OMB upholds zoning approval for seniors’ housing project

Jeff Green | Mar 25, 2010

The Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) has confirmed the Official Plan and Zoning Bylaw amendments that were needed for North Frontenac Not-For-Profit Housing to construct a five-unit seniors’ complex off of Clement Road in Central Frontenac Township.

An OMB hearing was held in Sharbot Lake in February. Three appellants, Roy Sepa, Tim Hagel, and Rick Greenstreet, who all live or have interests on Clement Road in the vicinity of the proposed building, had launched a challenge to the zoning approvals for the project that Central Frontenac Council granted last fall.

In his decision, which was released last Thursday, March 18, OMB Commissioner M.C. Denhez said that the board has “not been persuaded of any inadequacy of the [township's] specified conditions for the project, or in the overall thrust of the Official Plan and Zoning Bylaw amendments.”

In the body of his report, Commissioner Denhez addressed a range of concerns that were raised by the appellants, ranging from the rural nature of the property to traffic safety concerns to questions about whether the project conforms to the provincial policy statement. None of these objections held sway with the commissioner.

The ruling did accept the appeals in part, but only on more bureaucratic matters that do not reflect on the viability of the project.

Counsel for the appellants had pointed out that the road frontage figure of 20 metres contemplated by the Zoning Bylaw amendment did not fit with the reality on the ground, so the OMB ruled that the wording be changed to 15 metres. As well, a wording change specifying that “5 dwelling units” will be permitted on the property will replace the original wording that “5 or more” dwelling units will be permitted.

“The appeals are otherwise dismissed. That is the ruling of the board,” concluded Commissioner Denhez at the end of his eight-page decision.

The ruling does not ensure that the project will proceed, however. While the zoning question is settled, the property will need to be surveyed and a site plan agreement with Central Frontenac Township will need to be approved by council.

Then there is the matter of setback from the high water mark on an adjacent wetland. The building and septic system must not encroach within 30 metres of the high water mark. That mark has been estimated but not completely defined by the Mississippi Valley Conservation Authority (MVCA), and a technician from MVCA will be doing a site determine the exact location f the high water mark and the 30 metre setback.

As the OMB report put it, “If professional measurements ultimately make the project un-buildable, it will simply not be built.”

Peggy Hurley, Chair of the Board of Directors of North Frontenac Not-for-Profit Housing, is now confident that the project will go ahead.

She said the OMB ruling is “good news not only for our board because we can now go ahead with this project, but it is good news for seniors in our community. There is a big demand in our community for housing for people who are older and cannot maintain their home but want to remain in the community. This five-unit building will provide a way for them to stay in the area and be near their families. It will also be as environmentally sustainable a building as we can possibly build with the money we have available.”

Roy Sepa does not share Hurley’s enthusiasm for the OMB’s decision, or the location of the project. When contacted by the News, Roy Sepa said he had not yet read through the OMB decision in detail, but that regardless of the outcome of the hearing, “Our position hasn’t changed. It is still the wrong decision to make.”

Sepa characterized the OMB appeal as a “partial success because it pointed out some serious deficiencies in the not-for-profit housing corporation’s strategies.” Nonetheless he says that the group of neighbours who have banded together to oppose the new development will not be giving up the fight.

“We plan to monitor and oppose this over the next six months. We will be opposing it at every single turn.”

This could include becoming active in the municipal election campaign, addressing the matter at council, on the provincial level, and even at the building site itself if and when construction starts.

Sepa that he thinks “the OMB made a major mistake by saying that a rural area is suitable for a seniors’ home, and we will be drawing that to the attention of the premier’s office because we believe the ruling contravenes the provincial policy statement.”

While the ruling acknowledged the concerns, it said that the proposal is not for a “seniors’ home on the model of a high-care nursing facility, but rather for affordable units for occupants who have reached an age threshold and are independent”. For that reason and others the OMB concluded that the project “does not undermine the provincial policy statement” in terms of location.

Mr Sepa said his group would also be considering challenging the OMB ruling in the Ontario Superior Court. His main message was for the Board of North Frontenac Not-For-Profit Housing, which he said should reconsider its decision to build on this particular site. “Instead of creating a rift in the community they should go back to their funder and ask for leave to transfer the funding to a location in the Village of Sharbot Lake.

Jane Drew, the Chief Administrative Office for North Frontenac Not-for-Profit Housing, said, “The fact that we already owned the property on Clement Road was counted in our favour when we sought funding for this project, and in any event the funding commitment that we have received is tied to this project as it has been proposed.

“The Clement Road location was suitable for our funder [which is the city of Kingston] as well as the Township of Central Frontenac, and it has now been endorsed by the Ontario Municipal Board. We look forward to building five affordable housing units for area seniors. It will not satisfy the demand that is out there but it is a start.”