KITCHENER — More than 100 residents came out to a public meeting to make it clear they still aren’t happy with a proposal to build a highrise apartment on a parcel of land now occupied by three single-family homes.
The proposal by Milan and Dean Kovacevic would demolish the existing homes on three large lots at 859 and 867 Frederick St. and 39 Avon Rd. and replace them with a 10-storey, 113-unit apartment building.
The original plan, presented to the city in June 2015, called for an even taller building, at 12 storeys, with 16 more units than the latest proposal. The new plan also moves the main access road into the development to Frederick Street from quieter Avon Road.
But residents of the Rosemount neighbourhood filled a meeting room at Lyle Hallman Pool on Thursday night to tell city planners they still had major concerns about the proposal, even after the changes.
Two of the three lots in the 0.5-hectare (1.24-acre) parcel are currently zoned medium-rise residential, which permits buildings up to eight storeys, while the third lot is zoned low-rise residential, which allows buildings of up to three storeys.
Residents questioned why the city would even entertain a proposal to build higher than current zoning allows.
“Why are we not capping it at eight (storeys)?” asked Heather Mulkern. “I feel we do not need to add additional density above and beyond what’s already been approved” in the city’s official plan and zoning bylaw.
The area around the proposed development is made up mainly of single-family homes and two- and three-storey walk-ups; there is one six-storey apartment building a few doors down at 807 Frederick St.
A lot of drivers zip through the neighbourhood looking for a traffic shortcut, and streets periodically get clogged with people parking to attend the Apostolic Christian Church on Avon or the mosque on Victoria Road. Adding more households will just worsen those traffic and parking problems, especially if the city approves the developers’ request to provide 32 fewer parking spots than currently required, residents warned.
“You do have a parking concern in your neighbourhood,” said planner Garett Stevenson, who is managing the development application. “And you wouldn’t want anything to add to that. … There are other things we can do, but we can’t fix it through this application.” He also noted that Manchester Road is ranked fairly high as a priority for traffic calming measures to deter cut-through traffic.
Some residents pleaded with city planners to seriously consider their concerns.
“I don’t begrudge a person building an apartment building,” said Steve Lacey. “It’s a business opportunity for him. But for us, that’s where we live.”
Many residents insisted that the development will have an effect on property values, at least for those homes closest to the site.
“Real estate is real estate, and no one wants to buy a home next to an apartment building,” said Jason Pfeffer.
Residents are invited to submit comments on the proposal before Feb. 28. Details on the development proposal can be found on the city’s website at kitchener.ca/en/insidecityhall/LandUsePlanningNews.asp.