Charter Construction, owned by former Orillia mayor Angelo Orsi, is looking for a little assistance from the municipality as it continues to develop west Orillia.
The company is asking the city for approval to rezone a piece of property in its sprawling Stone Ridge subdivision from commercial to residential.
When the company submitted a subdivision agreement for Phase 4 of the subdivision to the municipality back in November of 2015, it included a 2.85-acre block of land set aside for commercial development.
However, the company says it’s not viable to attract commercial enterprises to that area and nearby neighbours are not in favour of adding stores and businesses to the area. With that in mind, the company wants, instead, to build more homes on the land.
The Stone Ridge subdivision, approved in 2004, encompasses about 245 acres of land in west Orillia. The area is comprised of 2,200 low, medium and high-density residential units, almost seven acres for a public school, three “park blocks" (including Clayt French Park), several woodlots in addition to the parcel of land in question.
The subject property is surrounded by an emerging neighbourhood of single, detached homes along Annalysse Drive, Stone Ridge Boulevard, and Orion Boulevard. Six residential lots back directly onto the subject property.
According to a report from city staff, presented at a public meeting last Thursday, Charter Construction is “committed to integrating stand-alone commercial, mixed-use, and live-work units into the broader Stone Ridge community bound by University Avenue/West Ridge Boulevard to the east and Line 15 to the west."
Staff also noted that west Orillia “provides a wide array of existing commercial facilities which more than exceed the day-to-day commercial needs of the existing Stone Ridge residents.”
Instead of commercial enterprises, Charter Construction wants to build 26 single detached dwellings; these homes will range from 2,260 to 2,640-square feet, have double-car garages, and be similar to other homes in the neighbourhood.
Charter is also asking the city for its blessing to allow ‘live-work’ units within this area.
According to the city’s zoning bylaw, a ‘live-work’ unit is “a unit under single ownership, either free-standing or part of a condominium or mixed-use building, that shall contain habitable area, and may also contain a business operated by the resident which may share the washroom and kitchen facilities.”
City planning staff say the idea falls within the Provincial Policy Statement: “The application to convert the subject property from a stand-alone commercial site to a low-density residential development with the opportunity for live-work units, in the broader context of integrating a range of uses, is consistent with” provincial planning policies.
“As the application seeks to also permit live-work units and because the applicant is committed to integrating commercial into the balance of their development in west Orillia and to evaluating the potential implementation of additional traffic calming measures along Stone Ridge Boulevard to protect the safety of the future residents on the subject lands; it has therefore been determined, as set out in the analysis of Schedule “C”, that the application:
- is consistent with the Provincial Policy Statement, 2014 (PPS),
- conforms with the Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe (Growth Plan) 2017, as amended; and,
- conforms with the applicable policies of the City of Orillia Official Plan.
While it conforms to planning rules, the city’s economic development department concedes converting the site “from commercial to residential represents a loss of additional economic opportunity in the city,” noting that area could accommodate up to 25,000 square feet of commercial space.
However, economic development staff cited a recent urbanMetrics Inc. commercial needs study for west Orillia that noted the land in question “would be difficult, if not impossible, to lease due to the extent of existing retail and … commercial facilities already available in the area.”
Staff suggest that if the site is not rezoned for homes, it is "highly likely that the land would remain vacant and underutilized" for many years.
At an open house in June, 10 residents showed up and, generally, were not supportive of the current commercial zoning. They were supportive of the proposal to create 26 homes, although some expressed concern about permitting live-work units.
City council will deliberate the issue at its next meeting, Aug. 16, and could approve the zoning change at that time.
