Pressure is mounting at the Ontario Land Tribunal where a decision is expected by year end on the future of the vacant sliver of land that once housed the Preston Springs Hotel.
Landowner Haastown Holdings Preston Inc. has filed a second appeal with the provincial authority on land-use disputes, this time against the Region of Waterloo for recently adopting official plan and zone change amendments approved by Cambridge council last spring.
The developer is already challenging the city on its decision to limit what can be built on its Fountain Street property.
Haastown originally sought official plan and zoning bylaw amendments to build three mixed-use towers at the intersection of King and Fountain streets with up to 753 units over a shared five-storey podium.
The highest tower, at 26 storeys, would have loomed over backyards on Abraham Street.
The developer agreed to a number of concessions after a series of meetings with city staff and nearby residents.
They included lowering the heights of the towers to 22, 20 and 18 storeys and reducing the number of units to a maximum of 620. The reduced density resulted in an increased parking rate to 1.08 spaces per residential unit.
Staff recommended council approve the revised proposal during a March 19 meeting, but after hearing from delegations and expressing their own concerns, several members of council adjourned before returning with a new motion.
Introduced by Coun. Helen Shwery, the motion laid out amendments that hadn't been discussed in open council.
It capped the height of any building proposed for the site at 15 storeys, limited the number of towers on the property to two, and implemented new zoning bylaws for anything built next to low-rise residential areas.
All but Coun. Scott Hamilton voted in favour of that motion.
As predicted, a few weeks after council formally adopted those amendments, Haastown appealed the decision to the OLT.
Glen Nyhus also appealed the city's decision. He and several others in the Abraham Street neighbourhood impacted by the proposal remain opposed to any high-density development on the property.
In its grounds for both appeals, Haastown says its proposal is consistent with the Provincial Planning Statement and conforms with the policies of the Region of Waterloo and city's official plan.
The proposal, Haastown's lawyers argue, "is consistent with the type of higher-density, mixed use" developments needed to support transit ridership in Major Transit Station Areas and touts it as "a positive gateway project for the Preston Heights Community.
Haastown wants to move ahead with the scaled down, three-tower plan and says should it be successful in its appeal, it will adhere to the amendments "resolved through the cooperative and painstaking work with city staff."
A hearing date has yet to be set.
