A massive five-tower development planned for Hespeler Road and Langs Drive is headed to an appeal with the Ontario Land Tribunal after the City of Cambridge failed to make a decision on the proposal within a 120 day time frame described in the Planning Act.
It's been more than a year since a public meeting was held on the proposal; a meeting that generated next to no concerns despite the scale of the project and potential impact on surrounding businesses.
The proposal, from Legion Heights Hespeler Inc., is to bring five, 20-storey residential, mixed-use towers to a long-vacant property on Hespeler Road and Langs Drive. The project would have an estimated 1,366 units of various sizes.
Legion Heights applied for an official plan amendment and zoning bylaw amendment last year to implement site specific policies to permit a residential density of 330 units per hectare and a maximum building height of 20 storeys.
The current Hespeler Road Mixed-Use Corridor designation permits a maximum of around 200 units per hectare with a maximum building height of 12 storeys.
Changes to the city's zoning bylaw in the application also ask for a reduction of the residential parking rate from 1.25 spaces per unit to 1.22.
The developer plans to build the towers and podiums in two phases with the second phase coming about five years after completion of the first phase to correspond with the end of lease agreements held by the two restaurants on the property; Swiss Chalet and Republik, formerly The Pickle Barrel.
During the public meeting, the consultant working on the project said the restaurants, could be incorporated into planned commercial spaces within the development as the second phase of construction gets underway.
It was suggested during the public meeting that other commercial uses in the 35,000 square feet of dedicated space could include a supermarket, a variety of retailers, restaurants and office space.
Plans also include landscaping a one-hectare park with public access.
The appeal, filed last week, says the "development will enhance the public realm" implementing the goals of both the Regional Official Plan ("ROP") and the City Official Plan ("OP")."
Legion Heights also says the project "is transit-supportive and will optimize the existing and planned transit infrastructure in the area."
Since it's on the planned Stage 2 LRT route, the property is in a Major Transit Station Area (MTSA).
MTSAS are intended to accommodate intensification by aligning transit with growth, the appeal states.
"The proposed development is in accordance with good transit-oriented development principles that are stated objectives of both provincial and local policy."
The city did not respond to a request for comment on why its planners failed to produce a report and recommendation for council consideration over the last year.
A date has not yet been set for a hearing.
