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Plan calls for 25 condos to go into existing building on Lasalle Blvd.

Tonight at city hall, members of the city's planning committee will review details of 25-unit condominium proposed for the Montrose Avenue area of Lasalle Boulevard.

Tonight at city hall, members of the city's planning committee will review details of 25-unit condominium proposed for the Montrose Avenue area of Lasalle Boulevard.

The proposal requires land be rezoned in the area so the developer can convert existing commercial buildings.*

"Building 'A' is to have 22 units and Building 'B' is to have three units," says the staff report on the rezoning application. "A total of 172 parking spaces are shown on the draft condominium plan. The owner would like to obtain draft plan approval in order to adopt condominium form of tenure."

The buildings are on land on the north side of Lasalle and the west side of Montrose, taking up a little more than three acres in total, with a combined space of about 33,600 square feet. With such little space, city staff is requiring a cash donation instead of an agreement to dedicate part of the property for use as parkland.

Since the buildings are already in a commercially zoned area, no public meeting with neighbours is required under Ontario's Planning Act.

The report recommends the application be approved, although with several conditions, including concerns about the age of the buildings, which date back to the mid-1970s.

"Building services has requested an inspection and report on the condition of the buildings," the report says. "Planning services is satisfied that the conditions as set out in the recommendation address the concerns identified by the various departments."

*Note: the original version of this story incorrectly stated that the condominiums would be for residential use, when in fact they are for commercial use. Northern Life apologizes for the error.

 

Also on the agenda

Also on tonight's agenda is a smaller residential development that would see the construction of a four-unit building on Bancroft Drive in Minnow Lake.

The developer, Barron West Inc., is seeking a rezoning from low residential to medium residential so they can proceed.

As a condition of approval, Barron West will have to transfer a five-metre strip of land along the entire frontage of Bancroft Drive to the city on demand, "if and when required for future road improvements, free of mortgages, charges, trust deeds and other encumbrances securing financing."

The site is vacant with grassland towards the front, rising substantially to the rear, which is covered with a re-growth of vegetation, the staff report says.

This sort of rezoning requires a public meeting with neighbours in the area.

"The applicant has advised that he will be holding an information meeting at Minnow Lake Place and will provide an update on that meeting to the planning committee," the report says. "As of the date of this report, no letters or phone calls with respect to the application have been received."

A similar plan is being proposed on Kenwood Street, off of Second Avenue in Minnow Lake. However, the application seeks to legalize an illegal fourth apartment in a building zoned for three units only.

The public meeting on the plan was scheduled for Jan. 13, but one resident already wrote the planning department to complain. In her letter, Elise Barrette said she's concerned about vehicles parking on the grass instead of proper parking spots.

She chose the area "because of the nature of the neighbourhood," she wrote.

The rezoning "will only result in heavier traffic, parking on the grass and unruly tenants on Kenwood Street. I hope you do not permit this."

The staff report makes addressing parking concerns key to the rezoning approval.

"There appears to be sufficient lot area in the rear yard to accommodate a revised parking layout that would address concerns related to on-street parking," the report says. "If parking concerns cannot be adequately addressed, the fourth unit must be discontinued and the property will retain its status as a legal triplex."

Also on tonight's docket are routine applications for two garden suites, to allow the landowners to provide housing for their parents. The meeting gets underway at 5:30 p.m. at Tom Davies Square.

@darrenmacd 


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Darren MacDonald

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