On June 2nd Council agenda there is a staff report presenting an application for amendments to the Official Plan and the King City & Schomberg urban zoning bylaw. The purpose of these amendments is to enable a severance at 117 Humber Valley Crescent. The one zoning bylaw amendment which I will raise a question about is the maximum lot coverage. As the plan is to build 2 new houses I don’t understand why they do not make more of an effort to meet lot coverage. Given climate change and the forecasted increased stronger rainfall I think there should be more attention paid to maintaining our pervious surfaces.

As I have expressed with other severance applications in the last couple years I am now more open to considering these applications. I have learned that protecting neighborhood character is not assured by insisting that original sized lots be maintained as building a very large house in the original lot and cutting down trees to enable the big house does not maintain the street character.

As this is the statutory public meeting Council will not be making a decision on June 2nd. As indicated in the report it is the staff recommendation that this be referred back to staff in order to complete their assessment and to take into account public comments.