On December 8 Council agenda there Is a staff report for a Zoning Bylaw Amendment and draft approval for a new development on Dufferin St. just south of the rail line where today is located Alpha Lumber Mill and Somerville Company. The applications are to enable development of a subdivision including 353 residential units, including 87 townhomes, 46 back-to-back townhomes and 220 apartment dwellings. The variety of housing formats is exciting. The number of pre-conditions prior to lifting the “holding”  Provisions is extensive so I wonder if it is premature to be approving these applications. I also wonder if there has been deliberate consideration for opportunity to incorporate some affordable housing into this development; incentives for such from both provincial and federal levels are different from what they were back in 2022 when the public meeting for this development occurred. Given the size of the development and the variety a format I think this needs to be explored.

In addition to hoping that this development will be planned with very aggressive sustainability goals I hope there will be some creativity on the part of the architecture. Given that it is somewhat removed from established subdivisions it’s a good opportunity to do something different. Furthermore just further north is Country Day School with relatively contemporary architecture.

To see all the attachments & schedules including pre-conditions go to Council agenda and scroll down to 12.3.

As always deputations can be made. To do so please register at clerks@king.ca by noon on December 8 or If you prefer you can e-mail your comments to clerks@king.ca and they will be distributed to Council members and appropriate staff.