Traffic and overflow parking from a proposed Victoria Road townhouse development will make a bad situation worse, several neighbours told city council during a public meeting Monday evening.
Their concerns stem from a plan to build 24 three-storey stacked townhouses at 77 Victoria Rd. N. beside St. John Catholic School, near Grange Road. The 0.312-hectare property currently includes a single-detached house and several small auxiliary buildings.
“We feel that the proposed intensification is too much for that property to bear,” said Mary Lou Gobbi, who spoke on behalf of her neighbours on nearby Palermo Crescent which “already has issues” with parking on the street.
“Most people nowadays have more than one car,” added Victoria Road resident Stephanie Collins, who told council she spoke on behalf of several neighbours across the street from the proposed development. “The side streets cannot take the traffic on them now.”
Monday’s public meeting was held to gather input from area residents regarding requested zoning bylaw and official plan amendments needed for the project to go ahead as-is.
The property owner, 2601265 Ontario Inc., is asking for zoning to be changed from institutional to allow for cluster townhouses, along with amendments to allow a reduction in the minimum lot area per unit from 150 square metres to 130 square metres; density of 77 units per hectare from 60 units per hectare; and to allow visitor parking three metres from the street rather than six metres.
A site specific official plan amendment is also requested, allowing for 77 units per hectare, up from 35.
Council didn’t make any decisions regarding the proposed project on Monday. That will come at a later date.
The project is proposed to have 28 parking spaces, including five for visitors. Two of those are to be accessible parking spots. That means 23 spaces for 24 units, which city staff said meets the minimum requirement.
Delegates also raised concerns about the impact townhouse residents would have on traffic flow, especially during drop-off and pick-up times at the schools.
“It’s a nightmare,” said Collins. “We all know that Victoria Road is very uncontrollable.”
“The development is too small to influence what is happening,” Rajan Philips of Paradigm Transportation Solutions said in response to traffic concerns raised, noting at peak times there would be five vehicles per hour coming or going from the development. “It’s a low trip generator.”
Also of concern for delegates is the proximity to schools, limited greenspace for residents, and height of the buildings in a predominantly single-storey area.
Coun. Dan Gibson, who was absent from Monday’s meeting, provided many of the same concerns to Mayor Cam Guthrie to share with council.
Gibson recently told GuelphToday he’d received a “staggering” amount of public interest in the proposal – more than he’s seen for a proposed infill intensification project this early in the process.