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Contested Clover Avenue development gets green light from OLT

Almost a year after council denied application, the Ontario Land Tribunal has sided with the developer for the 30-unit project in the city's south end
Doug Coxson
Doug Coxson

Residents of a quiet, dead-end street in the city's south end will be getting new neighbours.

After a three-year battle to block a 30-unit stacked townhouse development on Clover Avenue, residents of the street learned yesterday that their fight ended at the Ontario Land Tribunal.

Burlington-based developer Modeno Homes has been given the green light after winning the appeal it launched with the OLT last May, two months after Cambridge city council voted against a staff recommendation to support the development.

The ruling from the OLT, released Feb. 15, means the project can go ahead unhindered.

The application for the development has been on the books since early 2020 and included several consultations and revisions to get the density in line with zoning for the site, and work in a buffer for a protected wetland adjacent to the property.

Originally pitched as 44 stacked townhouses, the developer went back to the drawing board twice to reduce the size of the project and come closer to zoning requirements in the city's official plan.

At the OLT hearing, the city didn't contest the developer's planning consultant from a planning standpoint, but did contest the project's compatibility with the neighbourhood.

It wants to "ensure that the existing character of the neighbourhood is respected."

In support of its case, the city hired design expert Catherine Jay to explain how the proposed development does not conform to the city's official plan "due to urban design issues associated with compatibility of the surrounding neighbourhood."

"More specifically, she cited issues pertaining to density, setbacks, height and overall ‘fit’ within the immediate neighbourhood context from an Urban Design standpoint."

The adjudicator in the case wrote that upon considering the opposing evidence, they accepted the opinion of the applicant's consultant and concluded "the development has appropriate regard to matters of provincial interest, is consistent with the PPS, conforms to the Growth Plan and applicable municipal plans, and it represents good planning in the public interest."