Burlington to fight 28-story proposal

NRU
April 1, 2015
By Edward LaRusic

The tallest and densest building proposal ever submitted for approval in Burlington is heading to the OMB, with city staff saying it is too much building on too little site.

“Staff finds that the applications propose an inappropriate level of intensification on a very small parcel without consideration of the adverse impacts on adjacent properties,” said city planner Rosa Bustamante at Monday’s development and infrastructure committee meeting. She added that staff has issues with the lack of sufficient setbacks and landscape buffering to adjacent residential properties, and is concerned that the parking and amenity space proposed is insufficient.

Adi Development Group’s applications for official plan and zoning by-law amendments seek permission for a 28-storey, mixed-use building with 226 residential units at 374 Martha Street, currently a parking lot.

The official plan permits a four-storey building on the site, with provisions to allow eight-storeys. Further, the 79-page staff report indicates that the 0.136 ha. site is deficient 65 parking spaces and provides only 981 sq.m. of amenity area, about 3,539 sq.m. below city requirements.

The staff report notes that building would be taller than the approved 22-storey Bridgewater building to the southwest at Lakeshore Road and Elizabeth Street. And the proposal, at 1,661 units per hectare, would be over three times as dense as the Wellington Terrace, a nine-storey building at 375 Brant Street.

“Adi believes that the proposed development represents an excellent opportunity to intensify a vacant site within downtown Burlington, which is a designated urban growth centre in the [provincial] growth plan, a major transit station area and an anchor mobility hub,” wrote Adi counsel Denise Baker (WeirFoulds LLP) in an email to NRU. “The City of Burlington is largely built out with few remaining greenfield growth opportunities, therefore most future growth needs to be accommodated by way of intensification.”

The committee voted unanimously to refuse the application. That recommendation will go to Burlington council for consideration April 20.