Charlottetown city planners: Planned multi-family housing too high for the area
A proposal to build an eight-storey apartment building in downtown Charlottetown was inconsistent with the city’s official plans, according to Charlottetown’s director of planning and development.
Developer Tim Banks, president of Pan American Properties, has since withdrawn his application for the 158-unit apartment building that he wanted to build next to the polyclinic at 199 Grafton Street.
The project would have included more than 30 affordable rental apartments – costing less than $1,000 per month – in downtown Charlottetown.
Pan American Properties managed the project for Morris Holdings, owned by Pat Morris, which owns the land on which the development was planned.
Banks withdrew the request after the city administration recommended that the city council not approve it.
“The biggest issue we encountered was the proposed height, which is related to the mass and size of the building,” said David Gundrum, the city’s planning and development manager.
David Grundrum, director of planning and development for the City of Charlottetown, said the site is intended to be a transitional area between the city centre and the less densely populated neighbourhoods in the surrounding area. (Submitted by the City of Charlottetown)
He pointed out that only four-storey buildings were originally planned for the site, but an extension to up to six-storey buildings had been approved.
“I guess requiring two additional floors to get to eight floors would increase the height even further, and we had to evaluate that in terms of the intent of the guidelines that apply here and whether that intensity was appropriate or too much,” he told Wayne Thibodeau on CBC Radio. Island Morning.
We are actively working with them to see if we can find a solution to make this happen on this site. — Dave Gundrum
Gundrum said the site is designated in the city’s official plan as a transition area between the city center and the less densely populated neighborhoods in the surrounding area – so the area acts as a buffer.
He said planning staff had worked closely with the developer, but based on city plans, eight stories was too much for the site given the intent of the official plan.
“We had a meeting with the developer,” Gundrum said. “We talked about different options they might consider. We are actively working with them to see if we can find a solution here to get something done on this site.”
Developers frustrated
After CBC News contacted developer Tim Banks, he said in an email that he initiated the meeting to get the project back on track. He left the meeting “without making any further progress,” he said.
“His staff could have used the (goals) set out in the official plan to support a positive recommendation,” Banks said in an email, referring to Gundrum. “If staff were directed by the council to find a way to make this happen, then they have all the tools in their official plan to achieve a positive resolution.”
Project developer Tim Banks, CEO of APM Group, said he left a meeting with the city and “didn’t get anywhere.” (Tony Davis/CBC)
Gundrum said the council always has the final say on building permit applications.
“They are the licensing authority. Although we had taken the application to a certain point in the process, the applicant decided to withdraw the application after learning of staff’s recommendation to council,” he said. “However, council has not had an opportunity to make a call or make a decision on the matter – taking into account not only our recommendation but also feedback from members of the public.”
The current official plan for the City of Charlottetown was first drafted in 1999. It was approved by the legislature in 2005.
“It’s time for modernization and the city is actively working on it,” Gundrum said.
More pressure to build
The federal government is putting pressure on municipalities across the country to allow the construction of higher-density housing developments, with millions of dollars in funding at stake.
Earlier this year, the vacancy rate for apartments on Prince Edward Island was less than one percent.
Gundrum agrees that this pressure is real.
“It’s more intense today than it has been in the recent past,” he said. “Because we work as professional planners – whether we’re working in Charlottetown or other districts of the province or elsewhere in Canada – we have to base our recommendations largely on the current policies set out in the official plan of the municipality or city, because the plan is a legal document.”