Burlington councillor warns ‘over-intensification’ concerns are being realized

Burlington’s downtown councillor is pointing to the approval of a 23-storey building as a dangerous precedent, with more proposals for developments that don’t conform to city requirements trickling in.

The latest is for a 24-storey building at 409 Brant St., just across the street from the approved tower on the North East corner of Brant and James.

Reserve Properties Ltd. is looking to introduce 597 square metres of ground floor commercial space and 227 residential units to the South East corner.

Councillor Marianne Meed Ward says these applications risk creating over-intensification in an area currently zoned for four to eight storey buildings, with the possibility of 17 storeys in the future through the new official plan.

A city report, she adds, shows Burlington is already on pace to meet provincial growth targets ahead of time. “We’re on track to meet our targets within five to eight years. We don’t have to meet them until 2031, so we’re fine.”

“If we choose to blow past the numbers, that’s on us,” she said.

Even though the targets are minimums, Meed Ward says the city has to consider the limits of existing infrastructure, such as water, sewer and transportation in relation to growth.

There are also a number of resident concerns, she says, ranging from congestion, the lack of affordable units in proposals and parking, and the loss of a small town feel.

On the business side, even though the proposed developments include commercial and retail space, it appears to be less than what’s already in place.

The most recent application for the 24-storey building is looking to put two businesses, Albert L. Schmid Jeweller and Kelly’s Bake Shoppe, into the design.

The impact of construction will be significant, according to Meed Ward.

I the case of the 23-story building across from City Hall, she says council has been advised by the builders that tenants will return to rent that is double or even triple what they were paying before.

She says there is still time to alter the official plan, with a regional review scheduled to start in 2019.

“Make it an election issue. Ask every single candidate who is running, incumbents or challengers, ‘What are you going to do about the official plan? Do you support what’s there? Or do you support sending additional revisions to the region after the election and before they approve it?'”