OMB sides with developer on Ancaster condo project
City council opposed building, believed it was not compatible with area
The Ontario Municipal Board has upheld the appeal of a developer to build a 19-unit condominium development on Wilson Street in Ancaster.
Sharyn Vincent, chair of the OMB that heard the appeal last fall in Dundas, states the proposed development by Sonoma Homes on the 4,473-square-metre triangleshaped property at 125 Wilson St. and Dalley Drive “conforms to and implements the (official plan) intensification goals adopted in conformity with the Provincial Policy Statement, by adding range and mix of housing forms in an area designated for intensification.”
In her nine-page decision released Dec. 29, Vincent stated the proposal also conforms to the city’s community nodes policy by “adding to the existing range of built forms, enriching the urban streetscape.”
Vincent dismissed the city’s planning witness, Allan Ramsay, a land use planner, who said it would have an “adverse” impact on the surrounding properties.
Adjacent to the condominium development, there are plans for another residential project to be built.
The city’s planning officials had recommended support for the project. The Ancaster Community Council supported the condominium development with few complaints.
Vincent stated as well that Sonoma Homes followed the city’s urban design which “adopts the overarching principle that new development shall serve to maintain and support existing character, or create and promote the evolution of the character in areas where transformations are appropriate and planned.” The hearing chair stated the 19-unit development conforms to the city’s official plan policies.
Ancaster Coun. Lloyd Ferguson, along with the city’s planning committee and council, voted against the rezoning application for the three-storey development. City staff argued at the hearing the proposal is “not compatible” with existing and future uses in the surrounding area, and therefore “fails to conform with (the) official plan.”