Proposed development irks residents, politicians
WATERLOO — Some neighbours and politicians are unhappy about a drive-thru and proposed apartment towers near a busy roundabout in west Waterloo.
Disagreement surrounds the development of two hectares of vacant land on the south side of Erb Street West, between Ira Needles Boulevard and Westhaven Street.
With misgivings, Waterloo council voted 4-3 to approve a Tim Hortons with a drive-thru on a small part of the vacant land beside the Ira Needles roundabout. Critics blasted the drivethru, but failed to derail it last November.
Now council has been asked to decide on contested highrises, proposed on land that’s still vacant beside the approved coffee shop.
A developer proposes to erect two towers of 13 storeys each plus three townhouse blocks, adding 499 bedrooms to a suburb near the regional landfill. That’s about four metres higher than currently allowed.
Two nearby owners criticized the towers at a recent public meeting, raising concerns about traffic, parking, shadows, drainage and the impact on singlefamily homes nearby.
Residents are being invited to a neighbourhood meeting on the tower proposals, Feb. 28 at 7:30 p.m. in a room at city hall on Regina Street.
City council has not taken a stance on the unapproved towers. The proposal faces another citysponsored public consultation at an undetermined date before council votes.
The tower developer has submitted a study that says shadows cast by the towers are within what the city allows.
Another developer-paid study argues that the tower project “exudes a high standard of urban design” and “will result in a development that will be compatible and complementary with its neighbouring land uses.”
That’s not how three councillors felt about the Tim Hortons drive-thru approved by council beside the proposed tower site. Critics attacked it as an unsustainable design that brings no sense of place to a prominent corner.
“All I see is asphalt,” Coun. Diane Freeman said. “It just doesn’t work for me.”
“It just makes no sense to me,” said Coun. Brian Bourke, concerned about drive-thru traffic beside a busy roundabout.
Waterloo planners endorsed the drive-thru. Mayor Dave Jaworsky said that when he drove with his young children, he found drive-thrus convenient and accessible.