Last week’s regular Council meeting on August 9 was packed with business, all done virtually with Deputy Mayor Barclay at the helm. Mayor Peckford was away on a family vacation, so she was not in attendance online. Council moved to appoint the Deputy Mayor as the meeting Chair – a motion that is in effect for one meeting only.
The first item of business was a minor variance request for a property on Alma Street. The request was for a deviation from the minimum exterior side yard rules, to allow a building to be constructed 3 metres from the property line, instead of 6 metres. This proposal was the subject of a public meeting, though no members of the public spoke up. The applicant was in attendance, but had no comments for Council since there were no questions or concerns from members of the public to address. With letters of no objection from local governing bodies having been received, the recommendation from municipal staff was for the variance request to pass, and Council agreed.
Another public meeting took place regarding a requested density increase for a proposed development in Kemptville’s northwest end. The increase would see 122 apartment units, up from the original request of 84 units, at the site on Wellington Rd, adjacent to Giant Tiger and KFC.
A representative of the developer spoke to the Council, and answered questions. Councillor O’Sullivan raised some questions regarding traffic in the area, and plans to maintain the green space in the area of the proposed development. There was a back and forth discussion between Councillor O’Sullivan and a developer representative, discussing the infrastructure in the area.
Councillor Strackerjan expressed her appreciation for the flexibility shown by the developer – Kevlar Developments – calling this situation a “really good example of where there’s flexibility that can be achieved – the willingness to revisit and rework a plan.”
An unusual amount of time was spent discussing this particular request – nearly a full hour in a two hour meeting. Ultimately, despite Council’s support for the amendment, Kevlar’s request for a deferral was granted so that the wording of a draft zoning by-law amendment can be reviewed by staff to ensure that there will be no problems regarding an offsite parking request.
Other routine business occurred in the remainder of the meeting, including the consideration of tenders for municipal work to be completed.
The meeting adjourned after just over two hours. There have been no other regularly scheduled Council meetings added to the Municipality of North Grenville calendar as of the time of writing.
