Hamilton councillors may have to break a planning precedent to allow for the development of a residential project that would create 220 needed units for the community.
Rymal Holding Ltd. has applied for a zoning amendment at 81 and 87 Rymal Rd. E. to build an eight-storey structure with 210 units, plus two, three-storey townhouses containing 10 residential units on a 0.73-hectare parcel of land located beside a car dealership.
The plan includes two levels of underground parking for 147 vehicles and 10 spots for surface parking, and DiCenzo Drive along the northern property line will be extended from the nearby traffic circle at Atessa Drive.
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The problem is the owners need a sanitary sewer connection to allow for the development to proceed, but the city has proposed a holding provision on the development until the owner completes a functional servicing report and water hydraulic analysis for the permanent utility. Yet, said Elizabeth Farrugia, senior planner for GSP Group, representing the owners at the Dec. 5 planning meeting, that requirement assumes a nearby property would soon be developed. Farrugia said at the moment there are no plans to rezone the adjacent property and the holding provision could delay the development by at least a decade.
Farrugia said the owners are requesting the city to “modify” the holding provision and allow the owner to build “temporary” services from the existing connection from Atessa Drive and along Rymal Road to the proposed development.
The temporary services would be paid for by the owners and would be removed once the permanent utilities are installed.
“I am sympathetic to the development,” said Mountain Coun. John-Paul Danko, who represents the area. “It is at the mercy of the property around DiCenzo Drive.”
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Danko acknowledged staff are reluctant to grant exemptions to holding provisions on developments.
He said there are several guarantees he wants from the developer before the committee agrees to modify the holding provision. Those include the owners would not sell the property and constructing the temporary services would be done so it won’t impact the surrounding neighbourhood.
Farrugia said the owners are willing to discuss the issues with the city.
Danko said five years ago he would have opposed the application.
“A lot has changed,” he said. “This is the kind of missing middle (housing) we are trying to promote. The site is very unique. I am very much in favour of finding a solution.”
The committee agreed in an 8-0 vote to Danko’s motion to defer a decision on the application until the Jan. 16 planning committee meeting so that staff can meet with the owners.
is a reporter for Hamilton Community News (Ancaster News, Dundas Star News, Mountain News and Stoney Creek News). He can be reached at kwerner@hamiltonnews.com.
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