The South Market and Trunk Road development will include an apartment building, townhouses and a personal storage facility.
A massive new housing development – likely the largest the city has seen for decades – was approved by city council Monday.
The three-phase development plan at South Market and Trunk Road will see a five-storey apartment building, 28 multiple attached (townhouse) dwelling units and a personal storage facility. Total units will be 378.
ESC Land Development Corporation’s (Todd Lisso) application to amend the Official Plan and rezone the property to medium density residential with special exception, was approved by council after a lengthy debate and input from the public.
The mix between one-and-two bedroom units have yet to be determine but will be largely market driven.
It’s expected the units will attract empty nesters, seniors and young families. The complex will also include a 3,000-square-foot daycare facility with appropriate outdoor space.
The development is expected to be completed in three phases, over a five-year span.
Area residents and local organizations raised concerns about the increased traffic in the area, the safety of the South Market and Trunk Road intersection and fear that the apartment building would infringe on the privacy of nearby residential units that are much lower in size.
Even more of a concern is that the development waives the Official Plan’s requirement to have 30 per cent of the units be classified as affordable housing.
Planning director Peter Tonazzo said that requirement has been waived in most developments over 50 units and is considered somewhat archaic and counterproductive to creating much needed new housing units in Sault Ste. Marie.
“This is one of the highest development counts I’ve been involved in,” Tonazzo said.
Council agreed that more housing units are needed in Sault Ste. Marie in order for the community to grow.
The city is in the process of revamping its affordable housing policy and the Official Plan, but that revision process was paused Monday until fall, after the municipal election so that a task force can be struck to research and examine the best options for Sault Ste. Marie.
Lisso told city council that if the affordable housing component was maintained – or even reduced – the development would likely not move forward because the construction industry has been difficult over the past 18 months and there is no guarantees of government subsidies.
“You don’t know what you’re going to get or how long it will be there for so it’s difficult to gauge financial performance,” Lisso admitted.
Tonazzo said the development’s design, layout and transition with existing neighbourhoods and infrastructure is well thought out. It includes greenspace and treed lot.
The developer’s traffic engineering report concludes the additional vehicles will not have an impact on the area, something the city’s engineers agree with, but area residents do not.
Ward 1 Coun. Paul Christian said while he’s comfortable with the size and location of the development and the need for additional housing units, he fears a traffic bottleneck situation near the Giant Tiger entrance at the Wellington Square Mall and wants staff to look at creating an additional turn lane to help alleviate traffic pressures.
The close proximity of the Hub Trail on South Market, used by many, also sees a lot of pedestrian and bike traffic, raising safety concerns for wardmate Sandra Hollingsworth.
Don Mitchell told city council he wants to see some minor changes made in the plans, including a 35-foot treed greenbelt that separates this development from his Boundary Road home. It’s something the Official Plan always included when he purchased his home some 30 years ago, he said.
But Tonazzo said he’s never heard of the greenbelt requirement but assured neighbours at the meeting that there would be a 10-metre rear yard buffer (about 35 feet) between the development and existing neighbourhood.
Mitchell also wants city staff to keep an eye on traffic numbers and suggested additional turning lanes would be required for a development of this size.
Others were concerned with the waiving of affordable units, arguing that the vulnerable in the community are always left behind and will get nothing from this development.
The average apartment rental for a single parent with two children is $950 in the Sault, and if that single parent is making minimum wage, take-home pay is about $1,800 per month, which means a little more than half is geared towards rent alone.
“I’ve seen some apartments and substandard low rental places here,” said Rev. Bruce McLeish. The Anglican Diocese minister, who also sits on a social justice committee added “we have a housing crisis. . . Please consider the issue and that the people on the lower end of the income levels in our city get nothing.”
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