Provincial tribunal gives green light to Wasaga residential project

A 14-unit townhouse development in Wasaga Beach will be allowed to go ahead after Ontario’s land-planning tribunal dismissed an appeal by a neighbouring property owner.

E-3 Community Services had challenged the town’s 2018 decision to approve the development proposed for the corner of on the basis it would overlook a residence where several of its clients live.

E-3 provides services and supports to people with developmental and intellectual disabilities, and maintains a residential facility and a motel in the immediate vicinity of the proposed development.

Along with concerns about building height, shadowing, and the transition from a low-density to high-density residential development, E-3’s position was the project would have a negative impact on the lives of its clients and its clients’ families.

Local Planning Appeal Tribunal member Hugh Wilkins, who oversaw the hearing, ruled the appellant failed to demonstrate the zoning bylaw amendment that would allow the project to go ahead was inconsistent with the Provincial Policy Statement, or the official plans of the county and the town.

The appellant also failed to demonstrate how the project would have a negative impact on its properties, or the lives of its clients, he wrote in the ruling issued Sept. 16.

In his ruling, Wilkins stated that the development will “add to the range of housing mix in the town and provide efficient infill development at a density that is transit-supportive, is close to public-service facilities and amenities, and utilizes existing infrastructure.”

ADA Homes is proposing to build two seven-unit blocks on the 6.7-acre property. In 2018, it made several zoning change requests for the property, including to minimum lot coverage, a reduction in frontage, and a reduction in side-yard setbacks.

The property’s zoning was also changed, from tourism commercial to high-density residential.