ROCKWOOD – Council here has approved an application for a four-unit apartment building on Alma Street in Rockwood.
On Aug. 8 Guelph/Eramosa council reviewed a planning application, prepared by Perspective Views and associated consultants, for an apartment building at 168 Alma St.
The proposal is to construct a two-storey, four-unit apartment building.
The property is currently vacant and approximately 12,497 square feet in size with 28.8 metres of frontage, the report noted.
The site plan also includes a proposed retaining wall, permeable pavers to address stormwater management, seven proposed parking spaces, fencing, and landscaping.
“One unique aspect of this property is there is an existing sanitary line and sanitary easement that runs through the property,” county senior planner Zach Prince told council.
Although the existing property on Alma Street already has access from Highway 7, Prince said the applicant will need a new Ministry of Transportation (MTO) permit for new access along the west side of the property.
The permeable pavers, Prince explained, are proposed to help infiltrate stormwater through the ground rather than connecting to Highway 7, which he noted the MTO wouldn’t allow.
“There are quite a few technical challenges and constraints on this site, however, the proposal does meet zoning bylaw and it does meet all the requirements that staff have identified to date,” Prince said.
Part of the application would also update the easement agreement for the sanitary line to ensure the township is covered for any construction activities for the application and in future applications.
The recommendation asked that council approve the site plan in principal but delegate final approval to the township’s CAO.
With the site plan agreement, “we’re still updating the securities required for that sanitary easement,” Prince explained.
“So [that’s] a small change in the agreement that we’re looking at but other than that the site plan agreement in front of council should be more or less the same as what will be finally approved.”
The application came before council in 2021 and still requires council approval, Prince explained, but with new provincial legislation, any future applications will go directly to staff for approval.
Council voted to support the approval of the site plan application for 168 Alma St.
