Proposed towers in Waterloo raises planning issues
As a citizen with a background in land-use planning, who spent many hours working on Waterloo’s official plan, I am deeply troubled by the proposed condo towers planned for the former post office site in uptown Waterloo.
It requires numerous exemptions to the plan, which suggests that the building might pave the way for a new image of the uptown, not in accord with the plan. I have a number of comments and questions in mind, most of which should be in the minds of councillors when they consider the proposal.
1. This is an imaginative proposal involving a high-tech and learning facility that seems to be designed, at least in part, to attract support that exceeds many stipulations in the plan. The high-tech and learning facility also seems to carry many costs that may fall on the city and, ultimately, on the taxpayer.
2. The building proposal is attached to a suggestion of a trendy new image for the uptown that is not in accord with the plan and its support for protection of the heritage character of the uptown, small businesses and nearby neighbourhoods. The proposal for the trendy new image for the uptown could be seen as a classic disruptive manoeuvre.
3. The proposal for a new building and associated uptown image would lead back to Square 1 and the abandonment of years of work, consultations and careful scrutiny by the public, local groups, planners and council. If council approves this proposal, then the planning exercise has been expensive, futile and a good reason for citizens to be skeptical about participating in such planning efforts in the future, as well as the seriousness with which their efforts are taken by council.
4. This new building and associated uptown planning proposal are likely to work against the interests and investments that local businesses have been making in the future of the uptown as understood in the plan by council.
5. Have the uptown business people been consulted about the new building and uptown image proposal?
6. What would the public think of a sudden change in the image of the uptown, which was not considered at all in the lengthy discussions of the uptown plan?
7. What impact will a new building and a new, higher, denser and more expensive uptown have on taxes and on small businesses and adjoining neighbourhoods? The impact in Toronto has been higher taxes and problems, and dislocation for small businesses.
8. Have council and city planners assessed the effects of the proposals economically, socially and environmentally on the uptown and surrounding neighbourhoods?
9. Why should the building be so large as to call for easing of setbacks on green space requirements, and would facilities within the building be available for public use in the same manner as they would outside?
10. Will the new high-tech facilities be open for residents, locals and the public generally? How will the equipment be managed and kept up-to-date and by whom? Who will bear the cost for equipping, servicing, maintaining and updating the equipment and facilities? Who will supervise the facility and its users? How will the costs be covered? What are the insurance and other requirements for such a facility? How will they be financed?
Gordon Nelson is a retired professor of geography and planning at the University of Waterloo. He lives in Waterloo.