Тribunal одобрил создание нового участка в Кембридже из-за ошибок в отчете городской администрации

Inconsistencies and errors made by Cambridge city staff swayed the Ontario Land Tribunal last month to approve variances to facilitate a new residential property on Banat Road. Property owners Ken Truong and Joanna Dinh filed an appeal March 31 with the tribunal (OLT), following a committee of adjustment meeting 20 days prior, when city staff recommended turning down the variance requests for a new lot. The plan at 37 Banat Rd. would see the current lot severed, with the residence remaining on one plot and a new second plot of land created. The detached garage would have to be demolished to make way for the new lot. In September 2023, the city approved a building permit for the property for an additional residential unit, with the owners looking to create a new lot for the detached additional unit and change the use to a single detached dwelling. With rural residential zoning on the property, a single detached home would require a minimum lot of 3,000 square metres and minimum frontage of 30 metres. The variances would allow for a smaller lot area of 2,382 square metres and lot frontage of 6.12 metres for the flag-shaped new parcel of land. The owners also proposed conveying a portion of their land to extend Banat Road, which sits at the end of the street, for both the retained and severed lot. The committee followed the staff recommendation and refused the variances, stating the proposed variance “is not minor in nature, does not maintain the general intent and purpose of the official plan and zoning bylaw, and is not an appropriate development of the subject property.” During the appeal hearing, the planning consultant, however, argued the reasoning was incorrect for several reasons. He said the staff report itself had many errors, noting it incorrectly stated the development was on private services not permitted in the city’s official plan, when a rural residential designation in the official plan recognizes large lot, low-density uses that can accommodate well and septic systems. Staff also stated the development is restricted because it falls in the Mannheim water service area, which paused development due to capacity issue. The consultant said the restriction is invalid as the lots are to be serviced by private well and septic services. As well, he said there were additional errors in the staff report, including references that residential uses are prohibited in employment areas, though rural residential uses are already allowed there. The consultant also provided evidence the land use follows the province’s, region’s and city’s official plans, and the variances were minor in nature. The tribunal found in favour of the owners based on the “exhaustive and uncontested evidence” by the planning consultant. The city did not appear at the hearing. The OLT also noted there were inconsistencies in the staff report that led to errors in its conclusions and its “misguided recommendation” to the city’s committee of adjustment to refuse the application. Some conditions were included in the decision, including the land owners submitting a consent sketch of the Banat Road extension and details on how it will be maintained. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page.