Councillor ‘gobsmacked’ by Dominion Road development proposal

It seemed as if Fort Erie’s mayor was almost seeking permission to take the unusual step to decline a development proposal at the public meeting stage, but in the end Wayne Redekop and council will allow the process to move forward on an application for a townhouse project on Dominion Road.

They did so, however, with a giant caution.

“Unless there are significant changes to this, I’m not inclined to be supportive,” Redekop said after asking planning staff and the town’s CAO whether they would prefer council to receive the information report as they normally would or make a motion to reject the proposal then and there on Monday night.

Despite the significant misgivings expressed by several councillors, staff recommended following the normal process, which would see them receive the report, and allow staff to develop a recommendation based on the comments received and their own expertise.

“I think it’s an opportunity for them (the applicants) to consider some of what they’ve heard tonight,” said CAO Chris McQueen.

The property in question is 3331 Dominion Road in Ridgeway, at the intersection with Burleigh Road North. The owners are proposing 23 townhouse units with 16 accessory dwelling units. To allow for the build, the applicants require relief from a long list of zoning bylaw requirements. Setbacks, lot area, building height and density, and parking are among them.

“I’ve never seen any application seek this many modifications for a zoning you want to go to,” Redekop said.

Jonathan Benczkowski, a consultant representing the proponents, asked councillors to consider the context that led to their request for adjustments to the setback and other rules. For instance, he said the property was designed in a way that’s meant to reduce the impact of the nearby residents.

“Built form has really been optimized to bring the larger mass to dominion itself,” he said.

However, councillors weren’t buying it and neither were residents.

“At this point we are going to be staring at a very long building,” said local resident Deneece Brzozowski, about the obstructed view she’d have from her backyard. “(It’s) cramming so many people into such a small space.”

Ward 4 Councillor Joan Christen also had strong reservations about the proposal.

“To me this is not acceptable, it is not congruent with the neighbourhood,” she said. “I’m gobsmacked. There are a number of gentler options that could be used on this property that would be be far more congruent.”

While it’s no guarantee, now that council and residents have shared their concerns, staff can work with the developers to alter the plan to be more palatable for the decision makers. That revised plan would then come back to council as a recommendation report, at which point it could be accepted or rejected.

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