Sonoma Homes revises Mountain condo towers proposal after strong opposition

Sonoma Homes has made some significant revisions to its condominium development plan for the Acadia Drive-Upper Sherman area of the east-central Mountain.

According to documents submitted to the city’s planning department recently, the developer is still looking to build four condo towers, but with fewer storeys and fewer units on about 1.9 hectares of land at 1518, 1530 and 1540 Upper Sherman.

The new plan calls for a total of 321 units on site, 168 fewer than the 489 units in the previous plan that included two 11-storey tow- ers, a nine-storey building and an eight-storey tower.

Along the north side of Acadia Drive and Upper Sherman Sonoma Homes is looking to build two eight-storey condo towers with 183 units in total and one condo building six storeys high with 69 units.

Across the street next to Billy Sherring Park, the developer is proposing an eight-storey building with 69 units.

The previous plan to connect Cartier Crescent to Acadia Drive has been dropped.

Glen Wellings, a planning consultant for Sonoma Homes, said the revised proposal conforms with the Urban Hamilton Official Plan and no longer requires an plan amendment, only a zoning change to proceed.

Wellings told the city councillors a revised submission was forthcoming after the original proposal was given a rough ride at the planning committee last spring and was blasted at a public meeting last January as being too big and too dense for the community.

But Wellings also said last spring that the revised submission would include condominium buildings.

While the Butler neighbourhood is comprised mostly of single-family homes, Wellings noted it does not reflect modern planning practices or provincial guidelines.