Are Stoney Creek lakeshore towers city’s housing future?

Coun. Maria Pearson says she expects the decision to freeze Hamilton's urban boundary will see more controversial proposals in Stoney Creek like the one for three massive condominium towers near the lakeshore.

A revised plan for the development at 310 Frances Ave. calls for buildings of 38, 44 and 33 storeys, down from an original 48, 54 and 59 three years ago.

Pearson said she's awaiting a staff report, but remains concerned by proponent New Horizon Development Group's application for relief from city zoning standards on parking and amenity space.

The plan proposes 1.25 parking spaces for the towers' 1,346 dwelling units, or 336 fewer spots than required by the standard of 1.5 spaces.

It also only allots 8.8 square metres of indoor amenity space per unit, rather than the required 18 square metres each for the 1,208 one-bedroom units and 53 square metres for the 138 two-bedroom units, a shortfall of 17,214 square metres.

Outdoors, the plan seeks to cut the two-hectare property's minimum landscaped area to 36 per cent from the required 50 per cent.

If there's anything COVID has taught me, there's not enough green space out there," Pearson said, citing nearby condominium developments whose outdoor areas were jam-packed all summer."

It was horrible, the complaints I was getting about litter and people walking dogs and not picking up after the dogs, and people going and bringing firewood and having bonfires on the beach," she said.

I don't know how I'm going to put another how many residents from 1,346 more units into this space. That's what's a little bit frustrating and that's why their requirement is to have amenity space in their own facility."

But Pearson said she questions how calls to downsize proposals like the one on Frances Avenue will be balanced against the urban boundary freeze, which she opposed but passed by a 13-3 council vote.

The move will require more housing in existing urban areas to meet population growth, straining water and sewer capacities, apart from riling neighbours, she said.

Now more than anything, this is what is going to be pushed," Pearson said. I can't upsize the size of a pipe on King Street when the capacity downstream for that flow isn't there to take it. Tell me how we do that without blasting out half the city."

But upper Stoney Creek Coun. Brad Clark, who supported the boundary freeze, said the city's choice isn't between the extremes" of highrise towers and single-family homes, but finding ways to maximize land use to provide a balanced housing supply.

There's a lot in the middle that is missing," he said. If we examine our zoning bylaws and we start to see semi-detached house and townhouses and stacked townhouses being built, as they are in my ward, you don't necessarily need monstrous towers."

Environment Hamilton executive director Lynda Lukasik, who joined several other citizen groups in pushing for the boundary freeze, said the city messed up" at 310 Frances Ave. by placing no height limits in the 2010 zoning of the property.

It's not as though developers are easily going to be able to trot in and do the same sort of thing in other locations, even in Stoney Creek," she said.

Lukasik said the freeze will encourage a mix of housing while allowing for higher density in appropriate areas like downtown Hamilton and by Eastgate Square.

She said the city has already taken a key step by permitting secondary dwellings like garden suites as of right in all urban zones.

It's going to increase population numbers and that will be more transit supportive over time," she said, helping a goal of creating climate-resilient communities that have amenities closer to where people live.

STORY BEHIND THE STORY: We wanted to explore Coun. Maria Pearson's contention that the urban boundary freeze will see more proposals like the one for three towers on Frances Avenue.