APARTMENT: 30 year project gets the go-ahead

NEIGHBOURS’ CONCERNS REMAIN LARGELY unaddressed, but plans for a new apartment building in the south end of Breslau won approval this week from Woolwich council.

Tuesday night’s vote cleared the way for a fourstorey, 78-unit building at 208 - 226 Woolwich St. S. that’s slated to offer twoand three-bedroom rental units.

Breslau Mennonite Church (BMC) applied for a zone change to allow the construction of the building on the rear portion of their property. About a third of the 8.2-acre property would be earmarked for the housing project, then sold to a developer, Reid’s Heritage Properties.

As approved, the project is slightly scaled back from the 82 units unveiled at a public meeting earlier this year. The changes provide slightly more setback from the property line to address concerns about proximity to neighbouring property. Concerns about compatibility with the neighbourhood, traffic and density were not dealt with, largely because provincial regula- tions require increasingly higher densities regardless of local preferences.

Likewise, while the church is focusing on offering seniors’ housing, there is no mechanism to limit who can live in the building, another concern raised by residents.

“Planning legislation cannot restrict the use of a building by age, social economic status, or any other such label. The focus needs to be on the appropriateness of the land use, being an apartment, and not about the tenants,” noted a report by Woolwich planner Jeremy Vink.

Questioned by Coun. Patrick Merlihan about the target market for the building, the church’s planning consultant, David Aston of MHBC Planning, said the building would be constructed with seniors in mind, though it couldn’t be exclusively for that demographic.

Art Dettweiler, a member of the church’s building committee, added the building would contain “senior-friendly amenities” to target that market.

“You can build a building Breslau church’s apartment project gets nod from council despite residents’ concerns

that’s fitting for seniors,” he said. “We feel seniors are the best fit.”

The project grew from an idea some 30 years ago that seniors’ housing was a community need for those wishing to downsize from their homes by remain in Breslau, he added, noting the church has a waiting list of some 30 people who are interested if the project goes ahead.

Though much more sparsely attended than a public meeting in February, Tuesday night’s session heard from some neighbours with concerns, while others sent email comments.

Starlight Avenue resident Kristen Baskerville stressed that concerns remain about safety and privacy. Called on the township to ensure the project has “the least amount of negative impact on those residents there already.”

Other issues, such as grading, fencing and lighting, will be addressed when the project moves to the site-plan approval stage, noted Vink.