The Town’s Director of Planning, Rick Nethery, today confirmed that the Comprehensive Planning Report for the proposed Clock Tower development will not be going to the Committee of the Whole on 20 June. Instead it is likely to go to the Committee of the Whole on 29 August – but it could slip to 26 September or even later.

In the meantime, the on-line change.org petition promoted by Margaret Davis will be formally presented to Newmarket Council at its meeting on Tuesday 7 June 2016. The petition has been a resounding success with 1,213 signatories, the overwhelming majority local people.

Trinity United has concerns

Elsewhere, in a key intervention, lawyers for Trinity United Church have listed a number of issues that will have to be fully addressed by planning staff when they are writing up their comprehensive planning report. The lawyers say these are “matters of concern” to the Church:

(1)  Shadow Study Impacts – the proponent’s study concludes serious shadow impacts to the Church during the spring and fall mornings. The east and south facades are prominent due to their entrances and stained glass windows and therefore the impacts are concerning.

(2)  Town staff recognized “significant breathing room” has been provided to the clock tower. The proposed setbacks along Park Avenue should be increased and stepped from the second storey to the seventh storey to provide more “breathing room” for the Church.

(3)  The Main Street perspective elevation is misleading as it suggests the Church is the same height as the seventh storey of the proposed building.

(4)  Official Plan section 1.3.2 indicates the Town’s cultural heritage will be a priority for the Town. The Church requests Council support this policy as we are concerned the development proposal could impact the cultural heritage of the Church. The rich history of the Church needs to be protected for the residents of Newmarket.

(5)  The Official Plan encourages appropriate development scale with the historical character of Main Street. The Church is concerned about the proposed massing and impacts on the Church.

(6)  The Church supports the Staff Engineering comments regarding the concern for the parking shortfall. Parking for the 165 residential units is intended to be accessed by Park Avenue. The Church remains concerned about the parking shortfall and congestion on Park Avenue.

(7)  The proposed development needs to contribute to the historic character of the Main Street.

(8)  The proposed development should respect the Town’s 45 degree angular plane standard to reduce the impact this development will have on the Church.

(9)  The proposed 430 units per net hectare and 2.9 FSI is excessive and therefore impacts the prominence of the Church.

(10)                 The Church has experienced problems with groundwater affecting its foundations so it is concerned about the impact of the proposed underground construction on groundwater flows and with the impact of the vibrations of the proposed construction generally.

You can read the Trinity United correspondence here. Scroll to the bottom of the page.

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