The day of Glendale secondary plan approval is finally here.
After deferring the decision during a planning meeting on Dec. 3, councillors voted to approve the new Glendale secondary plan on Tuesday.
The plan is to function as a roadmap for the future of the Glendale community in Niagara-on-the-Lake, including development, land use, transportation and more. It is estimated by 2051, Glendale’s population will grow by 14,000 people and have 9,200 jobs available.
Before voting on the plan itself, councillors discussed a number of revisions and a motion to incorporate them was approved.
Coun. Sandra O’Connor raised the issue of housing affordability.
One of the options listed to help with the supply of affordable housing is land acquisition, O’Connor said.
“My concern is that we haven’t really discussed the option of land acquisitions for affordable housing,” she said.
Through the strategic plan, town staff will be doing a housing needs assessment, O’Connor added.
“I think as part of that housing needs assessment, we consider what our options are and discuss them more thoroughly,” she said during the meeting.
O’Connor added that the inclusion of affordable housing is still reliant on future studies the town is doing on housing needs in Glendale.
“That’s all I have to say out of an almost thousand-page report, which I think is very good,” she said.
Coun. Gary Burroughs asked for clarification about what facilities the town will need to have.
Kirsten McCauley, the town’s director of community and development services, said a location for a Glendale community centre has been located close to the outlet mall.
As well, discussions have been had with all school boards to gauge their needs, McCauley said.
“We’ve identified two potential school sites within the Glendale area and have policy in there to continue those discussions along with a motion passed in December to continue these discussions,” she said.
Burroughs also mentioned concerns surrounding Transport Canada and Nav Canada regarding when the report on suitable building heights will be available.
Part of Glendale is under federal airport zoning regulations for the nearby Niagara District Airport, which means restrictions on how tall buildings can be.
“We have continued to have some discussions,” McCauley said.
The secondary plan, schedule two, shows the building heights are in line with the airport zoning regulations, she added.
Burroughs voiced concerns about the building heights interfering with flight paths at a committee of the whole meeting in June 2024.