Hamilton councillors back nine-storey cap for city-owned parcel by QEW

City councillors have backed land-use changes that allow for up to nine storeys on a municipally owned parcel by the QEW in Stoney Creek.

The amendments support denser housing forms, including apartments, stacked townhouses and maisonettes on the 1400 Baseline Rd. property.

We looked at what we can achieve for this site that is still good planning," senior project manager Alissa Mahood told councillors Tuesday.

The city's real estate division hopes to sell the 2.9-acre vacant parcel near Fifty Point Conservation Area to a developer.

Sale proceeds are meant to raise money local affordable-housing projects.

Last year, council told staff to hold additional public consultation on the proposed changes after area residents complained they were left out of the loop.

Staff also hired a consultant to confirm there is adequate pumping-station capacity for the increased density.

However, some locals are still concerned whatever materializes on the property will lead to traffic-safety concerns.

It is my opinion that the whole area needs to be restudied because we already know the road network is over capacity," Tammy Felts, who lives in a townhouse next to the site, told councillors.

Staff have included a provision that requires a 30-metre setback between a potential development and the townhouse complex.

That leaves a big void" of land where townhomes could be built to house more people than a nine-storey building could, Viv Saunders argued.

There's huge potential for this land to help with the housing crisis," said Saunders, who's a member of the Lakewood Beach Community Council.

The city should take a more hands-on approach by working with a partner to develop the site to provide what I term attainable housing" rather than simply unloading it, she said.

Coun. John-Paul Danko, meanwhile, questioned why the city wasn't aiming for much higher" than nine storeys on the property, saying a developer could try for that through an appeal to the Ontario Land Tribunal.

Chief planner Steve Robichaud suggested a real estate deal could be arranged that binds buyers to the existing zoning.

The planning committee's decision needs a final approval at council.

Teviah Moro is a reporter at The Spectator. tmoro@thespec.com