MAPLETON – A rezoning application which would see the construction of six semi-detached dwellings or 12 new homes in Drayton was approved by township council on Dec. 10.
The application would rezone land along Bedell Drive, off Main Street West, from low density residential to medium density residential in order to facilitate the construction by Glenaviland Development Corp.
The property is approximately 1.14 acres and currently vacant.
“As we move forward in our development, we’ve always got feedback from our builders that they would like to see more townhouses and semi-lots,” said Glenaviland representative Trevor Prior. “And we do have some more townhouses in the future coming on board but we didn’t have any semis.”
He added, “Things we considered into this, in the current bylaws, the minimum width of a semi lot is 18 meters and we’ve gone for 20.5 (meters).
“We feel this will create a nicer semi product, as well as allow for two-car garages on those units, which allow a wider driveway, which helps keep cars off the street for parking on the street. And we just think overall, it’ll be a nicer product and it should help us.”
Councillor Paul Douglas asked whether the township could accommodate the new buildings.
“In terms of waste or capacity, we’re adding a few more units here. Do we have the capacity to allocate additional units?” Douglas asked.
CAO Manny Baron confirmed the township staff had set aside “extras.”
Councillor Dennis Craven said, “This will also satisfy the province because they’re always asking us to increase the density of this land. And this should help satisfy their thirst for that too.”
Councillor Marlene Ottens asked if the units are two-storeys.
“I think it will be determined by the builder at the time,” said Prior. “Again, they’re probably wide enough if they wanted to build a bungalow-type semi product … But really … I don’t think we would restrict a builder to do one or the other.”
