Skyscraper deal ‘dark day’ for Stoney Creek, councillor says
The city's settlement of an Ontario Land Tribunal dispute over a developer's plan to build three skyscrapers near the lakeshore in Stoney Creek is being called a dark day" by the area's councillor.
Jeff Beattie said the deal outlined at a May 25 tribunal hearing has shaken his confidence in delegating authority to planning staff to resolve tribunal appeals and he hopes to convince his council colleagues that changes are needed.
He said he was elected last fall on a promise of trying to do things differently" and accepts that some people will see the outcome as a failure on his part even if the plan had been before the city since 2018 and already appealed to the tribunal.
I'm very disappointed that the worst-case scenario has come true. The only options that I have available to me now are going to be how to mitigate the impact of this on the community," Beattie said.
I know that there was an expectation that a new councillor was going to be able come in and somehow salvage what the community wanted to see in this and make the changes necessary to make this development into something that was more palatable," he said.
For me to come in after five years and try to change something in five months proved to be more than I was able to do."
A revised plan presented by New Horizon Development Group to the tribunal on May 25, calls for 1,390 residential apartment units" in towers of 34, 44 and 37 storeys on a two-hectare lot at the corner of Green Road and Frances Avenue.
It earmarks 600 square metres for commercial space - down from 1,220 in a previous plan rejected by the city.
The 34-storey tower will be built first and provide 1.25 parking spaces per unit - below the zoning's 1.5 requirement - while subsequent towers will have 1.1 spaces per unit, with land set aside for a parking garage should demand be higher.
Although the area has no bus service, New Horizon said it will encourage the towers' residents to use other forms of transportation by giving them a welcome packet" with information on local and regional transit schedules and bike lanes.
New Horizon made other changes to a previous plan, increasing the development's amenity space to 17 square metres per residential unit, which is still below zoning requirements and includes balconies that are usually excluded from the calculation.
It's also boosted outdoor landscaped space to 45 per cent - up from an original 36 but below the zoning's 50 per cent - by including features normally excluded, like utility structures, stairs, and bicycle parking and repair stations.
Viv Saunders, who had been representing the Lakewood Beach Community Council at the tribunal, said the ratepayers group decided to withdraw its party status the day before the settlement hearing because it was disgusted" by the deal.
It's a huge slap in the face to the community and to council," she said of the settlement, which reversed the city's position on key issues in dispute, including parking, amenity space, landscaped areas and commercial space.
Saunders said it's disheartening" city staff settled the appeal despite a prior position that the plan doesn't meet the intent of the vacant lot's mixed-use commercial zoning and that changes to bylaw provisions weren't minor.
Worse, she said, is that the city has offered no rationale for its reversal or support of additional variances, including allowing visitors to use the commercial space's 22 parking spots.
All of the witness statements that the city did provide to the OLT to this point led everybody to believe they were going to continue to fight it. They had a strong case," Saunders said. They made it worse for the neighbourhood."
In sworn evidence as an expert witness at the May 25 tribunal hearing, New Horizon planning consultant Sarah Knoll said in her opinion the zoning variances meet four tests for being considered minor by the city's urban official plan.
They also conform to the province's growth plan, providing much-needed housing," she told tribunal member Kurtis Smith.
The minor variances facilitate a compact form on lands zoned and designated for intensification," Knoll said.
City lawyer Patrick MacDonald said he didn't need to call any witnesses because the city supports the revised variances and resulting changes to the development's site plan.
He agreed to work with New Horizon to provide a draft order of the settlement agreement to the tribunal by June 9 for final approval.
I don't have instructions to agree to any order or finalization of the variances or site plan until we dust those off," MacDonald said.
STORY BEHIND THE STORY: We attended the May 25 tribunal hearing to learn more details of the zoning dispute's settlement.