Cambridge council rejects stacked townhouse proposal for Pinebush Road

Cambridge council rejected a townhouse proposal for Pinebush Road this week because of traffic safety concerns.

At a meeting Tuesday, council voted not to approve the project at 190-194 Pinebush Rd. and Wayne Avenue, with several councillors saying they were concerned about safety on Pinebush Road and Wayne Avenue.

It’s the latest project in the city that will likely find it way to the Ontario Land Tribunal, which decides land planning disputes.

Already this year, the land tribunal has given approval to projects either rejected by the city or which were taken to the tribunal because council failed to make a decision within legislated timelines. Council also rejected a subdivision proposal on Ripplewood Road in February.

Pinebush proposal was for 39 stacked townhouse units with 56 on-site parking spaces and a common outdoor amenity area on about half a hectare of land. Four of the parking spaces were barrier free.

Staff recommended approving the project.

Because the infill project would only generate 15 to 20 additional vehicle trips at peak hours, city staff and Region of Waterloo staff did not require the developer to complete a traffic impact study.

At the city level, one is only required when a project will add 100 or more additional vehicle trips in the area.

Council wasn’t convinced, noting a pedestrian recently died after being hit by a vehicle on a roundabout at Pinebush and Franklin Boulevard, and that a commercial plaza on Wayne Avenue, near the development, generates a lot of traffic.

Mayor Jan Liggett said there is a need to look at all of the traffic in the area comprehensively, rather than just the trips that will be generated by the development. Coun. Ross Earnshaw agreed. “To simply blindly apply the rules depending on how many trips are generated by the proposal without paying any attention to the surrounding circumstances … seems to me foolhardy,” he said.

Coun. Mike Devine moved the motion to reject the proposal and direct staff to send correspondence to the region, which is responsible for Pinebush Road, urging that a traffic impact study be done for Pinebush between Franklin Boulevard and Conestoga Parkway and all intersections in between to provide increased safety provisions and that staff investigate closing the plaza access on Wayne Avenue.

“We can say we need housing in Cambridge and we do need housing in Cambridge, but not housing at any cost,” Devine said.

Couns. Sheri Roberts and Scott Hamilton voted against rejecting the project.

Roberts said she is concerned about traffic safety in the area but agreed with staff that it is unrelated to the development proposal.

“I believe that’s a separate issue and needs to be addressed directly by the region,” she said.

Staff recommended approval of the project saying it is consistent with local and provincial planning policies and represents good planning by adding more housing options.

Since the first iteration of the proposal the building lot coverage was reduced to 26 per cent or 1,032 square metres from 24 per cent or 1,747 square metres.

In response to city and public concerns the developer made several other changes including the development of a barrier-free walkway on the property that connects to the amenity space and the establishment of enhanced landscaping and screened wood fencing along the perimeter of the subject lands.

The project proposed a mix of one and three-bedroom units.

Brandon Flewelling from GSP Group, representing the developer, said these types of homes generate about half as much traffic as singledetached homes, like the ones on Wayne Avenue and Dywin Court.

Pinebush proposal was for 39 stacked townhouse units with 56 on-site parking spaces and a common outdoor amenity area on about half a hectare of land. Four of the parking spaces were barrier free