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Council debates commercial uses at Mount Forest apartment building

A Wellington North public meeting looked at the merits of allowing commercial use on the ground floor of a new apartment complex

MOUNT FOREST ‒ Wellington North council had a lengthy debate this week over whether to permit commercial use in a primarily residential space for fear it would set a precedent that other applicants could abuse. 

Located on the ground floor of an under-construction apartment building at 185 Jack’s Way, the proposed amendment’s purpose was to permit a personal service shop and office space in the 34-metre-squared commercial space. 

“Unfortunately it looks like (this proposal) was missed in the initial zoning of the property,” said Dana Kieffer, senior development planner for Cobide Engineering Inc. during a public meeting “The parking and the space were built in there already, just the uses weren't permitted.”

A decision on the application will come at a later date.

While Coun. Steve McCabe shared his support for the proposal, Coun. Penny Renken wasn’t sure how "a built-up area” could support enough parking to accommodate a commercial business. 

“One could assume that people are going to leave their residences and go to their jobs during the day when the office and the personal service shop would be open,” said Kieffer. “So I think that parking would likely be sufficient at the location.” 

According to Kieffer, while there are two dedicated spots for the business, she also believes there will be “opportunities for parking sharing.” 

Coun. Sherry Burke voted against the proposal and said that she’d like to see the proposed businesses pushed towards a naturally designated commercial area that already exists rather than create a new one. 

“Bringing more commercial out into that area I think would do a real disservice to that neighbourhood,” said Burke. “I've already had several folks reach out to me with concerns about it being rezoned to allow commercial space.” 

However, Curtis Marshall, manager of development planning for the township, explained that while larger stores like grocery or hardware are directed towards more commercial areas, smaller businesses like hairdressers, barbers, or convenience stores are permitted. 

“We do allow home occupations…you can have an office or a salon to a limited scale,” said Marshall. “I think this case would be somewhat similar to that.” 

But Renken shared Burke's concerns that this decision would set a precedent for other businesses to move into a primarily residential area.

“(You) mentioned only one hairdresser, I'm not sure how large a space this is going to be but I know that very often a hairdresser will have maybe two people on the go,” said Renken. “Say you have three chairs with three hairdressers, you may have up to six people coming in there at one time.” 

According to Darren Jones, the township's chief building official, approving the application can’t set a precedent when this is something “that’s already encouraged in the official plan.”

Isabel Buckmaster is the Local Journalism Initiative reporter for GuelphToday. LJI is a federally-funded program.


About the Author: Isabel Buckmaster, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Isabel Buckmaster covers Wellington County under the Local Journalism Initiative, which is funded by the Government of Canada
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