Ninety-six units `huge' for size of Lauzon Road lot, say opposed neighbours
Neighbours whose one-acre-plus Windsor properties on Lauzon Road help them feel they are living in the county fear they will be rudely thrust into city life if a 96-condo project is approved.
A numbered Ontario company is seeking a zone change to permit four three-storey buildings to be built on 3.75 acres zoned for a single-family home at 3129 Lauzon Rd., which until recently was occupied by a modest house with an orchard, backing onto Little River just east of Little River Golf Course.
“Ninety-six units is huge for that area,” said Brenda Gagnier, speaking for her mother-in-law Rose-marie Gagnier, 93, who has lived at her nearby home on Lauzon since it was built on 1.25 acres 55 years ago. Back then, your lot had to be at least an acre, said Brenda Gagnier, who has been speaking for many of these long-standing residents along this stretch of Lauzon in Forest Glade.
“These neighbours are concerned about what their neighbourhood has been like before and they want it to continue,” she said Wednesday. “They had a rule on how big the lot had to be when they bought and now it's being thrown to the wind and changed.”
Gagnier said the residents were bitterly disappointed last month, when the development and heritage standing committee recommended approval of the rezoning in a 7-1 vote, despite being presented with multiple letters, a petition with around 180 names, and hearing from numerous delegates — all opposed to the project.
The recommendation for approval is expected to go to city council in the coming weeks, when Gagnier says residents will once again make their case against the project. They believe that instead of 96 condos crammed onto the property, it should be used to build several single-family homes.
She said that except for Ward 7 Coun. Jeewen Gill, who represents the area and was the lone vote against the project, the committee members didn't listen and appear focused on approving projects that will bring the city more taxes.
“There are a lot of different concerns still outstanding and I'm standing with the residents. It should not be built,” Gill said Wednesday, describing how the property is in the midst of single-family homes.
“I know there needs to be development happening in the city for different areas, but it should not be in between (houses).”
Ward 4 Coun. Chris Holt, who made the motion favouring the project, said he understands how some residents who have lived a long time next to the property may feel like they're living in the country.
“But we live in a city and we need to move forward with smarter development patterns and smarter urban planning,” he said during the meeting.
Another committee member, Ward 10's Jim Morrison, remarked how more and more of these infill projects are coming forward. The demand for housing and rising real estate values have spurred a local building boom in the form of apartment and condo developments throughout the city.
“This is not something that is only going to happen in this one neighbourhood, where the neighbours feel picked on,” Morrison said.
After 30 or 40 years, the city is finally growing again, and Windsor can't afford to grow as it did in the past, with an explosion of single-family subdivisions, said Ward 3 Coun. Rino Bortolin, who chairs the committee.
“This is an arterial road that has transit, that is close to schools, close to churches. It's a desirable neighbourhood on green space,” Bortolin said. “Allowing to share that with as many people as possible makes sense.”
The developer, a numbered company owned by three or four local business people, is building the condos to appeal to empty nesters and older people who want to move out of their too-large homes but want to remain in the area, said Melanie Muir, a planner with Dillon Consulting representing the company. The hope is construction can start quickly after all the necessary approvals are obtained, she said, either later this year or early in 2022.