Plans approved for 23 homes to replace two existing ones
Small lots would each hold detached house with attached garage, driveway
Kitchener councillors have approved a plan to build 23 homes where two currently stand in a Bridgeport East neighbourhood.
The proposal would replace two detached homes and a detached garage with 23 detached homes — each with an attached garage and small driveway — on the 0.8-hectare (two-acre) property at 67 and 71 Nelson Ave., near Bridge Street East and Bloomingdale Road.
Councillors approved the development proposal at a planning committee meeting this week; formal approval is expected at an upcoming council meeting.
Senior city planner Andrew Pinnell said lots in this neighbourhood “vary greatly in terms of their size and shape,” and homes in the area vary in built form and age.
Comments from area residents at an information meeting last fall included concerns the cluster of new homes would increase traffic and change the character of the neighbourhood.
“I’m not naive to think that there’s not going to be changes in this neighbourhood,” nearby resident Larry Musselman told this week’s committee meeting.
But his concerns include added traffic from this and other proposed developments in the area, and “non-stop interruptions for a few years” during construction.
“I expect changes, but nobody’s in favour of this development. It’s not wanted,” he said. “It’s in an existing neighbourhood, a mature neighbourhood.”
Coun. Scott Davey said this is one of the lower-density applications the city has seen recently.
“I do think that it does fit in with the area,” he said. “I really do think this is the best possible development that we’re going to see in this space.”
The plan, from a numbered company belonging to a local developer, would also see the city sell part of an undeveloped right-ofway at the end of Tagge Street to the developer in a separate process; the city has already declared the land surplus.
The city would keep part of the right-of-way for a future public trail connecting Tagge Street to Sylvia Park. A noise wall would also be built between the trail and an adjacent industrial park.
The Region of Waterloo would have to sign off on noise mitigation measures before the development could proceed.
Revisions to the proposal require a 2.4-metre (eight-foot) fence and a three-metre buffer along the northern property line (beside existing homes on Nelson Avenue and Sylvia Street).
The new homes along that side would have a height limit of eight metres, instead of the maximum 11 metres (three storeys) allowed on the rest of the property. Planning consultant Pierre Chauvin of MHBC Planning said the revisions came as a result of discussions with a neighbour.