11-01-2014, 05:53 PM
No settlement in former Kitchener Frame property zoning dispute
June 6, 2013 | [i][b]Heather Abrey | Kitchener Post | LINK[/i][/b]
June 6, 2013 | [i][b]Heather Abrey | Kitchener Post | LINK[/i][/b]
Quote:No settlement has been reached, and it’s likely the City of Kitchener will meet the owners of the former Kitchener Frame property, located at 1011 Homer Watson Blvd., at the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) this fall.
“Before you go into an OMB they strongly encourage conversation. At this stage, we’re still on track to meet at the OMB,” said Rod Regier, executive director of economic development for the city.
“From a policy point of view, I think the city feels very confident about the process. I think there’s a strong policy case for the city decision on the zoning. Of course, there’s always a risk that the OMB won’t see it your way.”
The hearing is scheduled to begin on Oct. 15 at 10:30 a.m. in the Heritage Room of Kitchener City Hall.
The owners of the property — three businessmen, including Cambridge resident Gary Ball — and the planning firm Zelinka Priamo Ltd. are taking the city to the OMB to challenge a zoning decision made last fall.
The OMB is a quasi-judicial body that settles land use disputes in the province.
They applied for a zone change that would allow them to build a commercial centre, including big-box retail and a grocery store, on 11.46 hectares of the nearly 50-hectare property. The city rejected the application, saying the property is unique in Kitchener due to its size, rail access and proximity to the 401 and should be preserved as “employment lands.”
Employment lands are areas well suited to industries that create jobs, and city staff say those industries don’t include retail.
City staff have told council that the province’s Places to Grow Act, which directs municipalities to preserve employment lands, will back up the decision.
Greg Priamo, the principal planner with Zelinka Priamo Ltd., told council there is little appetite in the industrial community for massive pieces of property and the city would be better off parceling it into small pieces, which the applicants’ plan allows for.
However, Zelinka Priamo Ltd. is currently working on a proposal in Caledon that could see a Canadian Tire distribution centre built on a 73 hectare site — one use for a property that is 23 hectares larger than 1011 Homer Watson Blvd.
The current zoning allows for car washes, car dealerships, warehouses, commercial parking facilities, gas stations, truck transport terminals and more.