Sarnia council backs new apartment proposal

A new mid-rise apartment building could be coming to the southeast corner of Indian Road and Exmouth Street.

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Council approved rezoning and official plan amendments to allow a five-storey, 30-unit build Monday, though the bylaws were not immediately passed because the council meeting was cut short.

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While there were concerns about the amount of parking — one space per unit, instead of the required 1.5 — access for visitors, communal space, and ways in and out of the property, council voted 7-1 in favor of the project. Coun. Chrissy McRoberts was absent.

Such builds help the city meet its 40 percent intensification targetsaid Jordan Fohkens, the BM Ross Inc. agent for property owner and local resident Curt Najdzion, of Chez Black Developments.

A boarded-up house, damaged by fire five years ago, stands on the 2,100-square-meter (22,600-square-foot) property, he said.

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“If you haven’t driven by it and said ‘Gee, I hope something happens there some decade,’ then you’re probably not from Sarnia,” said Coun. Brian White. “So I’m willing to support pretty much anything that’s being proposed there.”

He urged developers to incorporate suggestions from Lambton Public Health, such as gathering space for residents, a green roof to mitigate heat, and parking for bicycles and e-bikes.

Details like that can be worked out in the site plan approval process, city officials said.

Coun. Terry Burrell’s was the only vote against the project.

“It’s kind of shoehorned in,” he said, noting the property would be difficult to navigate by vehicle and has too few parking spaces. “I think it’s an over-development of the site and I will not be supporting it.”

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Others on council, including Coun. Adam Kilner, acknowledged the proposal isn’t perfect, but the need for housing is more important.

“The context is that in this reality, I just think we have to live differently together and figure out how to do that,” Kilner said.

Officials noted repeatedly the proposed building is directly across from a grocery store and other retail, on transit routes and near city parks.

“People can walk to get their goods and live their lives,” Fohkens said.

Sarnia’s zoning bylaw, including the parking ratio, is outdated and being updatedhe said, noting similar cities require 0.8 parking spaces per unit.

Plans are to continue talking with neighbors, he said, two of whom told council they’d be willing to sell to offer more space for the development.

The development is a “no-brainer,” said Coun. Bill Dennis. “This is a great, great thing for Sarnia.”

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