Residents fill council chambers at Krug factory public meeting

Council chambers were filled to the brim – and even overflowing – Thursday as residents gathered to express their concerns about the potential redevelopment of the Krug factory site at Trinity and King streets.

Article content

While councillors heard presentations from city planner Alexander Burnett and Caroline Baker, whose Baker Planning Group is representing the developer, they also heard from several residents who shared a wide variety of concerns.

A delegate, speaking on behalf of her parents, who are long-time neighborhood residents, said this BMI Group development – 393 residential units spread across 11 buildings on the 2.8-hectare (seven-acre) site – had the appearance of being rushed, despite the work done behind the scenes.

“If it’s perceived that it’s being rushed, perhaps the developers can work on how that perception can be changed because there’s a lot of information to be shared,” she said.

Baker, however, denied this claim, noting the application process and consultation have gone on for roughly a year. This process, she added, included consultations with the city last spring and summer, door-to-door interviews, and a public open house last year where the concept plan was presented.

Article content

“Certainly the owners have, in fact, gone over and above the statutory requirements under the Planning Act,” Baker said.

The proposal involves repurposing three of the existing factory buildings. Another eight buildings would need to be constructed, most ranging from three to five stores, although one building is planned for 10 floors.

The development, if approved, would include a mix of apartments and condos available for purchase and rent.

The proposal also calls for roughly 10 per cent of the units to be deemed affordable. These would be spread throughout the 11-building complex. However, resident Jason Davis suggested this share of the units was insufficient. Based on the median income in Stratford, and the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s definition of affordable housing, the median rent in the city should be $1,375 a month, which is impossible to find, Davis said.

Article content

“I assure you that if you look today, you will not find an apartment for $1,375 a month,” he said.

Davis said he would prefer for a higher number of units in the development to be designated as “affordable” and for considerations to be put in place to hold the developer accountable in the future.

Davis, a founding member of the Stratford Affordable Housing Alliance, said in an interview he will still be impacted by the development, despite not living in the immediate neighborhood.

“So when it comes to anything like this, where we’re talking about this number of places, it’s going to have an effect on the whole market,” he noted.

According to Baker, once completed, the development would have roughly 134 units per hectare. However, the anticipated density levels were another aspect that residents took issue with. Even a zone change to 100 units per hectare is bad enough, said Mark Aikman, who lives directly across from the factory site.

Article content

“I realize there’s a need for housing, but why are we trying to make up an entire city in one block?” he asked.

Other developments currently underway in Stratford do not require this degree of density, Aikman added. There are currently 68 hectares of farmland in the city being converted into normal density housing for single-family homes and townhouses, Aikman claimed.

Aikman said the council seemed to care more about future residents than current ones.

“They at least got a choice about moving into this development. We just got it dropped in from above. . . . You don’t seem to care about people who live in this area. You only care about the money,” he told council.

Aikman is not opposed to the development but asked the city to “keep it reasonable within the existing rules.”

Article content

Despite the importance of the meeting, four council members – Lesley Biehn, Jo-Dee Burbach, Mark Hunter and Larry McCabe – were not in attendance. Aikman was clearly frustrated with those who were not there.

“This is our first chance to have a discussion and we’re missing half our city council,” he said in an interview.

Banned resident attends, but meeting still goes ahead

Mike Sullivan, one of three residents banned from all municipal buildings until next week under the city’s respectful workplace policy, also made a brief appearance but left before the meeting started after a brief exchange with Mayor Martin Ritsma.

Unlike previous incidents where he declined to leave and the sessions were abruptly adjourned, Sullivan left because he did not want the public meeting to get shut down a second time.

Article content

“That’s not fair to most people, and I don’t want to be seen as the cause of that even though I’m not the cause – it’s the mayor,” he told the Beacon Herald.

Instead, he gave his statement to Sharon Collingwood, a fellow member of Get Concerned Stratford, who read it to council.

“The worst of both evils is forcing all these people who came to the meeting to not have a meeting,” Sullivan said.

There were also two Stratford police officers in attendance who declined to say whether their presence was due to the potential appearance of Sullivan or the other banned residents.

Article content