Kincardine council again rejects proposed housing development beside Willow West subdivision

For the second time in just over a year, Kincardine council has rejected a proposed residential development for property beside the Willow West subdivision, west of the intersection of Kincardine Avenue and Fraser Drive in Kincardine.

In a public meeting last night (March 8), council heard from Bruce County planner Mollie Kuchma who outlined developer Tom Kerr's revised plan for the property, which took into account concerns and comments from the public meeting held in January.

Kuchma said the application calls for rezoning to R3 from R1, to allow for the construction of a five-unit row townhouse dwelling along the north side; as well as a detached accessory structure (four-bay garage), and a semi-detached dwelling unit on the south side adjacent to Kincardine Avenue.

The revised development contains fewer dwelling units than the plan presented in January, said Kuchma, reduced to seven from 10, with relief sought from the required minimum lot frontage for the townhouses and the semi-detached dwelling. She added that no secondary suites would be permitted in the semi-detached units on the south side.

Kuchma said the application is consistent with the Provincial Policy Statement, upholds the objectives of the Kincardine Official Plan, represents good land-use planning, and should be approved.

Under “Other matters: financial/legal,” the report indicates a possible appeal to the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB).

Councillor Laura Haight asked if there is a height restriction for the detached accessory building – the four-bay garage.

“The maximum height for the townhouses would be 8.5 metres,” said Kuchma, “so the maximum height for the garage would be five metres.”

“I have a feeling that something else is going to happen on the remainder of the land,” said Haight. “This is not the best use of the land in question; it's 'meh' planning. If the farmhouse is torn down, it would make more sense to redraft the lot line so it's in line with the parking spaces and the accessory building.

“It's better, but it's not great.”

“What happens if the house is torn down?” asked mayor Anne Eadie.

“The property has been sold to another owner,” said Kuchma. “There's 25 feet to the rear lot line which is the minimum required in the zoning bylaw. If a new owner wants to do anything and it does not meet the bylaw requirements, he would have to bring an application to council.”

She noted there are Environmentally-Protected (EP) lands on the property which limit where development can occur. “An application would still have to go through the process and come to council for approval.”

“So, if the old house comes down, someone could bring forward an application to change the zoning from R1 to R3 again?” asked deputy mayor Jacqueline Faubert.

“Could be,” said Kuchma. “On this lot, there are more constraints because of the EP lands. But anyone can apply for a zone change on their lands.”

Willow West resident Jamie Hunsburger requested an opportunity to speak and council agreed.

He noted there were substantial changes made to the original plan presented in January, and asked if council would allow public comment on this new proposal.

Councillor Maureen Couture asked the planner if the changes were substantial enough for re-circulation.

“The changes were in response to the comments from the public meeting in January,” said Kuchma. “They were not given full re-circulation.”

“We've had two public meetings on this,” said Couture. “This application addresses the concerns raised. I think council has enough information on which to make a decision. This is a controversial development. If we keep this up, it could go on forever.”

“We've had adequate process and lots of information,” agreed Eadie. “The proposal has improved, even if it's not ideal; it has come a long way.”

Back in council session, the planner's recommendation to approve the zoning bylaw amendment, was defeated.

In January, 2016, Kerr brought forward a proposal to build a total of 19 units on that property which was rejected by council.

Since then, he has received approval to build three semi-detached units along the east side of the property adjacent to Fraser Drive, and sever each of those which allows them to have secondary suites, for up to 12 units.