The controversial application is for a 10-storey mid-rise apartment building at 8799 Heritage Rd. with 162 units, along with three blocks of stacked townhouses with 48 stacked townhouse units. (Photo: City of Brampton report)<\/p>\n
Hundreds of residents are calling on the city not to approve plans for a 10-storey apartment building and townhouses they say would transform their community, and not for the better.<\/p>\n
\u201cCouncil is not being asked to guess how the community feels, the community has made its position unmistakably clear,\u201d Brampton resident Rushiraj Shah told Brampton\u2019s Planning and Development Committee on Monday, on behalf of residents in the Westfield area.<\/p>\n
The controversial application is for a 10-storey mid-rise apartment building at 8799 Heritage Rd. with 162 units, along with three blocks of stacked townhouses with 48 stacked townhouse units.<\/p>\n
Residents say they\u2019ve been blindsided by the proposal, and that buyers in the community purchased homes under the expectation that the development would be 17 detached homes.<\/p>\n
\u201cHowever, to pivot from 17 detached homes to a 10-story tower is not an incremental evolution, it is a wholesale abandonment of the vision that was presented to the people who live here now,\u201d said Gurpreet Sehmbi, another Brampton resident who represented home owners at the meeting.<\/p>\n
Over 500 community members have signed in-person and online petitions calling for the city not to approve the development application submitted by Glen Schnarr and Associates Inc. on behalf of a numbered company.<\/p>\n
Locals say their concerns include an increase in vehicles and child safety, a lack of clear communication from developers, and what they say is an outdated and inarticulate traffic safety study. There are also three structures currently on the property which were considered for a heritage designation, but not added to the city\u2019s register after staff found they didn\u2019t meet the criteria.<\/p>\n
The property is currently zoned as agricultural, and would require an amendment to change land uses for\u00a0residential apartments and
multiple-townhomes, residential townhouses and open space.<\/p>\n
The community members are calling on the city to refuse the application, and \u201ca full transparent accounting\u201d around the decision not to list the property on the heritage register.<\/p>\n
\u201cPlease take this petition for what it is \u2013 not just a collection of names, but a clear and a unified warning from the community that this tower isn\u2019t incompatible with the area and should not be able to proceed in its current form,\u201d Sehmbi said.<\/p>\n
A city report showed key concerns around the development include transition to the existing low-density residential neighbourhood, increased density and traffic, and ensuring appropriate height and building setbacks are implemented.<\/p>\n
City staff will report back with answers to the community\u2019s concerns before any zoning changes are made.<\/p>\n