A proposed three-storey apartment building on Listowel’s Main Street met with no opposition from councilors or town residents at a Jan. 15 public meetings.
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The development – an apartment complex that features a mix of ground-floor commercial and residential on the first floor and residential units on the second and third stores – will still require zoning bylaw and official plan amendments before it can be built.
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“The proposed development (at 670 Main St. E.) is considered a form of redevelopment that makes efficient use of underutilized lands and existing infrastructure,” Perth County planner Nathan Garland wrote in a report to North Perth council. “Further, the proposed mixed-use development promotes intensification and enhances the mix of housing types available to current and future residents in the regional market area.”
The property located on the south side of Main Street East, between Maitland Avenue South and Tremaine Avenue South. It is adjacent to the KFC restaurant and a residential dwelling while a storage area for Listowel Chrysler sits near the rear of the property.
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Presently, the 0.28-hectare (0.7-acre) site is being used for the display and sales of sheds and small accessory structures but doesn’t house any permanent structures.
The requested zoning bylaw amendment would allow the owner, HAE (Listowel) Inc.. and the applicant, Argiloff Engineering and Development Inc., to include residential dwellings in what is presently a highway commercial zone. The official plan amendment would also be needed to allow residential uses.
“Inclusion of a residential use allows for increased flexibility and opportunity in housing for the Municipality of North Perth,” Garland wrote in his report. “Restrictions in the zoning bylaw requiring the frontage of the ground floor units to remain commercial will limit the options for removal of the commercial use and add to North Perth’s commercial opportunities also.”
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Some concerns about the proposed development were shared with council by nearby Lagarge Canada. These concerns involved noise-related impacts to the company’s environmental compliance approval if the development was built.
Garland told advisors those concerns were addressed through an updated noise study completed June 6, 2023. The study recommended site plan requirements, such as options for air-conditioners, and the need for warning clauses in the purchase agreements.
“Staff have discussed these verbally with Lafarge, and while no written comments have been provided as of the date the report has been written, comments from Lafarge seemed supportive,” Garland wrote.
Other comments from a neighboring landowner shared concerns about traffic volumes, parking, municipal services, drainage and water, setbacks and the building’s design.
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Public work officials, though, previously reviewed the report and noted a formal traffic study was not required. Parking planned at the site will also meet current zoning bylaw standards. The other concerns, including municipal services, will be addressed through a future site-plan agreement and permitting.
“As the property retains a commercial component, the site-plan approval process will remain as the primary tool for the Municipality of North Perth to ensure adequate servicing and site functionality,” Garland wrote.
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