A townhouse development at 96 Gladstone Avenue South has received the necessary Zoning Bylaw amendment to proceed.
Yorkton Council was unanimous in its decision, but residents in the area of the proposed development were not on side with the multi-resident townhouse being added to the local streets cape.
Carleen Koroluk, planner with the City explained, “The owner is proposing to demolish an existing house located on the property and construct a two storey, six unit townhouse used exclusively for market price rental purposes.”
Council passed first Reading and approved public notice for the proposed bylaw to rezone the subject property from R-1 General Residential to R-5 Mixed Density Residential, which would allow the townhouse as a Permitted Use, at their May 9, 2016 meeting.
The application is consistent with the Official Community Plan (OCP), which prescribes residential development within these lands, detailed material circulated to Council by City Administration.
“The OCP looks at ways to increase and promote affordable housing stock, such as providing and encouraging infill housing, providing for a variety of lot sizes, including small lots that are appropriate for entry level housing, and increasing the overall density of the city,” said Koroluk.
Koroluk added a section of the OCP states, “We are committed to the provision of housing for a wide spectrum of residents, including affordable housing for seniors, students, newcomers to Canada and low income families. We believe that creating a healthy, sustainable community for all residents can be achieved by supporting alternative and innovative approaches to developing the built environment and the social well-being of our residents.
“The OCP continues by stating, “In terms of affordable housing, priorities developed by the Yorkton Housing Committee and solutions set out in the City of Yorkton Housing Needs Assessment Study guide us in providing affordable housing. We focus our efforts on facilitating the development of rental housing, entry level housing, student housing, transitional and accessible housing, seniors housing and subsidized housing for low income families.” As such, the OCP supports higher-density residential land uses where appropriate.”
Koroluk said the development would service a housing niche in the community.
“The proposed development is designed to address the need for modern, self-contained housing for seniors, professionals and students and proposes one-bedroom suites with floor areas of approximately 620 square feet,” she said.
The plan also fits the area, offered Koroluk.
“Being that the property is a corner lot, the proposed site and building have been designed to complement the neighboring residential area by providing a twenty foot landscaped front yard setback along the Gladstone property line. The proposed parking area incorporates a separate one-way entrance and a separate one-way exit, both from Independent Street. The separate entrance and exit allow traffic to flow forward-in and forward-out eliminating the need for vehicles to back across the sidewalk and into the street and thus minimizing the impact to existing vehicle and pedestrian traffic. Access from Independent Street also mirrors existing parking along the street. The owner has orchestrated housing initiatives within the city at similar locations and has demonstrated an ability to provide safe and affordable housing,” she said.
But neighbouring property owners were not convinced.
“We as land owners in the surrounding area are strongly opposed to this proposal,” said Jason Thibodeau, who spoke on behalf of 11 property owners who signed a petition calling for the City to deny the development.
Thibodeau said local area residents see several issues with the development, starting with parking which he said is already an issue in the area.
“We are no longer able to park our vehicles on the street overnight, In addition to this prior dilemma St. Mary’s School, which neighbours the property in question, is already plagued with a significant amount of traffic with the families that transport their children to and from school. Additional vehicles to this area would most certainly increase this already existing burden in the area,” he said.
The two storey townhouse was also seen as an invasion of privacy.
“As this is proposed to be a two storey, six unit townhouse, privacy for nearby homes and yards would essentially be minimized. Neighbours would then have to spend a significant amount of money to keep what privacy would be eliminated by a large complex that will shadow the already existing homes,” Thibodeau told Council.
And there were concerns about the possible impact on property values.
“Decrease in property value related to the change in zoning. Adding this structure to our neighbourhood would take away the feel and look of a single family residential neighbourhood that is trying to up its appeal and value. If the amendment regarding the property was approved, would our taxes then be decreased as a result of lower property values?” said Thibodeau.
And Thibodeau also raised concerns on the impact of the addition of six additional residences to area City infrastructure, in particular the ability to deal with storm water.
“Since I have been living at Gladstone Avenue South, it became very apparent that this section of Gladstone has an already weak infrastructure when it comes to flooding. Being a part of the property restoration industry for 13 years now and having Master Status in the industry, I deal with these issues on a daily basis. I have already seen how weak this infrastructure really is,” he said.
“… In 2015-16, I went through extreme and expensive measures to rectify my house’s water issues. It is my personal and professional opinion that adding this many units to an already weak and burdened infrastructure would only cause more issues and stress to the system. This will only cost the neighbouring homeowners and the city more in the end. I believe that the issues this proposed development will cause to the individuals that neighbour the site justify a decision to deny a multi-unit complex to be developed.”
Councillor Ross Fisher said while he resides just outside the local area of the development, but added “I really don’t see an issue with this is terms of the neighbourhood.”
Fisher said a townhouse is not exactly changing the neighbourhood one he termed “reasonably mixed” in terms of what is in the area now with a school, converted church yard and multi-family residences.
The small, 600-square foot townhouses, which will have only one bedroom also, will not bring a major influx of people, offered Fisher.
The housing option is also a good thing, said Fisher.
“We need apartment buildings to accommodate a portion of our community,” he said.
In the end Council unanimously supported the zoning amendment as a step toward the townhouse being developed.
