Tower proposal trumps neighbours’ objections
Residents of a nine-storey Waterloo highrise told city council they do not want a 12-storey highrise built in their backyard. They complained it will put their balconies in shade, reduce their privacy, ruin their view and bring too many people and too much traffic.
Council voted 7-0 Monday to approve the tower because politicians see a lot to like in it.
It has 72 one-bedroom apartments and 58 family-sized apartments, more than is usual. They are rental apartments the city needs. The building will have 14 affordable units with rents based on income. It has five townhouse-style units.
It’s near transit. It’s beside other highrises that are built or planned in a central neighbourhood on Erb Street West.
“I can’t say no to this,” Coun. Julie Wright said of the project in her downtown ward.
She noted: “Everything is changing and it’s pretty disconcerting for people living in that neighbourhood.”
City hall will bend planning rules to permit the highrise at 6-14 Dietz Ave. N. It is two times taller than currently allowed, with more bedrooms than permitted, and it requires other planning tweaks.
It’s not the first time council has faced a not-in-my-backyard backlash launched by residents of one highrise against another highrise proposed next door.
Residents in a 15-storey building complained last year that a 30-storey building planned next door at King and John streets will degrade their quality of life. Council voted 6-1 to approve the new tower.
Developer Tommy Rakic, of Copper Bay Homes, trimmed the height of the Dietz Avenue building and reoriented its entrance after hearing from critics. He earned praise for making changes.
He complained, however, that city hall took too long to decide and has been too prescriptive. By legislation, council must decide on housing developments within 120 days. City hall put his proposal through a planning review lasting almost a year.
“It took a while to get to this point,” he said in an interview, urging city government to move faster. Citing similar complaints, other Waterloo developers have chosen to bypass city hall to ask a provincial planning tribunal to approve 40 residential towers at six locations.
Rakic expects construction could begin next year on Dietz Avenue. Five detached houses will be demolished to make way for the new highrise, across the street from a 12-storey building that’s under construction. Another building of 24 storeys is planned for the block.
“This project is far too big for such a small parcel of land,” resident Pauline Campbell complained to council. She lives in the Waterloo Heights building next door that has many seniors on its nine floors who are displeased.
“Our neighbourhood cannot support another highrise,” Thom Bartleman said. He complained it will be too dense, without enough parking or green space, and he expects bothersome shadows.
Housing advocates praised the Copper Bay proposal. “It should be held up as a model,” Craig Sloss said.
City hall will bend planning rules to permit the highrise at 6-14 Dietz Ave. N