Did anyone else receive an info pkg from the Whitby by the Lake (Senator Homes) development?
There is a Pre-hearing conference on June 6 @10am at the Council Chambers at the Municipal Building in Whitby.
Explanatory Note (the abridged version)
"Whitby By the Lake has requested an amendment to the Town of Whitby Official Plan and Lynde Shores Secondary Plan to change the designation of its 13.66 hectare property located at 700 Gordon Stree from Insti. to Residential in the Town Official Plan and Low Dens, Resident., Med, Density Reside. and High Density Residential in the Secondary Plan.
Proposed amendment.....118 single detached houses, 149 freehold townhouses, two condo blocks containing 94 townhouse units and a 14 storey condo building with 244 units. Plan also proposes to preserve a heritage building on the site and to replicate a second one....
For more info call Ryan Co at 416 326-8946 - Planning Assistant at Ontario Municipal Board
The current proposal is a huge improvement over what was originally proposed (it was pretty much going to be all densely packed townhouses). No matter what ends up happening north of Victoria, the empty lots at Gordon/WSG, Gordon/Scadding and the Old Psych Lands will be developed with homes. Mixed density like our current neighbourhood is a huge win. A couple of condos are inevitable and were always part of the plan.
I'm all for it. It'll give me more to look at and a few more varied routes to walk the dogs along (twice a day, everyday).
My one caveat is the designs for the new homes and condos should mirror the Cape Coddy feel of our neighbourhood. I'm hoping this is the case.
The empty lots will be filled in. That's a given and we all knew that when we bought our homes. Mixed density like our current neighbourhood is the best case scenario and the new Senator Homes plan appears to be giving us that. On the other hand, the Gordon/WSG plan of stacked townhouses seems a bit too dense for such a small property so hopefully there's room in that plan for something a bit less.
I tend to agree that its got some positives but I think the lack of green space is really a deterent to the overall waterfront mix. We received the OMB package from the lawyer and I looked at the overall make up of the design in relation to the existing subdivision. I don't see walking trails or paths and only lots of subdivided plots to fit in all the home development. We knew the land was planned for homes, and also its close proximity to the Psych hospital, but I think some buffer would make the homes more appealing to the overall make up of the waterfront. I agree the 14 storey is too high but taking a look at its location in proximity to the WMHC on Gordon and the tree line in the east by the Yacht Club it makes sense to go up to get the view of the water. A question about parking and traffic down in this area is going to become an issue too but I suspect the Planning Department is reviewing. I understand that there was still going to be access to Whitby Shores Greenway so this does impact the traffic flow as people will come through the subdivision to turn onto Victoria vs going down Gordon. This will be true for parents dropping off kids at the new school in Sept 2010 so this will impact the overall flow which needs to be taken into account with higher density.
The question about Whitby Hospital usage isn't in this plan at all and the Town of Whitby is really not interested in having a southern based location as far as I've heard or seen. The existing political wind indicates the north location is preferred vs using the lands here. Its unfortunate but with greater growth in Uxbridge, north Whitby and Ajax, it makes sense. The 407 link also makes it a viable location. Its too bad though that the Walk in Clinic, similar to what exists in North Oshawa, couldn't be developed. A development of a fracture clinic, x-ray facility, and wellness facility would benefit the entire community and alleviate a great deal of stress on the hospital services that exist in Ajax and Oshawa. We don't need a full scale hospital, but we do need the dialysis services back and more of the non-surgical services. Time will tell if the Whitby Hospital will ever get up and running and to what extent, but for this Senator home project, its lands are not part of this proposal.
I hope people will be out to review the proposal. I know many of us can't make a Friday June 6th pre-hearing meeting at Council, but you can submit your questions to Council.
I am new to this thread - are you talking about the lands that the WSG and Eggert Court properties back on to?
Yes. Its the old Psych hospital lands. The condo is to be located on Gordon on the site of the old Administrative building. F. Gignac's comment with regards to blocking views is confusing as there aren't homes that close to this particular corner, as its adjacent to the entrance of the WMHC, or at least that's what the design has been up till now.
I agree more green space. With regards to density, its true, its highly compact and should be reviewed. Overall though it does meet the guidelines of old. Perhaps it should take into account that access points and eggress points for fire service and emergency vehicles should be reviewed. With so much density many people end up parking on the road and this will be a major issue as we all know if driving along Portage Trail during a baseball game and soccer game.
I hear you. When I moved to Whitby over 20 years ago the population was about 30,000. Now it's just filled with 70,000 more "Toronto" people who have made my morning drive increase from 30 mins to 55 mins and have had the nerve to buy houses built on the greenspace I used to love.
STOP ALL DEVELOPMENT NOW! BRING BACK FAMILY CARTWAYS!!
Used to love and now live I'm presuming ;o) Becuase really, only we should be allowed to live here ;o)
I'll never say no to more greenspace though.
The plan has been modified since proposed last year. Tower use to be 20 stories, and there were no single detached homes. I can't tell by the diagram if the secondary road attached to WSG or will be an emergency path... that was a big point in previous meetings as it would drive traffic through sidestreets (and this was before we were getting a school). So the builder did make some adjustments, just relative to our community, it's still a higher density with small lots.
From the letter, it appears they are off to the OMB for approval, as the town doesn't accept their plan.
Curious though on the replica heritage building.. perhaps a small community centre for future use?
There is a sign on the land that was originally intended for the road to attach the two neighbourhoods. It is proposing a designation change to single detached home. The lot is way too big for just one house so I don't know if that means a pedestrian walkway would go beside it but I wonder if that means the road has been kaboshed? There definately isn't room to put a house and a road (there wouldn't be enough easement area seperating the 2 houses from the road).