per hectare.
A portion of the properties is environmentally protected. This designation blocks development or site alteration, but the developer is seeking to change that in order to permit the proposed single-detached houses.
Masoudi explained that of the three external agencies that have provided comment so far, none have expressed concerns or objections to the application.
Two residents submitted written comments, with one requesting the inclusion of commercial uses and another inquiring about the steps taken by Bradford East Developments Inc. to mitigate traffic and pollution in the area.
Harper agreed with the suggestion to include commercial space and suggested higher-density mixed-use development could abut Simcoe Road.
“I think we missed an opportunity here for density,” he said.
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].
