The a controversial apartment development in Centretown was approved at Tuesday’s planning committee meeting.
The building at 186 James St. has been the subject of controversy for several months. Jorndan Tannis, the owner, proposes to change the building, currently a triplex into a 10-unit apartment, with three parking spaces – two less than normally required.
The committee decided to allow Tannis to do this through a reduction of parking spots in exchange for $8,560 in cash under process called cash-in-lieu-of-parking provided the building fits into other zoning bylaws.
Tannis made his application shortly before city council voted to kill the process last July. The committee decided that Tannis must contribute the money to the McNabb Park reconstruction/rehabilitation effort, instead of to the city itself.
However, a local community group, the Friends of James and Bay, formed in instant opposition to the project is disappointed by the committee’s decision.
Members of the group argued that the 10-unit development represents overdevelopment and will adversely affect parking in the area, bringing a number of additional vehicles into a neighbourhood with limited on street parking.
“It’s important to realize that we’re not against development. But what we are in favour of is sensible development in our area,” says Brendan Hennigan, a spokesperson for the group. “It’s got to be appropriate and it’s got to be the right size.”
He says the group wants the maximum size of the building to be six units with three parking spots. “We definitely don’t want to go the road of Sandy Hill where the historic character of the community is being ruined by oversized conversions and infills.”
Hennigan says there’s a certain feel to the neighbourhood, which has a number of turn-of-the-century homes, and which the Friends of James and Bay don’t want to see ruined.
“To say it’s just about parking is only half the story,” he says.
“The bigger issue is what size of development is appropriate and what say the residents have in making sure that new buildings are built or changed so that new developments comply to the zoning and also to the livability of the area and the historic character of the area.”
Robert Martin, the project’s architect, says his firm has taken care to keep the historic character of the building intact, by matching the proposed addition to the original Victorian architecture and facade.