Kincardine Council

To Comment on this article Click Here

Kincardine's planning advisory committee has deferred any decision on a 34-unit apartment building slated for the corner of Durham Market South and Queen Street in Ward 1 (former Town of Kincardine).

At the planning and corporate services meeting last night (Nov. 9), Bruce County planner Bruce Stickney recommended deferral of the application by developer Keith Battler, until some issues are resolved.

Battler wants to rezone the land to General Commercial Special from General Commercial and Environmental Protection, in order to construct a six-storey, 34-unit apartment building where the old Mahood building currently stands.

The apartment complex would have five storeys of residential units, plus an underground parking garage, with an access to Queen Street, said Stickney. 

The applicant also wants to purchase part of the Durham Market South road allowance to facilitate additional underground parking and surface visitor parking required for the development, he said. This would require either the sale of property or an easement with the municipality.

The proposal requires amendments to the Kincardine Official Plan as well as the zoning bylaw, said Stickney.

The development allows one parking space per unit in the underground facility, but visitor parking would be on the street unless Battler can get an agreement with the municipality for use of the Durham Market South property, said Stickney.

"The issue of parking needs to be addressed before I can make a recommendation to the planning advisory committee," he said. "There are also other issues, such as the parking garage, the access to Queen Street, the fact that the street slopes down to the Queen Street bridge, and other safety issues."

Stickney said the public works department has suggested a traffic study be prepared by the applicant to address these safety issues.

He said there was extensive pre-consultation with the Saugeen Valley Conservation Area (SVCA) due to the proximity to the Penetangore River and the slope there, and the SVCA has no concerns.

However, Stickney still recommended deferral until the parking issues, and concerns about the road allowance can be addressed.

Paul Bennett of RR 4, Paisley, owns the property to the east of the proposed development (Pet Valu).

He said the apartment building will be built right up against the lot line between the two properties, leaving very little room for construction of the actual structure.

"The sub-soil there is sand and the building will be 12-15 feet below grade," he said. "I'm concerned that construction will undermine my building and my property."

He said the back of the property is very steep, almost at a 50-degree angle, and it's all sand. "I want some consideration as to how they plan to put up this building without undermining my building and the hillside."

Bennett said he would expect the existing building, which is in very poor shape, to be demolished before any work were done on the new structure. Otherwise, he is concerned the old building would fall down on his property.

"I'm not against the proposal," he said, "I just have these concerns."

Battler said the building will be five storeys with underground parking, and the sixth floor will be a 1,500-square-foot storage area and gym overlooking the lake.

He said the portion of property for which he has submitted a purchase offer, is actually not Durham Market South, but the road allowance where people currently park in front of the building.

As for concerns about construction of the building, he said it can be done without disturbing the surrounding structures. And regarding a traffic study, he said Queen Street is an arterial road and, according to the municipality's own Official Plan, there is a need for high-density residential development in the downtown and on arterial roads.

^{for world news, books, sports, movies ...}

Wednesday, November 09, 2011