A draft plan for a three-unit development on York Road was unanimously approved during Niagara-on-the-Lake’s committee of the whole planning meeting on Tuesday.
The proposal for 1490 York Rd., located in St. Davids, includes three single detached dwellings and accessory structures.
The development may be formalized as three condo units, but it is three residential buildings, Coun. Gary Burroughs told The Lake Report.
The plan’s approval follows multiple rounds of public consultation, environmental review and revisions made in response to resident feedback.
“The houses have been redesigned from the previous proposal,” said Kirsten McCauley, the town’s director of community and development services.
Councillors raised concerns about environmental impacts and a lack of feedback from the District School Board of Niagara.
St. Davids Public School is a minute away, by car, from the site of the proposed development. The next nearest school is St. Michael Catholic School.
“The public school in St. Davids is pretty full and we keep putting more and more subdivisions,” Burroughs said in an interview.
Staff submit requests for feedback when new developments come before the town, to gauge how the board will accommodate new residents and very rarely receive responses, he said.
Coun. Adriana Vizzari noted the Catholic school board responded with information about the capacity of schools in its board, but the public board had yet to reply.
Vizzari said she was not seeking to delay the application, but asked staff whether there was a way to secure a response from the District School Board of Niagara before proceeding.
“Unless we hear from both school boards, I struggle understanding it as a complete application,” she said.
McCauley said staff would take her comments as a directive to follow up on school capacity as it relates to development applications.
Lord Mayor Gary Zalepa noted the District School Board of Niagara has a paid planner and should be accountable to taxpayers.
“I know this community is sending significant dollars to the school board to operate, and I would at least expect a response to a planning application,” he said.
Burroughs said the Glendale secondary plan also never received a District School Board of Niagara response. Coun. Erwin Wiens added that this has happened with many past applications.
“Maybe not every application, but most,” said Vizzari.
Coun. Sandra O’Connor raised questions about environmental protection, given that the site includes a significant amount of tree-covered land.
McCauley said the application follows a previously approved zoning amendment with smaller setback requirements than the region’s standard 30 metres.
She added that detached accessory dwelling units will not be allowed under Niagara Escarpment Commission policies.
A condition of approval includes ensuring proper waste management access. Garbage collection strategies will be further reviewed during the site plan approval phase in line with regional policy.
If no appeals are filed, Zalepa is authorized to endorse the draft plan 20 days after the notice of decision is issued.
