It is my recommendation the Carlington Community Association oppose the rezoning the property located at 1110 Fisher Avenue for the following reasons.

  1. Existing zoning is sufficient to provide opportunity for intensification.
  2. Currently the property has a single family home with a detached garage that can be intensified by placing two principal units within the current lot.
  3. The scale of intensification proposed for the lot far exceeds acceptable maximums
  4. The rezoning is not an incremental step to R3 or even R4, as exampled elsewhere within community, making this change out of proportion with other property changes.
  5. Loss of green space
  6. There is no provision in the plan to recover the loss of the green space that was contained within the lot
  7. No ability for the mass of the remaining land to absorb storm water or spring runoff
  8. Relationship and impact upon the Central Experimental Farm (CEF) lands was not evaluated. The property is within 35 meters of the (CEF), and the proposal does not address the property’s characteristics and the relationship it has with the CEF’s National Historic value. Further consultation with the CEF should be held to determine if the development for the property is acceptable to the CEF.
  9. Intensification without support from existing infrastructure and facilities
  10. Although the property is located on a bus route (Fisher Avenue) the residents of the property will most likely not use the public transit system, nor will they be able to walk to do their major routine shopping (groceries). They will need to use cars because the nearest shopping areas are
  11. Approximately 2.8 km to Wal-Mart on Baseline
  12. Approximately 2.6 km to Food Basic on Merivale
  13. Approximately 2.0 km to Westgate
  14. A traffic study should be conducted to understand the nature of the impact vehicle access to the property while traveling north will have during peak hours.
  1. Secondary traffic overflow from Fisher into the residential such as Trent and Bakervale has already been identified by the residents in the area as an issue
  2. Kingston and Emperor are streets used by cut through traffic from Merivale to Fisher to circumvent the heavy congestion on Fisher and Merivale
  3. To avoid the ensuing congestion on Kingston and Emperor cut through traffic can be expected to increase
  4. Parking overflow onto neighbouring streets such as Trent, Bakervale and Kingston which already have very limited street parking
  5. Noise emissions from building operations will impact properties adjacent to the building
  6. Sub-ground parking ventilation
  7. Roof mechanical
  8. Residents balconies
  9. Loss of privacy in seclusion areas of adjacent lands
  10. Zoning Consistency Team (ZCT)
  11. No formal request has been made to engage the ZCT to review the proposal. By all indication such a request is required for this proposed zoning change

Article 2 of the bylaws of the CCA states that

The objects for which the corporation (the Association) is incorporated are:

· to promote the interests of the community in the decision-making process at all levels of government;

· to encourage a sense of community among all residents of Carlington; and

· to work with representatives of other groups in the area, such as tenant, recreational, church and school associations in the pursuit of common goals;

and such other complementary purposes not inconsistent with these objectives.

Furthermore precedent has been set as the CCA Board has previously taken positions on development issues such as on Crown that were successful in obtaining a more suitable development that reflected the character of the neighbourhood.

I therefore recommend that the CCA promote the interests of the community in the decision-making process for their community and take the position of opposing the rezoning of 1110 Fisher from a R2f to a R5.