The potential for a costly legal battle is brewing at the Ontario Land Tribunal over a three-year-old plan to build 30 stacked townhomes at 15 Clover Ave.
Cambridge council shot down the developer's latest proposal in March despite a staff recommendation that said it should be allowed to proceed.
It means the city will have to hire outside planning experts to defend council's decision at the OLT after the developer appealed last week.
The project has been on the books since early 2020 with 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.
That zoning limits developments to 40 units per hectare. The revamped proposal kept the number of units at 30, but changed the design to make six of the townhouses street fronting. Even at the reduced 30 units, the project would come in at 56 units per hectare.
A total of 45 parking spaces are proposed for the development, including nine for visitor parking.
David Galbraith, from IBI Group, the consulting firm planning the project, explained that after consulting with staff over parking and safety concerns, the applicant changed the location of the "drive aisle," added a turning circle for fire protection, and made room for a minimum of two parking spaces per unit for the street towns.
Galbraith said the turning circle will improve safety for the entire dead-end street by providing a turning radius for fire services.
But it wasn't enough for neighbours on the dead end street who have been vocally against the proposal from the outset and in February repeated demands the city deny the rezoning application over concerns about the design, setbacks, and impacts to everything from property values and the surrounding environment to safety and on-street parking.
"We totally understand there's development. Cambridge is growing. We all know that," Clover Avenue resident Dawn Joseph. "But honestly we believed that the neighbourhood would be single dwelling homes."
When the proposal returned to council for a decision on March 28, many councillors sided with residents in the belief the proposed density is too out of line with zoning and too close to a wetland.
Coun. Mike Devine said he was opposed for both of those reasons and believes there are other infill properties across the city where a project of this scope is a better fit.
"If we end up at the Ontario Land Tribunal, so be it," he said.
But it wasn't simply the inevitability of an appeal to the OLT that played into the council vote.
The spectre of Bill 23, the provincial legislation designed to fast track home construction by sidestepping established planning rules, looms large over any challenge council puts forward to development proposals.
"My fear is if this application comes back in three years, you could be looking at an apartment complex," Ward 7 Coun. Scott Hamilton warned in March. "It could be bigger. And that's the big concern I have."
Hamilton said he was looking for the smoking gun to validate the emotional component to fight the change to the street, but couldn't because staff have decided it fits with the city's official plan and the province's mandate to build more homes.
"I'm afraid we're looking at a lot more density in future years with what is happening in this ward and on these streets."
Hamilton was joined by councillors Donna Reid, Ross Earnshaw and Sherri Roberts in voting in favour of the zoning amendments.
Opposed were councillors Mike Devine, Nicholas Ermeta, Adam Cooper, Corey Kimpson and Mayor Jan Liggett.
Burlington-based developer Modeno Homes launched its appeal with the OLT last week and maintains the project as "coming soon" on its website.
As of Tuesday, a case coordinator remains to be assigned, at which time an acknowledgement letter will be sent to all parties involved and a hearing will be scheduled.
