‘Disaster waiting to happen’: Mississauga residents, council blast proposed 700-unit development

Privacy, safety of schoolchildren concerning residents at 4099 Erin Mills Pkwy. in Mississauga’s Erin Mills neighbourhood

Mississauga.com
June 5, 2023
Steve Cornwell

A proposed 700-unit development in a Mississauga neighbourhood needs big changes, city council and local residents say.

Queenscorp’s proposal would see 703 new units split across five buildings and stacked townhouses at 4099 Erin Mills Pkwy. in Mississauga’s Erin Mills neighbourhood, where local residents say the project would snarl traffic, possibly endanger children at nearby schools and lower the quality of life in the area.

At a May 29 meeting, Justin Colley spoke to council warning the proposed building heights would immediately impact the privacy of the existing neighbourhood and that new project would create “major issues” on surrounding residential roads.

“In a city trying to create safer roads, intersections and access points, you’re basically looking at the opposite here with a disaster waiting to happen,” said Colley, who is part of a local Sawmill Valley Focus Group.

Lori Goldie, who is also from Sawmill Valley Focus Group, told council the development would make the traffic situation for local schools St. Mark and Sawmill Valley Public School go from bad to worse.

“The 703 proposed units will seriously compromise the safety of our children by significantly worsening an already dangerous situation in front of the schools,” she said.

Planner Glen Broll from Glen Schnarr and Associates represented Queenscorp at the May 29 meeting and said the developer is dedicated to working with local residents to potentially “massage” the proposal.

“Our client Queenscorp is really trying to take the information that’s coming forward, apply the business plan of the site and see where there’s common ground that can be met for the community,” he said.

ALCAN Highway A rendering of the proposed development at 4099 Erin Mills Pwky | Turner Fleischer renderings

The proposal comes amid increased pressure from the province to boost housing supply, in part to accommodate millions more residents expected to come to the GTHA in the coming years.

Mississauga council has signed onto the province’s target for the city, 120,000 new units in the next decade, but has warned a substantial infrastructure investment is needed to meet that goal.

Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie, who is contemplating a run for the Ontario Liberals, said the city would exceed those housing targets but increased density would go where it’s appropriate in the city.

“We know where density and intensification is appropriate and it’s not in that plaza,” she said.

Building heights for the proposed development range from 11 to six storeys, according to plans submitted to the city by Queenscorp. The proposed townhomes would be four storeys.

Current zoning allows for commercial uses like retail and restaurants and buildings of up to four storeys for the site, which is adjacent to two-storey single family homes and served by three MiWay bus routes along Erin Mills Parkway.

University of Toronto geography and planning professor Karen Chapple said there is often pushback on infill development, but said she was surprised to see such opposition to 11-storey heights.

“There's been a good deal of highrise development in Mississauga in recent years and if any site is appropriate, it's an underutilized parking lot on a very wide roadway,” she said. “You would not be making smart choices for the future if you didn't build a considerable density on this site.”

The anticipated population of the development is 1,650. That would be a 4.3 per cent increase in the Erin Mills neighbourhood area, which has around 38,320 people, according to city estimates.

Several residents at the meeting also raised concerns about potential loss of the existing 60,000-square-foot retail plaza on the site that includes a grocery store, pharmacy and ice cream parlour. Queenscorp is proposing to have around 8,300 square feet along the Erin Mills Parkway side of the development, which is 86 per cent less than the existing site.

“When a developer comes in, they want to leave something better than what’s there,” local councillor Matt Mahoney.