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09-17-2021, 12:35 PM
(This post was last modified: 10-25-2021, 01:43 PM by CP42.)
22 Weber Street West, Kitchener
I came across this while browsing the Kitchener Planning Applications map and didn't see any thread dedicated to the project.
15 stories, 126 units.
https://experience.arcgis.com/experience...8%2Cview_6
https://www.therecord.com/news/waterloo-...hener.html
https://www.buzzbuzzhome.com/ca/22-weber...est-condos
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There actually has been some talk, but not sure where it was.
This is from July 22:
https://oldeberlintown.ca/22weberstw/
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09-17-2021, 02:16 PM
(This post was last modified: 09-18-2021, 08:54 PM by ac3r.)
I think the lack of a thread was due to the fact the NIMBYs immediately sprang off their plastic wrapped couches, crawled out of their dens whilst spilling tea on the doilies and started protesting this, so it hasn't had any progress in months. Then the City of Kitchener kept delaying making a decision, so the developers brought in a legal team to represent them for that failure. If you walk around the neighbouring residential streets, there's a bunch of houses with these lawn signs (not sure why they all say 19+ floors when the proposal is 15 floors), so they're still trying to get this stopped. The website they launched - Friends of Olde Berlin Town - has a bunch of crap on it as well.
Hopefully the city makes a decision and approves this without forcing the developer to reduce the height. There are two 18 floor buildings literally 2 blocks north of it, an 18 floor building across the street, an 11 floor office across the street and a proposal for a 25 floor building across the street. I believe there will be another meeting about it sometime in October so we'll hopefully find out whether or not this gets approved...ideally without any reduction in height just to make old people happy. We need more housing and this is a perfect plot of land to build some. Their argument against it is really weak. 1) it's too tall, then 2) it's hurting the heritage of the area...but heritage protection implies protecting existing, heritage designated buildings from destruction. This is just an empty parking lot.
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Not approving this is would be such a weak win for the NIMBYs. A new and reasonably attractive building, on an empty parking lot, next to the biggest road in downtown, closer to the core than several equally tall and much wider old towers, leaves so little room for justifying complaints. There are other losses to the NIMBY associations that are far more justifiable than this one would be. As you've said before ac3r, hard to lose heritage here when some old home was levelled to make way for asphalt years ago.
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09-18-2021, 06:25 PM
(This post was last modified: 09-18-2021, 06:25 PM by panamaniac.)
Has there been a public meeting yet wrt this proposal?
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Proposed highrise in Downtown Kitchener sparks controversy
https://outline.com/KRmRmN
Now proposing 19 storeys
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I hate how that is worded. It's not exactly controversial to anyone besides the few dozen or so people complaining. But The Record always writes articles in this sort of tone.
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These articles enrage me. How much of incredulous, self-absorbed boomer do you have to be to think that 19 stories on Weber St RIGHT DOWNTOWN is somehow unwarranted? Newsflash Gramps, you live downtown in the 10th biggest metro in one of the richest countries on earth. What in the absolute F do you expect?!?
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(09-20-2021, 05:49 PM)Archetype Wrote: These articles enrage me. How much of incredulous, self-absorbed boomer do you have to be to think that 19 stories on Weber St RIGHT DOWNTOWN is somehow unwarranted? Newsflash Gramps, you live downtown in the 10th biggest metro in one of the richest countries on earth. What in the absolute F do you expect?!?
I will pay you to shout this out at every public meeting for every tower within the 1,368.92 km2 area of Waterloo Region when it comes to developments hahah.
I hate having to work here because of this BS. While the majority of my architectural work is in Toronto, we don't take NIMBY objections seriously there...not in a bad way, but we're pragmatists/realists. But here? All it takes is two or three dozen bored old people, a shit blog and some lawn signs to stall a development for months. It's absolutely ridiculous but at the same time, I place half the blame on people who don't bother to object to NIMBYs. Or, you know, extremely rich white individuals living in a "historic" neighbourhood complaining that "buildings are too tall" in order to keep "certain people out" of their fantastical, "Olde Berlin" neighbourhoods.
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Developer upped the proposal to 19 storeys in hopes that it will be negotiated down to 15, to give the neighbourhood a “win”?
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I did find this paragraph interesting:
Quote:Denny Cybalski, the applicant behind the development, is also the volunteer chair of Kitchener’s committee of adjustment, a city-appointed committee made up of volunteers who grant variances, as well as allowing changes to zoning bylaws such as building setbacks.
What happens if the Ontario Land Tribunal rules in favour of the developer after finding that the City's committee of adjustment, on who this developer sits, didn't follow the correct procedures?
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(09-21-2021, 05:56 PM)nms Wrote: I did find this paragraph interesting:
Quote:Denny Cybalski, the applicant behind the development, is also the volunteer chair of Kitchener’s committee of adjustment, a city-appointed committee made up of volunteers who grant variances, as well as allowing changes to zoning bylaws such as building setbacks.
What happens if the Ontario Land Tribunal rules in favour of the developer after finding that the City's committee of adjustment, on who this developer sits, didn't follow the correct procedures?
Did they not follow correct procedures? One assumes that the chair would recuse himself from any consideration of this proposal.
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(09-21-2021, 06:10 PM)panamaniac Wrote: (09-21-2021, 05:56 PM)nms Wrote: I did find this paragraph interesting:
What happens if the Ontario Land Tribunal rules in favour of the developer after finding that the City's committee of adjustment, on who this developer sits, didn't follow the correct procedures?
Did they not follow correct procedures? One assumes that the chair would recuse himself from any consideration of this proposal.
The article says the project isn't before the Committee of Adjustment, I was at one meeting a long time ago and there was a member who recused herself because of a conflict - so I'd assume that's normal
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I don't live in this area. But the design of this building is just so ugly.
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Some new documents are up with some new renders
[attachment=8126]
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