Township council was set to consider on April 24 a draft bylaw for a zoning amendment to allow separation of a semi-detached residential building in Drayton.
A public meeting was held on April 10 on the application to rezone the High Street property to recognize an existing semi-detached dwelling and permit reduced lot areas and frontages for the both the severed and retained parcels.
The rezoning is required to satisfy a condition of a severance application, which has been granted provisional consent by the Wellington County land division committee.
The application proposes the separation of each semi-detached dwelling unit onto its own property, explained county senior planner Curtis Marshall in a report.
‘The application effectively recognizes the existing semi-detached dwelling that has existed for approximately 100 years,” Marshall stated at the meeting.
He indicated planning staff have no concerns with the rezoning application as the proposal conforms to the Official Plan and is consistent with applicable provincial policies.
“There is a zigzag through the dwelling and that is how the two units are actually separated, which is maybe not what you’d see today,” he said.
Marshall noted that as part of the building permit process the owners will be providing proper updates, including fire separation, to Ontario Building Code standards.
Councillor Marlene Ottens said planning staff have “done a great job” with an unusual situation.
“It’s one of the strangest things I’ve ever seen. You’ve done what you could with something like this,” she stated.
