A three-storey townhouse development is on its way to Victoria Road North, following council’s 11-1 approval Monday evening of official plan and zoning bylaw amendments.
The redevelopment effort will see an existing home and auxiliary buildings at 77 Victoria Rd. N. – located immediately north of St. John Catholic school, near Grange Road – demolished in order to make way for 18, three-storey stacked townhouses.
Though approved, the project is not devoid of concerns – both around the virtual council table and in the neighbourhood.
“At peak hours, this is a great lot of traffic,” stated Victoria Road North resident Domenico Basso, pointing to five access spots in that area – Grange Road, Delmar Boulevard, St. James High School, St. John’s Parish and the elementary school. “We don’t want any more traffic from new development.”
In response to traffic impact concerns, Lindsay Sulatycki, the city’s senior development manager, noted the plan is supported by city traffic engineering staff.
“This is an arterial road which is meant to carry large volumes of traffic,” she told council. “Eighteen units isn’t the tipping point.”
Deputy CAO Jayne Holmes explained the road is already strained in that area during peak times.
“This proposed development is not going to make this worse,” she said.
As pointed out by Coun. Dominique O’Rourke, the city’s recently approved transportation master plan, once put into action, is intended to help alleviate traffic congestion everywhere by getting more people out of personal vehicles as well as managing traffic flow.
Basso also flagged concerns with building heights as well as snow removal plans for the site.
Several changes have been made since the redevelopment project was first proposed in late 2020. Chief among them is a reduction to the overall number of units, to 18 from 24, and a redesign of the site layout that shifted parking spaces from the north end of the site to the south.
A total of 27 parking spaces are planned, including five visitor parking spaces, with access from Victoria Road. Initially, 28 spaces were included.
“I think it’s moved in the right direction,” commented Coun. Dan Gibson, who represents Ward 1 on council, along with Coun. Bob Bell.
Bell made the only vote against approval, stating he’d like to see city staff consult once more with area residents about whether they’d prefer to have parking on the north or south side of the site.
Coun. Mike Salisbury was absent from the meeting.
Though supportive of the amendments, Coun. Leanne Caron questioned the developer’s plan regarding the use of technologies and techniques intended to help reduce the community’s carbon footprint.
“It’s time to up the game,” she said, noting development plans seem to come with a template of basic items such as LED lights that are already standard practice and don’t “move the needle” toward council’s goal of having a net-zero community by 2050.
