[Comments/opinions may be added at the end of the post.]
The BYLAW:
Tribute (Brookdale) Limited has submitted Pre-Submission Applications for Official Plan Amendment and Zoning By-law Amendment for the Brookdale Centre to permit a multi-phased, high-density, mixed-use residential development consisting of six buildings containing fourteen residential towers ranging in height from 17 to 35 storeys within four phases. A total of 5,238 residential units are proposed, including 7,149 square metres of retail/commercial space, and a 716 square metres daycare facility.
The purpose of the Official Plan Amendment is to increase the maximum residential density from 140 units per hectare to no maximum, and to increase the maximum Floor Space Index (FSI) from 2.5 to 5.0.
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The 75 Towers that Ashe vehemently denied is looking closer to the truth. Where is all the retail outlets going to be located in Pickering? I do believe there is a Food Basics, Home Depot, Shoppers Drug and many smaller retail outlets in this proposed area. What is to become of them? The traffic which is already terrible is going to become on big parking lot.____________________________________Mike Borie
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There may “ eventually” be retail there to support those new residents.
____________________________________KarKaren Sloan
____________________________________(Pet Value)
Some people would have you believe that endless growth and development is a wonderful thing and a sign of prosperity. I, on the other hand, left behind my life in Toronto for the quiet life in the Town of Pickering, outside Metropolitan Toronto boundaries. Now, those borders have been transcended to the point that the only thing separating us from Toronto is the Rouge River valley.
More that 50 later, the spectre of highrise development is upon us. 30,40,50 story buildings all along the 401 corridor. The only problem with this is trying to infill land around what a small town has built up over a century. It fundamentally changes everything. It forces small businesses to relocate when plazas and vacant land are sold off. It makes getting around to shop more difficult, as all the subdivisions require getting out to Kingston Rd., Brock Rd., Whites Rd., Liverpool Rd., etc. This is archaic planning. If you were building from scratch like in Dubai, then everything can be planned accordingly with the proper infrastructure, sort of what will be accomplished in Seaton if you like what you see at Taunton and Whites Rd.
Our Planning and Zoning laws are only limited by the depth of the developers’ pockets. Politicians get elected but don’t tell us their hidden plans. Mr. Ford comes up with the novel idea of special Mayors’ powers. Mayor Ashe says he won’t take these powers if elected, gets elected, and takes the special powers.
Our elected Council can only follow the planning process and then have their decisions taken to the Ontario Land Tribunal which usurps our Pickering Council. The former OMB, Ontario Municipal Board, was pretty tough on local decision-making, but then it transformed into LPAT, a somewhat tougher Local Planning Act Tribunal. Now we have the OLT, Ontario Land Tribunal, and the public has all but been shut out of this process which it has tried to navigate it.
As Mr.Ford would say, “that’s politics folks.” We are creatures of habit and keep repeating the same mistakes. _____________________Paul White
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