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A controversial proposed condo development for Wellington West came before the Ontario Municipal Board on Monday, its last chance at survival after being rejected by city council last year.
Toronto developer Sam Mizrahi’s proposal for the northeast corner of Wellington Street and Island Park Drive was rejected by Ottawa city council last May.
He appealed council’s decision to the OMB, the provincial tribunal that rules on city council planning decisions. The five-day hearing started Monday.
The recently-developed community design plan (CDP) for the area calls for a building of no more than nine storeys on the site.
Mizrahi has said building a nine-storey building isn’t feasible because the site is contaminated and requires a costly cleanup.
“This is another Ottawa height case, let there be no question about it,” said lawyer Alan Cohen, who is representing Mizrahi, in his opening remarks.
Cohen outlined a number of questions that he said the board should consider, mostly related to the city’s planning vision and the level of contamination at the site.
But Tim Marc, the city’s chief planning lawyer, argued in his opening statement that the lands in question were subject to a CDP process not long ago, and those questions were dealt with then.
“The relevant questions were asked, and they were answered,” he said. “The vision that was arrived at through that process,” that of a six or nine-storey building, “is not a vision that should be departed from.”
Since appealing to the OMB, Mizrahi has made further revisions to the proposal, reducing its height from about 44 metres to below 39 metres (this was achieved by shortening the individual floors from three metres to 2.7 metres each and reducing the height of the main floor).
Board adjudicator Marc Denhez expressed some astonishment that the issue has got this far given how much it has been discussed.
“I’m quite frankly surprised, with this calibre of minds in the room, that no common ground has been found yet,” he said.
The proposal is one of intense interest to the Wellington West community and other surrounding neighbourhoods.
Kitchissippi Coun. Jeff Leiper was there for the start of the hearing. Mizrahi was there for the duration of Monday’s proceedings.
Much of the afternoon was spent hearing from architect Henry Burstyn, whose firm designed the 12-storey proposal. Another firm designed a 10-storey version, but area residents preferred the 12-storey tower, the board heard Monday.
Burstyn said the design of the building satisfies all the principles set out in the community design plan.
Marc, in his cross-examination of the architect, suggested that those goals could be met by a nine-storey building as well.
“All these objectives would be achieved by the first nine floors of your proposal,” he said.
Many neighbours are in favour of the proposal despite the extra height, saying Mizrahi consulted heavily with the public to come up with the design.
However, figures such as Mayor Jim Watson and former planning committee chair Peter Hume spoke out against it, saying residents need certainty about development.
The Wellington Village Community Association also opposed the design.
mwoods@ottawacitizen.com
twitter.com/michaelrwoods
查看原文...
Toronto developer Sam Mizrahi’s proposal for the northeast corner of Wellington Street and Island Park Drive was rejected by Ottawa city council last May.
He appealed council’s decision to the OMB, the provincial tribunal that rules on city council planning decisions. The five-day hearing started Monday.
The recently-developed community design plan (CDP) for the area calls for a building of no more than nine storeys on the site.
Mizrahi has said building a nine-storey building isn’t feasible because the site is contaminated and requires a costly cleanup.
“This is another Ottawa height case, let there be no question about it,” said lawyer Alan Cohen, who is representing Mizrahi, in his opening remarks.
Cohen outlined a number of questions that he said the board should consider, mostly related to the city’s planning vision and the level of contamination at the site.
But Tim Marc, the city’s chief planning lawyer, argued in his opening statement that the lands in question were subject to a CDP process not long ago, and those questions were dealt with then.
“The relevant questions were asked, and they were answered,” he said. “The vision that was arrived at through that process,” that of a six or nine-storey building, “is not a vision that should be departed from.”
Since appealing to the OMB, Mizrahi has made further revisions to the proposal, reducing its height from about 44 metres to below 39 metres (this was achieved by shortening the individual floors from three metres to 2.7 metres each and reducing the height of the main floor).
Board adjudicator Marc Denhez expressed some astonishment that the issue has got this far given how much it has been discussed.
“I’m quite frankly surprised, with this calibre of minds in the room, that no common ground has been found yet,” he said.
The proposal is one of intense interest to the Wellington West community and other surrounding neighbourhoods.
Kitchissippi Coun. Jeff Leiper was there for the start of the hearing. Mizrahi was there for the duration of Monday’s proceedings.
Much of the afternoon was spent hearing from architect Henry Burstyn, whose firm designed the 12-storey proposal. Another firm designed a 10-storey version, but area residents preferred the 12-storey tower, the board heard Monday.
Burstyn said the design of the building satisfies all the principles set out in the community design plan.
Marc, in his cross-examination of the architect, suggested that those goals could be met by a nine-storey building as well.
“All these objectives would be achieved by the first nine floors of your proposal,” he said.
Many neighbours are in favour of the proposal despite the extra height, saying Mizrahi consulted heavily with the public to come up with the design.
However, figures such as Mayor Jim Watson and former planning committee chair Peter Hume spoke out against it, saying residents need certainty about development.
The Wellington Village Community Association also opposed the design.
mwoods@ottawacitizen.com
twitter.com/michaelrwoods
查看原文...
