A proposed College Heights housing development is receiving a second public hearing at Monday’s council meeting.
The multi-family development is being proposed by Ridgecrest Development Group for a 1.91-hectare portion of a 29.2-hectare plot of land at 8640 St. Lawrence Ave. and 2800 Vista Ridge Dr. That’s located near St. Lawrence Avenue’s westernmost end.
The Dec. 2 meeting won’t be the first time residents have had the chance to weigh in on this project. An open house was held at the Columbus Community Centre on June 5 and another public hearing was held before council at its Sept. 25 regular meeting.
Councillors voted after that public hearing to postpone their final decision so that an updated traffic study could be completed. Because of that, a second public hearing is required.
While the total property size is 29.2 hectares, the application covers just a 1.91-hectare chunk of land.
To develop it, the developer needs part of the Official Community Plan amended so that the land is designated as a Neighbourhood Corridor rather than Neighbourhood Residential.
Under Neighbourhood Residential, developments must have a housing density of fewer than 22 units per hectare. Neighbourhood Corridor encourages density housing up to a maximum of 135 units per hectare and a maximum height of four storeys.
According to a report by city administration, this property is next to the road dedication that has been set aside for the future extension of Ospika Boulevard down from its current terminus at Tyner Boulevard near Highway 16.
North Street near this property is already designated as a Neighbourhood Corridor under the OCP and further densification of the area could help with the Ospika expansion, staff say.
It also needs the property rezoned from RS2: Single Residential to RM5: Multiple Residential and for three restrictive covenants to be discharged.
One of those covenants has been deemed by city administration to not comply with recent provincial legislation promoting denser housing.
If the property is rezoned, it could eventually house up to 239 dwelling units with buildings up to four storeys tall.
The developer is also seeking to subdivide the property to allow for future housing construction as St. Lawrence Avenue is extended.
First and second readings of bylaw amendments associated with this project were passed on July 22.
A summary of the June open house is attached to the council meeting agenda. It says 12 to 15 members of the public attended along with four representatives from L&M Engineering. There were also comments sent in via email.
According to the summary, residents expressed concern over the rezoning allowing the construction of apartments in what has typically been an area with single-family homes.
They also said they were worried about the potential impact of additional traffic at the intersection of Southridge Avenue and St. Lawrence Avenue as well as parking availability on St. Lawrence as current homeowners’ vehicles take up most of the space.
Some residents requested that the intersection of Southridge and St. Lawrence be made into a four-way stop. This suggestion was made as part of a traffic impact study for the area in a 2009 traffic impact study that was updated earlier this year.
Other residents encouraged the extension of Ospika as soon as possible to provide the neighbourhood with secondary access and a relief valve for additional traffic.
Emails received by the city about the proposed project in August and September expressed concerns along similar lines, especially with regards to increased traffic.
Other concerns included lack of available capacity for new students at Southridge Elementary School, fears that the character of the neighbourhood could change, loss of greenspace and unclear information from developers over the exact nature of their development.
At the September open house, director of planning and development Deanna Wasnik explained administration’s support of the project.
“Administration supports the proposed bylaws as they will facilitate the redevelopment and infill of an underused existing site while addressing a housing need,” Wasnik said.
When L&M Engineering presented in favour of the project at the hearing, planner Megan Hickey said College Heights is predominantly made up of single-family homes, which leaves a large gap “for households of different incomes and life stages, such as those who do not want to or may be unable to purchase a single-family home or those who wish to age in place but cannot due to lack of housing forms in their neighbourhood.”
The project, she said, would help fill that gap.
Before any building permits are issued, Hickey said the project area would have to undergo a form and character permitting process to determine the elevation, building colour, building materials, site plan and snow clearing plans for anything built there.
City staff said during the hearing that the timeline expansion of Ospika is up to the Ministry of Transportation, due to its need to cross Highway 16.
With that expansion’s future unclear, council had a lengthy discussion over whether the neighbourhood’s existing transit options would serve the increased population brought in by the proposed development.
During the public’s chance to comment during the public hearing, residents were again focused on the traffic impact, casting doubt that L&M’s traffic study accurately examined the area.
When council discussed the item following the close of the public hearing, multiple councillors expressed unease with approving the proposal due to the traffic situation. Coun. Tim Bennett successfully proposed postponing their final decision until an updated traffic study was completed.
A copy of that updated study by L&M Engineering is attached to the agenda for the Dec. 2 meeting.
It said that St. Lawrence Avenue between the proposed development site and Southridge Avenue has the capacity to handle approximately 12,700 vehicles per day and that the average daily traffic represents 26 per cent of that total. When the development opens, that figure is expected to rise to 37 per cent.
The new traffic report’s only recommendation was to reiterate the need for a four-way stop at the intersection of Southridge and St. Lawrence.
