Plans for new townhouses along Mapleview Drive West could be headed back to the drawing board.
Sitting as planning committee Tuesday night, Barrie councillors referred a motion to rezone 407, 409, 413, 417 and 419 Mapleview Dr. W. to multiple residential use with variances, from single residential, back to staff for a report with less height and fewer units.
Developer Encore Group wants to build 46 condominium townhouses there in five blocks, with two blocks being 4.5 storeys high and the other three blocks at three storeys.
If city council approves the referral at its Jan. 31 meeting, planning staff would produce a report with a maximum 34 townhouses in buildings no more than three storeys high.
“We all want more homes built in Barrie and we know it’s much needed to help the stock and hopefully bring down the housing (price) boom we’re currently in,” said Coun. Gary Harvey, who represents this part of Barrie. “But we can’t do this at all costs to our residents just to meet growth targets outside of an intensification corridor, especially when an application like this far exceeds the density levels, with them being almost twice what’s allowed under RM2 (multiple residential use).
“It just doesn’t fit,” he said.
Harvey is recommending a number of measures beside less density, height and units — including no rooftop terraces, saving as many trees as possible on the 1.57-acre site, minimum landscaping of 35 per cent, rear-yard setbacks of 10 metres and perimeter fencing.
“They will still allow the developer to build significant volumes of towns (townhouses), however at three storeys instead of the four and a half that would tower over the neighbourhood,” Harvey said.
But Coun. Robert Thomson questioned if a new planning staff report is necessary.
“You’ve asked them (Encore) to reduce their density, their heights but hold obviously the things you like. Introducing all these amendments, it’s drastically different than (Encore’s) proposal,” he said. “Would it not be better to just not vote in favour of the staff report (which recommends the rezoning)? It’s almost going to be a new application, a new design.”
“We can vote it down, it really doesn’t matter to me,” Harvey said. “What I was trying to do was still be able to get this to move forward.
"These amendments actually don’t change the footprint spaces where the blocks of towns could or would be. The only thing out of these amendments that couldn’t be agreed upon was the height and the density. The rest of these amendments don’t really change the rest of it. It doesn’t not change the actual layout of the site plan.”
Harvey had explained earlier that when this matter was delayed in December, he had hoped there would be talks between Encore and area residents, and their planning consultant, that could lead to a compromise on density and height. That didn’t happen, nor did it happen with the Ward 7 councillor’s talks with Encore.
“I, too, last Friday was given the exact same response, that they did not want to have any discussions about the key points of height and density,” he said.
In a memo to the city, Darren Vella of Innovative Planning Solutions, Encore’s planning consultant, made its position clear.
“The development has seen a reduction from 88 to 46 units. As a result of this significant reduction, the applicant is no longer able to reduce the number of units within the project,” he said. “It is our opinion that a balance between neighbourhood concerns and planning policy has been achieved.”
Coun. Clare Riepma said he supports a new staff report with new development parameters.
“This one has bothered me from the beginning because of the lack of fit in the neighbourhood. You see nothing there that is higher than three storeys all in that area,” he said. “(Harvey has) listened to the neighbourhood and tried to figure out what is a reasonable development scenario, as opposed to what the developer might be asking for.
“The neighbours have to live with it forever, the developer moves on.”
Once this referral motion is on the city council agenda, deputations can be made for or against it.
This land is located on the south side of Mapleview Drive West, west of the intersection of Essa Road and east of Redfern Avenue.
Ontario’s Planning Act and city regulations require Encore to submit a site plan application before this property is developed. Encore is required to provide the city with a comprehensive understanding of the proposed development and its architectural, landscape and engineering details.
