It was standing room only in council chambers on Monday night for a public meeting on a new development proposed on Highway 26 called The Glow.
The proposed development would see two six-storey condominium apartment buildings with a central corridor joining the two built on the site, however many neighbouring residents attended the meeting to voice opposition, specifically raising concerns about parking, a lack of amenities and density.
“It’s sad when a developer pulls a stunt like this. I think it’s a slap in the face to council and Official Planning,” said Lighthouse Point resident Heather Coulighan during the public commenting portion of the meeting.
“I think we want to keep our town lovely and we definitely need to say no to something so irresponsible,” she said.
The purpose of Monday’s meeting was to gather public feedback on the proposed zoning changes to allow high-density development on the land at for 11476 Hwy 26, while also preserving 1.94 hectares of wetland as environmentally protected.
While the capacity of council chambers is 65 people, people stood lining the walls, sitting on the floor and spilling into and filling the council chamber hallway.
Owner and developer Desmond D’Silva of Integricon Group also spoke as part of the public meeting, and said his family has visited Collingwood for years which is what led to him purchasing the site when it became available.
“I thought, the gateway to Collingwood: what an opportunity. Why not do something great here?” D’Silva told council. “I’m excited about this project.”
While early plans for the property had included the entire land parcel, D’Silva said when the Nottawasaga Valley Conservation Authority first identified the wetlands on the property, he was happy to alter the plans.
“We responded in a positive way, (to) embrace the environment,” he said.
The site is currently vacant, and was the former location of the Beacon Glow Motel. The entire lot is 2.8 hectares: 1.94 hectares of wetland and 0.871 hectares of developable area on the south-east side of the parcel.
While the entire site is currently zoned through the town’s zoning bylaw as resort commercial, and under the Official Plan as medium-density residential, the developer is looking for approval to change the zoning to permit the two apartment buildings/formalize the wetland boundary and to redesignate the property to allow for high-density residential uses and preserve the wetland under the Official Plan.
The Glow plan is for 194 units across two buildings, which will be broken down further into 13 one-bedroom units, 113 one-bedroom plus den units, 48 two-bedroom units and 20 two-bedroom plus den units.
Under the current plan, the developer will be allotting 234 parking spaces total to the development, which will mean each unit gets one parking space, plus 40 visitor spaces. Twenty bicycle parking spaces will also be provided for residents.
The developer is looking to provide cash in lieu of parkland for the development, while the buildings will offer roof-top amenity space including a gym, pet lounge, family lounge, outdoor dining areas and a golf simulator for residents.
The developer has also agreed to offer nine units as affordable housing. They have agreed to work with the town to determine which size of units would best fit the need.
Ten people spoke as part of the public commenting portion, all of which identified themselves as being residents of or associated with Lighthouse Point.
Colin Ingliss, chair of Lighthouse Point’s shared facilities committee, shared an online petition that had been started in the community opposed to allowing high-density development on the land. As of Monday, more than 1,000 people had signed the petition.
The town's current Official Plan sets a 55-120 unit-per-hectare limit for high-density residential zones. The Glow request exceeds that target with a proposal of 194 units in 0.871 hectares (or 222.7 units per hectare).
Ingliss also noted that traffic studies for the plans were completed in March, which wouldn’t capture increased traffic volumes experienced on Highway 26 throughout the summer.
“Reject this proposal as it is presented, even if it means an OLT (Ontario Land Tribunal) hearing. We will be right there with you,” said Ingliss.
Cameron Mitchell, Lighthouse Point property manager and Andrew Pascuzzo, a planner retained on behalf of the Lighthouse Point shared services committee, also made comments opposed to the change in zoning which reiterated the density and parking/traffic concerns.
“The proposal you have before you tonight is neither reasonable nor responsible,” said Mitchell. “Where are all these cars going to park? It will have to be on the shoulder of Highway 26.”
Pascuzzo suggested that the entire proposal should be put on hold until the town’s new Official Plan refresh is completed.
“This is premature in advance of the Official Plan update,” he said.
Resident Andy Belicus raised parking concerns.
“I would like to submit that one parking spot per unit is a development standard for an urbanized area,” he said. “This does not exist in this area of Collingwood. There’s no street parking or public lots anywhere in this area.”
Marianne Steiner-Todd raised concerns about stormwater management, as her property runs adjacent to the development to the west.
“We’re talking about a development with no amenities whatsoever aside from a little garden and a roof-top patio,” she said. “We will have crowds of people hovering above us partying on their roof-top patio. That’s not what we’re about here.”
No decisions were made during Monday’s meeting. Town staff will now review public comments, agency comments and complete a technical review of the proposal. The proposal will then come back to council with a staff recommendation on how to proceed on a future date for a decision on the zoning amendments.
If you’d like to submit comments to the town concerning this development, email them to Julie Nolan, community planner, at [email protected].