Biggest tower development in Burlington history is moving forward and some residents are 'flabbergasted'
The city's largest towers ever are going forward, and residents say they've had little opportunity for public input.
Casually known as Holland Park, the seven-tower development - with heights from 29 to 37 stories - will bring an additional 2,494 residential units to the Fairview Street and Drury Lane location. The site was formerly the Holland Park Garden Gallery, and is located near the Burlington GO Station, but also a large and established neighbourhood of single-family homes.
Dorothy Ward, a concerned resident who lives in one of those homes, said neighbours have a list of what they feel are unaddressed issues with the development, such as shadowing, noise pollution and traffic.
We are looking at how traffic will be affected on Fairview, even the whole Prospect and Drury Lane area. People that are going to try to access Brant Street and Guelph Line aren't going to want to use Fairview anymore," said Ward. They're going to be using the little neighbourhoods and pockets to drive through. It's going to change the dynamic of how our communities are living."
The new towers will represent a dramatic density increase to the area. However, there has been little community consultation required on the development because the area is what's called a mixed use corridor zone in proximity to the GO station. That zone does not have a maximum height restriction, meaning a developer has significant leeway in terms of both height and density.
The reason for that designation is due to the proximity to the GO station and provincial policies that aim to promote development near transit hubs.
Ward said this zoning surprised many nearby residents.
We had never realized those properties don't have any kind of restrictions," said Ward. They don't have a height restriction. They don't have a density restriction, so we are totally flabbergasted by that, because ... when Holland Park sold, we had no idea what was going to be done with that property. And then all of a sudden we heard through the grapevine this was going to be a large development."
Since the development doesn't need a zoning bylaw or official plan amendment to move ahead, a public meeting hasn't been required - a measure that traditionally takes place early on in the amendment application process.
Lisa Kearns, the councillor for the ward, said because of the designation, her office's role around this project has largely been to keep residents informed about what's happening.
There are modifications that can be made in regards to amenities and overall context of the site but there's no significant material change to be had," said Kearns. It will come before city council again for absolute approvals because the city had undelegated the site plan approval in July 2020 to provide the public with additional engagement opportunities".
The changes that could be made include things like ensuring setbacks from Fairview and how construction will be handled on the site, but the city is limited on what it can require.
Kearns said there are expected benefits to having this development at the site.
It's in the area where Burlington is directing growth and complete communities, but it will also bridge the existing community into new and enhanced amenities like food services, recreation services and employment, plus better access to transit and mobility. It will give that as well, which are somewhat limited at this time," said Kearns.
STORY BEHIND THE STORY: With this development bringing the largest towers Burlington has seen to the city, we wanted to take a closer look at the unique zoning position negating the requirement for a public meeting, and how residents in the neighbourhood feel about the plans.
CORRECTION: The story has been updated due to a mistake in the first quote of Lisa Kearns. The earlier version of the story stated the site plan approval could always be undelegated when actually the city had undelegated the site plan in July 2020. The Burlington Post regrets the error.