A revised proposal for a four-storey, 10-unit apartment building has received the go-ahead on Catholic Hill in the downtown core.
The city’s Committee of Adjustment (C of A) unanimously approved a requested parking reduction for the proposal at 9 and 11 Cork St. W., from 10 spots to nine, during its meeting on Thursday afternoon.
The plan complies with all other zoning requirements, including height restrictions.
In a report to the committee, city staff recommended approval of the parking reduction, but no reason for that support was provided.
“It’s important to satisfy housing needs in the community,” commented Hugh Handy of GPS Group, a land-use planner who represented the owners, Michael and Maria Finoro.
A single-family home at 9 Cork St. W. was previously demolished and the site sits vacant. The house at 11 Cork St. W. will also need to be torn down.
The CoA rejected a similar but slightly taller four-storey building proposal for the site in 2019.
That request sought permission to exceed the height cap on buildings within the Basilica of Our Lady Immaculate view corridor by 2.49 metres.
Looking at the basilica from the northwest, the then-proposed apartment building's elevator shaft and mechanical room on top of the apartment building would exceed the allowed elevation of 343.51 metres above sea level.
The committee deemed that application to not to be minor in nature, with the approved motion noting the proposal “is not considered desirable for the streetscape and appropriate development for the lands.”
At 12.2 metres tall, the latest proposal comes slightly under the elevation cap, city staff explained of the difference between the proposals.
