By Mike Renzella
The Haldimand Press
CALEDONIA—As reported last week in The Press, a proposal for a new, nine-storey condominium building in Caledonia has been met with opposition from neighbouring residents, who believe a building of that size would destroy the character of their neighbourhood.
The issue was discussed at a Council in Committee meeting last week, where a representative for applicant DICO Developments discussed their thought process behind the proposal.
Starting off the discussion, Haldimand Senior Planner Spencer Skidmore noted, “We did identify some issues that need to be investigated further.”
The building, which would require a zoning bylaw amendment to facilitate, would house 134 units and approximately 239 residents.
Responding to the application, County staff identified various concerns, including the building’s height and scale, how it will fit into the neighbourhood’s existing character, water and wastewater servicing capacities, stormwater considerations, transportation infrastructure impacts and needed upgrades, and tree protection.
“County staff will continue their technical review of the submitted application and bylaw amendment requests,” said Skidmore. “Following public consultation, the applicant will be required to revise their application and resubmit it to address feedback and comments received.”
Skidmore said the County’s recommendations for the site would only be released once their concerns have been fully addressed.
Part of the application includes a proposal to purchase a section of King William Street to facilitate extra parking on the site. The purchase of that land factors into the required 182 parking spaces to facilitate the building in its current form.
If the purchase were to go through, it could potentially disrupt a family who currently has access to their home off King William Street. County staff stated that the proposal to purchase the section of King William Street is being considered “part-and-parcel” with the development application.
“About 22 of those parking spaces are in the King William right-of-way, which the applicant does not own. If they were unable to obtain that property, they would have to find space for 22 more parking spaces if they maintain that number of units,” said Skidmore.
Dave Aston, a partner with MHBC Planning, spoke on behalf of DICO Developments. Aston acknowledged that the proponent has received comments in opposition of the building.
“We’re really in the early stages of this submission with this first meeting, so it’s fairly typical that there’s comments being received, and additional information that needs to be provided to County staff for their review,” said Aston. “We’ll be working with County staff to respond to the comments, but a lot of those comments are typical of development applications that I think most of you have heard and seen before when applications come before you this early in the process.”
He said that many of the concerns, such as lighting issues and landscaping, would be addressed through the site plan process should the application move forward. He noted there is existing residential properties in the area and significant plans for new residential units nearby, adding, “Primarily, we would acknowledge that there are low-rise residential planned in the area – townhouses, single-detached homes. What we’re proposing here really provides some housing choice and opportunity within this area of the community and in the broader community.”
Aston said that the model for the new building is fashioned on the successful Hagersville build, The Jackson, which was also built by DICO Developments: “That apartment building in Hagersville provided housing choice within that community and was very successful. That is what this proposal is looking to do.”
Following Aston’s remarks, several residents approached the podium to express their concerns and opposition to the project.
An applicant-led public open house is being planned for spring/summer, with no further details available as of publication.
Councillor Dan Lawrence summed up the frustrations of the residents who will be most impacted if the building moves forward, asking, “How would you feel if you lived in this neighbourhood and this was proposed?”
Stay tuned to The Press for more information on the proposal as it develops.
