2475 Regina Street development passes
This week at Planning and Housing Committee the application for 2475 Regina Street was passed and will be voted on at City Council on September 27.
As previously mentioned, the passing of the Zoning Bylaw and Official Plan amendements will permit seven-, 16- and 28-storey residential buildings. This application includes the plan for Parkway House, a non-profit residential care home for adults with physical disabilities to continue to operate on the ground floor of the seven-storey residential building. In total, the build would see a total of 510 residential units.
This development will come with a holding symbol, which would be removed after they are completed, or partially completed, in conjunction with phased development.
Site Plan Control Approval and/or Plan of Subdivision will need to ensure it has addressed:
1. Upgrades to the Lincoln Heights sanitary pumping station;
2. Watermain looping;
3. Public access through the site from Regina Street to the Kichi Zībī Mīkan; and
4. Connection to the NCC pathway within the KichiZībī Mīkan.
I have heard from residents who made delegations at the meeting and who have sent correspondence with their concerns with the amount of density this will bring to the neighbourhood, especially in light of Regina Street being a dead end local street that is not fed directly by an arterial road. I appreciate these concerns, and in response to this I will be asking Council to support strengthening this hold included in the report, specifically the city’s commitment to year round connectivity on the NCC pathway to the Lincoln Field Transit Station in order to benefit the entire community.
It should be understood that this application fits with the city’s goals to have more residents living in established urban areas rather than encouraging sprawl development that requires more greenspace and newly built city infrastructure rather than adjusting current infrastructure. I will work with community and staff to ensure that any necessary traffic calming measures are installed and proper pedestrian facilities for residents.
With provincial, and federal mandates to build more housing, it should also be noted that any refusals of applications by Council that meet the criteria of intensification can and will be challenged at the provincial level through the Ontario Land Tribunal where they would almost certainly be accepted by OLT, which supersedes municipal councils. With this in mind, my focus remains on ensuring that increased density in our neighbourhoods results in communities that are walkable, bikeable, and have the most direct and easy access to transit as possible.
You can visit here for the full details of other items related to this week’s Planning and Housing Committee meeting.
