Centre Wellington council held a public meeting on July 14 to hear comments about a proposal to change the zoning at 136 Chalmers Street so a house there can be removed and a semi-detached home can be built.
Planner Brett Salmon told council in his report that the applicant is Keating Construction. He said all property owners within 120 metres of the land were given notice, and the township did not receive any objections to the proposal.
Salmon recommended the bylaw to approve the application be given three readings that night; otherwise approval would have to wait until September. He noted that the proposal fits with the Provincial Policy Statement that urban centres have increased density.
Elora must increase 40 per cent of its population in the current urban areas by 2015, and proposals like this will help council achieve that growth.
Jim Keating told council the lot was “laid out when Elora was laid out.” He said it is just over 86 feet wide, and the house currently on it is not rented, “and not worth fixing.” He added that he is not trying to place a single family home on an oversized lot.
He noted that it is also located close to a six-plex apartment, and there are different housing uses in the area.
Councillor Kirk McElwain asked if the proposed building will have the same look and feel of the nearby Station Square, which Keating also developed.
Keating replied that it would be of brick or stone.
Council heard no objections, and later passed three readings of the bylaw.
