1. 6666 Mountain Road zoning by-law amendment application
Good evening Mr. Mayor and members of Council
My name is Jennifer Vida
I am a registered professional planner here on behalf of Ontario Limited also known as Fruitbelt development
I am here tonight to speak to the application for zoning by-law amendment submitted by Brian and Emilie Weatherall for the property located at 6666 Mountain Road
I also submitted a letter to the clerk’s office on December 6th 2018, which i understand would have been circulated to you as part of this application process
Upper Canada Consultants

2. 6666 Mountain Road – looking North west
9 proposed compact single homes
7 Existing large custom homes
The zoning application before you this evening is an application to rezone the lands known as 6666 Mountain Road
The application seeks to rezone the entire property to permit compact single detached lots fronting onto Marinelli Drive and Lucia Drive
This view is looking north along Marinelli Drive of the subject lands
The lands on the left hand side of the screen show the subject lands as open green space – where 9 compact single lots with frontages of 42 feet are proposed
The area on the right shows the existing established neighborhood with 7 large custom homes with frontages of 56 feet
The existing character of the neighbourhood consists of large single detached dwellings with double car garages
generous lots sizes providing for large lot frontages, large front yards and generous side yards creating a sense of openness
New development should be compatible and respect the existing physical character of the nieghbourhood
6666 Mountain Road – looking North west
Upper Canada Consultants

3. 6666 Mountain Road
In November 2018 my client received a notice of open house from the City of Niagara Falls
The proposal in the notice indicated that a zoning amendment is requested to facilitate the future severance of 10 parcels for single dwellings and the creation of a public road
The zoning application was seeking to rezone the lands from a Development Holding Zone to a site specific R1E zone with a site specific provision to reduce the minimum lot sizes
The plan included in the notice is shown on the screen
The plan shows how the lands would be divided up into parts including:
The existing dwelling lot
10 single detached lots
And a future public road extension of Lucia Drive
However the zoning that is applied for would actually permit the lands to be divided up into 12 new lots and one existing lot, which is not consistent with the information in the public notice
The scale of development that would be permitted by the proposed zoning amendment is much larger than what is illustrated in the submitted plan and described in the public notice
The scale of development that would be permitted by the proposed zoning amendment is not compatible with the existing neighoburhood context and will leave the City will little to no control over the phasing of this development in the future
It is also noted that the creation of the new lots will proceed through a committee of adjustment consent application rather than through a comprehensive subdivision review and approval process, which would ensure that the City and the public interest are protected
The scale and density of the proposed amendment is concerning to my client and several other neighbors in the community
I attended the information meeting for this proposal on November 15th 2018 to gain a better understanding of the proposal
I submitted a letter in December outlining concerns with the proposal
The concerns in my letter include:
Lack of a detailed review process to create the new lots and an attempt to avoid a comprehensive subdivision process as required by the City’s Official Plan
The application does not conform to the official plan policies indicating that development shall primarily proceed through a plan of subdivision
The proposed lots sizes are not compatible with the existing character of the street
and
There is no transition or gradation from the larger custom homes proposed in the application

4. 6666 Mountain Road
My client recently received a notice for the public meeting for tonight's meeting
The notice included some changes to the application
The revised application is seeking the same zoning without the reduction for lot area and a reduction of one lot on Lucia Drive
But the new application indicates that the plan is to be phased
The first phase now consists of 6 lots on Marinelli as you see above – Parts 1-6
With later phases to create the additional 5 lots and public road extension of Lucia Drive
All of these new lots are again proposed to be created through a committee of adjustment approval rather than comprehensive subdivision approval process which will not allow Council input and approval
The changes to the plan do not address any of the concerns that were raised at the information meeting or the concerns outlined in my letter in December, which is quite surprising
I believe the changes that they have made to the application are proposed to make the application appear more minor than it actually is and is an attempt to avoid a proper comprehensive approvals process
Phasing the plan into small pieces does not minimize the impact that the this development will have on the neighbouhood, as ultimately the zoning that is proposed will permit the development of 11 new lots, whether that happens in one phase or three phases, the ultimate impact is the same
How does Council intend to ensure that the plan is phased as outlined in the notice? There is no comment on this in the staff report and in my experience, there is no control mechanism that would ensure this.
It is surprising that the owners wish to phase this development as it would require digging up Marinelli Road, installing laterals, reinstating the road and curbs and boulevards multiple times as the phases move forward which is simply not efficient
I have worked for land developers for many years and lots are sold on a cost per foot of frontage, not on a lot by lot basis
There is no loss of revenue if Council wishes to reduce the number of lots in this development as the length of frontage is the same, therefore the revenues are the same, with 11 lots or 8 lots
Scaling back density will also lead to cost savings for the developer as less laterals and utilities would be required for the development which reduces the overall development costs
I have a few questions for council to consider when making a decision on this application tonight:
How will Council ensure the proposed phasing is implemented?
How will Council ensure that Marinelli Road will be fully reinstated to City Standards after the lots are serviced in multiple phases?
How will Council ensure that the boundary issue with the resident to the west is addressed adequately and protect the public interest?
How will Council ensure that the public road extension of Lucia Drive is done to City standards and that proper warranties are in place like they would be in a plan of subdivision?
How will Council ensure that the lands are cleaned up and that a Record of Site Condition is obtained prior to the development proceeding?

5. 6666 Mountain Road Proposed development plan
It is my professional opinion that:
The proposed zoning plan is not compatible with the existing context of the neighbourhood and it will have a negative impact on the established character
The proposed zoning will permit lots that are 14 feet narrower than what is exists across the street as you see in the plan above
The proposed zoning will not allow for full two car garages and large greenspaces in front of the houses, which contradicts the existing character of the neighbourhood
The zoning will not allow large setbacks between houses which, will negatively impact the existing open character of the neighourhood
No transition or gradation in the density provided between the lower density dwellings and the higher density dwellings is proposed
There is a clear avoidance of a detailed review process to create the new lots and road, which leaves council out of the process and residents to deal with issues themselves
The application does not conform to the official plan policies indicating that development shall primarily proceed through a plan of subdivision
The proposal fails to address a number of the City’s Official Plan policies in terms of compatibility and transition
No temporary turn around will be provided at the dead-end of Lucia Drive, which is atypical to what has been the standard in development across the region....How will snow removal vehicles turn around? Emergency vehicles and where will snow be stored? On the neighbors private property? How is this development special that they are not subject to the same requirements as every other developer in the City?
There are outstanding archaeological clearances on the site as outlined in the regional comments
There is outstanding soil contamination potential on the site as outlined in the regional comments
To me, all of these important and outstanding issues SHOULD be addressed through a proper and comprehensive subdivision process, lets not leave these issues to be dealt with by Committee of Adjustment
If the R1E zoning is approved tonight there is no mechanism for staff or Council to control how the development is phased, how many units are in each phase, if the land gets flipped to another developer or builder or what the quality of the building will be
I think it is important for Council to be aware that the application for zoning does not afford the City control over the phasing as it is suggested in the public notice
I believe that the proposal, even as revised has not addressed the concerns outlined in my December letter or any of the other concerns raised at the information meeting by other residents
If Council approves this development with less lots in the same zoning category as the lots across the street and the City requires this development to be subject to a fulsome subdivision review process it will ensure the protection of the city’s and residents interests and provide for a compatible development that will not result in revenue losses for the owners
That concludes my presentation
Thank you