The first day of an Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) hearing at Kingston City Hall began with a focus on the history of the former Capitol Movie Theatre, which is now earmarked for a high-rise development.
The group of citizens appealed the plans for the Capitol Condo development on Tuesday because the 16-storey height does not fall in line with the city’s official plan and zoning bylaws, which calls for four-storey maximum on the Princess Street side, and a six-storey limit on the Queen Street side of the property.
They say the project would dwarf the low-rise heritage buildings around it.
“The height and the density, especially, are far outside what’s allowable within that particular area,” said Samantha King, president of Building Kingston’s Future, one of the appellant groups.
“The city put in a lot of resources. There was a huge amount of input into that public process and it’s important to respect that.”
During his opening arguments, David Donnelly, the lawyer representing a citizens group, alluded to part of the city of Kingston’s official slogan, saying that history thrives in the city.
He also told the adjudicator, David Lanthier, that the city won’t be appearing during the hearings or providing any witnesses, calling the city’s record on this issue “odd.”
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However, Alan Cohen, the lawyer representing In8 developments, the company behind the controversial condominium, began his opening arguments with a bit of a jab at the project’s opponents.
“It would appear that the future of Kingston — its lifeblood, tourism and heritage —may die if this building is built,” Cohen said. “That’s drama. Good drama.”
In8’s first witness, Michael Keene, spent the better part of his time at the podium speaking to the history of the former movie theatre and the half a dozen significant changes that have taken place on the site from the 1920s until the early 1990s.
Ten days have been set aside to hear the high-rise versus heritage battle. In addition to the four key appellants, three dozen individual citizens have been granted status to speak at the hearing. Most of them oppose the project. They’re expected to speak on Wednesday evening.
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