75 Dublin Street North

City files: OP1603/ZC1612

At the Statutory Public Meeting for the Downtown Zoning Bylaw Amendment on September 12, 2016, Council passed the following motions:

  1. That staff be directed to bring forward the portion of the Downtown Zoning Bylaw related to 75 Dublin Street North to a November 2016 council meeting for a decision, in order to facilitate the required April 2017 building permit timing of the investment in affordable housing grant and that a public process be provided.
  2. That staff be directed to initiate a site specific Official Plan Amendment for 75 Dublin Street North in order to facilitate the investment in Affordable Housing Grant.

The property owner of 75 Dublin Street North is proposing to develop the property into a 5-storey, 35 unit apartment building that would include 20 affordable units for seniors. The property owner has requested that the process to review the proposal be fast tracked to meet the timing constraints of the Investment in Affordable Housing funding program offered by the federal government.

A Council meeting to discuss this proposal was held on October 17, 2016 and included delegations from community members and stakeholders. This meeting was the Statutory Public Meeting in accordance with the requirements of the Planning Act for both the Official Plan Amendment and the Zoning Bylaw Amendment for this property.

Council considered the staff recommendation report as well as public delegations about the proposed zoning for this site at the November 28, 2016 Council meeting.

Staff recommendation

Staff recommend refusal of the Official Plan Amendment to permit a maximum building height of 5 storeys for 75 Dublin Street North.

Staff recommend approval of a Zoning Bylaw Amendment from the I.1 (Institutional) Zone to a modified D.2-9 (Downtown) Zone that will:

  • Allow a four story apartment building instead of a five storey building.
  • Set the front and exterior side yard setback at 3m, side yard setback at 4.5m, rear yard setback at 3m to the first two storeys, and require building stepbacks facing the street and the rear yard.
  • Prohibit any overlook from an outdoor space, such as rooftop areas or terraces, to the north of the building, which might overlook Central Public School.
  • Set the maximum average storey height at 3.2m.

As suggested at the public meeting, City staff also explored opportunities for a land swap that would allow the proposed apartment building including affordable housing to be built in another part of Guelph; however no parcel of land currently meets the property owner’s criteria.

Detailed staff recommendations are found in the November 28, 2016 staff report.

Council decision

Staff recommendations and public delegations were considered by City Council on November 28 and 30, 2016.

 On November 30, 2016, Council members voted to:

  • Refuse a maximum building height of 5 storeys for 75 Dublin Street North. Permitting a 4-storey development instead.
  • Approve a Zoning Bylaw Amendment from the I.1 (Institutional) Zone to a modified D.2-9 (Downtown) Zone, as per the staff recommendation.

Public notices

The following notices were distributed to the public and interested stakeholders:

Notice of the passing of a zoning bylaw (December 1, 2016)Notice of decision with respect to proposed amendment to Official Plan (December 13, 2016)

Under appeal

Four appeals were submitted to the City of Guelph and the Ontario Municipal Board to appeal the decisions made by Guelph City Council on November 28 and 30.

Upper Grand District School Board appeal (December 19, 2016) Rykur Holdings Inc. appeal 34 (19) (December 20, 2016) Rykur Holdings Inc. appeal 22(7) (December 20, 2016)Guelph Old City Resident’s Association Inc. appeal (December 20, 2016)

Hearing dates for this matter will be set by the Ontario Municipal Board.

A pre-hearing date has been set for August 14, 2017.

Background

Initial proposal and supporting materials

The following materials were submitted by the property owner is support of their proposal for the property:

Revised proposal and supporting materials – October 24, 2016

The following information was submitted on October 24, 2016 as part of a revised development proposal:

For more information

Stacey Laughlin, Senior Policy Planner
Infrastructure, Development and Enterprise Services
Planning and Building Services
519-822-1260 extension 2327
[email protected]