An additional 90 townhouses could be developed north of the intersection of Line 8 and Professor Day Drive.
Bradford West Gwillimbury council heard from KLM Planning Partners during a public meeting Dec. 13 on the new build proposed by FNB Development. The draft plan of subdivision calls for the development of 14 residential blocks of housing, one future development block and four road segments.
The initial development would consist of 79.5 units, with 69 being spread out among 11 housing blocks and 10.5 in the final three. The remaining townhouses would be constructed on the future block at a later date.
KLM has requested a zoning bylaw amendment for the lands from future development to three site specific residential two zones to permit the townhouses being built. While there is no timeline for the completion of the development, getting to this stage has been a long time coming.
“This project was originally draft-approved in approximately 2006,” said Keith McKinnon of KLM. “From a draft-approval perspective, it’s been in place for a number of years…. All the way back from 2000 in your existing (Official Plan) and (since) 2002 in Community Plan Area Four, it’s been identified for residential uses.”
The townhouses are proposed for a 3.66-hectare, vacant parcel of land with approximately 195 metres of frontage on Professor Day Drive. The staff report shared with council indicated a portion of the property — making up the future development block — is currently owned by a different party; negotiations are ongoing on that piece, but an additional Planning Act application will be required for that part of the development.
If the two developers can come to an agreement with the land in question, the development will complete Crossland Boulevard, allowing residents to travel between Langford Boulevard and Professor Day Drive without using Line 8.
Coun. Joe Giordano considered the connection to Professor Day Drive to be “paramount” to the project, but his biggest concern was about the parking allotted in the development. Most houses will feature one driveway and one garage parking spot. However, the houses abutting a rear laneway will have four total parking spaces at their disposal.
There are 39 on-street parking spaces proposed by the developer.
“Parking is always a concern, especially when we’re dealing with higher- or medium-density types or forms of development,” McKinnon said. “We’ve certainly tried to address that with this concept plan.”
Giordano wasn’t the only voice on council who had concerns about parking. Deputy Mayor Raj Sandhu lauded the developer for its parking solutions but still encouraged potential buyers to do their homework.
“I just want to caution the residents,” Sandhu said. “What I saw in Ward 1 with a development was the builder and the developer did everything right. Even in their paperwork, it said one parking in the garage, one in the driveway. Knowing that, there were people who bought (a house) with three or four cars and then they were calling their ward councillor, saying, ‘Why did the town allow this? Where am I supposed to park?’”
For those who own more than two vehicles, Sandhu stressed, buying a townhouse with only two parking spots is not a prudent decision.
While Coun. Jonathan Scott suggested the developer look at formalizing the roughed-in paths near the stormwater pond industrious residents have created, Coun. Peter Dykie asked if the developer was looking for additional lots to be created in the areas. Properties north of Crossland Boulevard and adjacent to where the Bradford Bypass will be constructed remain undeveloped and currently are designated for industrial-commercial use in the town’s Official Plan, McKinnon said.
“Currently, there are no plans to develop those lands, but there is an opportunity to develop those lands in the future,” he said. “We certainly have made submissions in the past to redesignate those lands from industrial-commercial to residential but have not been successful so far.”
Staff will take the commentary it heard and use it as it completes its full review of the application. A final decision on the development will be made at a future meeting of council.
