City planning staff are recommending that a scaled-back apartment building be allowed on a site near Basilica of Our Lady and next to Central school, with a strict limit on the overall height of the building and its rooftop mechanical units.

A developer’s request that five storeys be allowed, instead of the four-storey height limit in place since 1995, should be refused, says a staff report that will go to council’s Nov. 28 meeting for a decision.

Planning staff have concluded that “this site is not an appropriate location for increasing building height permissions,” so they are recommending refusal of an Official Plan amendment sought by developer Tom Lammer to permit a fifth storey, says the new report.

Instead, staff are recommending a four-storey building with several conditions attached, including measures to protect the privacy of Central school students.

Lammer, a longtime Guelph developer, asked council in September to fast-track a zoning change and Official Plan amendment so that he could build affordable rental apartments for seniors on the church-owned former tennis court site at the northeast corner of Dublin and Cork streets. He wanted to build a five-storey, 42-unit building that would include 20 affordable seniors’ units, and he said he needed a building permit by April to qualify for $3 million in federal infrastructure funding for the affordable units.

Lammer later revised his proposal with a reduction to 35 units, but still with five storeys. His revision also included providing all required parking onsite, instead of seeking parking exemptions.

Lammer’s revised plan involves about 45,700 square feet of floor space in the building, but the rezoning proposed by city planners for the 0.37-acre site would limit the floor area to about 37,600 square feet, the staff report says.

“Based on this, it is assumed that between 20 and 29 dwelling units could be accommodated within the building,” it says.

In addition to the four-storey limit, staff want the maximum elevation of the building to be capped at 1,184 feet (361 metres) above sea level, including the “mechanical penthouse” on top of the building.

The site at 75 Dublin St. N. is at the edge of the city’s urban growth centre and is adjacent to a lower density residential neighbourhood, the report notes.

“Accordingly, the intent is that this site assists in providing a transition between the urban downtown core of the city and the surrounding low-density neighbourhood, balancing the need to meet the density targets set by the Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe while not adversely impacting stable residential neighbourhoods.”

The site’s location adjacent to Central school is an important additional factor, the report says.

A school is considered to be “a sensitive land use that requires care and consideration when developing adjacent properties,” it says. So the zoning regulations for the site being recommended by city staff seek to “minimize and mitigate any adverse impacts on the school property from new development.”

Staff are proposing that “no overlook from any outdoor amenity space, including rooftop areas, terraces and balconies” be allowed to the north onto the school property. “This regulation could be satisfied through the use of translucent panels,” the report says.

Staff are also suggesting an increase in the building’s side yard setbacks to 4.5 metres, from the three metres proposed by the developer. The rezoning should also require larger stepbacks in order to “better mitigate and minimize the shadow, massing, overlook and general compatibility issues that have been raised with the Central Public School in particular.”

With the recommended height of four storeys and the proposed requirements for an additional side yard setback and additional rear yard stepbacks, staff’s recommended zoning regulations “will not result in unacceptable adverse shadow impacts” for Central school, the report says.

On Nov. 14, Heritage Guelph, council’s heritage advisory committee, refused to support the city’s position that the proposed apartment building wouldn’t have a negative impact on the heritage attributes of the nearby basilica “and the potential heritage landscape of ‘Catholic Hill.’ ”

This remains the city’s position, but the further reductions in building height and mass now being proposed by staff as zoning regulations “may address the committee’s concerns,” the new report says.

The city’s Official Plan and zoning bylaw identify public view corridors to the basilica that are to be protected by limiting the height of buildings to ensure the protected long view is not impacted. However, the property at 75 Dublin St. N. is “not within any of the identified protected public view corridors,” the report states.

“The subject property is approximately 80 metres from the Basilica of our Lady and the geodetic elevation of the roof ridgeline of the basilica is approximately 370 metres above sea level, which is taller than the recommended zoning regulation of 361 metres above sea level” for the apartment building, it says.

“Therefore, staff are of the opinion that further information is not required to determine that there is no negative impact on the heritage attributes of the Basilica of Our Lady Immaculate and the potential cultural heritage landscape of ‘Catholic Hill,’ ” it says. Heritage Guelph had suggested that more information was needed.

The new staff report also says that although council asked staff in September to fast-track this matter, there has been sufficient opportunity for public input. “Staff can confirm that although the process was expedited, the requirements of the Planning Act with respect to providing notice and community engagement have been met,” it says.

In light of considerable public opposition to his proposal for 75 Dublin, Lammer asked city hall about the possibility of a land swap. But this isn’t feasible, given the need for a building permit by April, the report says.

City staff have “reviewed and filtered through all city-owned assets,” it says. “While there are city-owned properties that are zoned residential and are comparable in size to 75 Dublin St. N., none of them would accommodate a building permit by April 2017 for a five-storey apartment building. Therefore, at this time the city is not able to entertain a land swap that meets the property owner’s criteria.”

The report also discusses the affordable housing aspect of Lammer’s project, which would receive federal funding of $150,000 per unit of affordable seniors’ housing to a maximum of $3 million. They are to be one-bedroom apartments, it says, and the maximum rents to be charged for the 20 affordable seniors’ units would be 80 per cent of the prevailing average rents for Guelph-Wellington, as measured by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.

For 2015, this rent would be $708 a month for a one-bedroom unit, the report says.

“To ensure that any affordable rental housing units are made available to low to moderate income households, gross tenant household income targets will be established by the county,” it says, noting that at $708 monthly rent the expected target income would be $34,000 a year.

“Potential residents must provide proof of current annual income via pay stubs, previous year’s tax returns, confirmation of pension or disability income, etc.”