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A few weeks after residents of Laurentian Heights and its immediate surroundings showed up in droves at North Bay City Hall to raise their objections to a proposed rezoning amendment that would allow for the construction of high-end semi-detached homes, the matter has been settled — for now.
See related: 'Exclusive' neighbourhood turns up nose to 'high-end' semis plan
Shortly after hearing two respectful presentations from members of the group during its Tuesday, Feb. 13 regular meeting, North Bay City Council approved the rezoning amendment, the next step in the development of three lots once owned by the Wallace family who spurred the Laurentian Heights development. They are located at 30, 32 and 34 Kenreta Drive, on the south side of the road. There are other vacant lots yet to be developed in the area.
According to the report from the City of North Bay's Planning Department, the previous zoning only permitted the use of the lands as single-detached dwellings. The property owner submitted the rezoning amendment to permit the lots to be developed with semi-detached dwelling units.
Instead of building three separate free-standing homes, the plan now is for present landholders Bay Builders to construct three semi-detached buildings resulting in six units. A major concern of the neighbourhood group is, with the new additional dwelling unit provisions in the municipal plan, each of those six units could conceivably be split into three separate units, creating a total of 18 units. Each structure would be limited to one storey according to the zoning by-law, to protect the city sightlines.
"The Provincial Policy Statement and the Official Plan both encourage the concentration of new development within the Settlement Area where public services are available and the development is appropriate for the area. Intensification in this manner represents a more efficient use of public services," per the staff report.
While the objections in a January public planning meeting raised concerns about decreased property values and the degradation of the character of exclusive Laurentian Heights, Tuesday's presentations focused on traffic volumes and capacity in and around the neighbourhood.
Previously identified traffic issues at Airport Road and Surrey Drive were raised and it was noted the most recent traffic study in the area dates back to 2016. The Laurentian Heights group feels there is plenty left to be mitigated. Much development has taken place in the area over those eight years. Traffic lights have been installed at the Pearce Street crossing but the presenters wondered about the capacity of the various access points along Airport Road.
Presenter Tim Bremner acknowledged many still use Surrey Drive instead of the controlled intersection at Pearce as an entry/exit point despite the identified risks. "Traffic and infrastructure are challenging in the Airport area," he said, "notwithstanding the traffic light at Pearce. And, like many people, I'm a little bit lazy and prefer to use the easiest access to my property."
In his address to the council, Bremner suggested the rezoning does not fit within the City's Official Plan. "Approval of this rezoning at this time would result in a precedent-setting event that would have far-reaching implications for the future."
Before the vote, Coun. Tanya Vrebosch spoke about the restrictive covenants signed by the homeowners and the developers guaranteeing certain living standards in Laurentian Heights and echoed the opinion given by staff that the council is not bound by these agreements.
As Senior Planner Peter Carello has noted, the covenants do not prevent such a rezoning or semi-detached development.
"Restrictive covenants are agreements that are between a developer and individual property owners. The City is not a party to these agreements. We do not sign off on them and, therefore, we do not have any obligations under the restrictive covenants. The City does, however, have obligations under the Planning Act that would prevent the municipality from entering into an agreement that would prevent future uses ... entering into a restrictive covenant would contravene our responsibilities under the Planning Act."
Coun. Mark King, who chaired the Jan. 17 planning meeting, told the Laurentian Heights group then the committee had "an obligation to move this forward to council for a vote. There are other alternatives in the middle of this. But, really this is a fact-finding mission, to listen to the community and give the community an opportunity to talk about what their concerns are."
It was during that meeting that Steve McArthur a senior planner with Tulloch Geomatics Inc. appeared on behalf of Laurentian Heights and Bay Builders in an attempt to clear the air and address some of the concerns of the Laurentian Heights residents.
McArthur unveiled drawings of the "high-end dwellings with two-plus-two bedrooms, three bathrooms, open concept, ranging from 1,400 square feet to 1,530 square feet on the main floor. The only difference between this and single-detached dwellings is they share a common wall."
McArthur thanked those in attendance for their feedback, acknowledging how difficult it is for some to stand at the podium and speak publicly and then shifted to supporting his client's case to have the properties rezoned and to see the semi-detached builds move forward.
"We can agree on one thing, this is a very beautiful neighbourhood, there is no doubt about it," he said. "In addition to that, there is a lack of serviced, available building lots in the City of North Bay and we have a housing crisis in this province right now. Those that are available are expensive to build on and there is a demand, especially in this area."
In the end, the majority of council was not swayed by the arguments from the Laurentian Heights residents. There is an opportunity to appeal the matter to the Ontario Land Tribunal and civil action is always a possibility but as it stands, needed housing — even in the form of homes without four walls — is in the works on the city's escarpment.
