White Oaks proposal turned down — buildings are too tall, councillors say

A massive residential and commercial project proposed at Taylor Road and Glendale Avenue is too tall for the majority of Niagara-on-the-Lake council to stand behind.  

White Oaks Conference Resort and Spa plans for four buildings with 810 units and more than 1,500 square metres of commercial space were turned down at Tuesday night’s committee-of-the-whole planning meeting by a 5-4 vote.  

The tallest building was pitched as 25 storeys, while the other three were planned to be 17, 18, and 21 storeys.  

In the town’s secondary plan for the Glendale area, a group of buildings is permitted to have one that stands 20 storeys tall and the others can be no higher than 16 storeys.  

Coun. Wendy Cheropita attempted to scale the project down to those heights, but a motion she put on the table was defeated, and criticized by Lord Mayor Gary Zalepa, who called it “rich” and “unprofessional.” The town can’t be “free-wheeling” when making planning decisions, he said.

The developer and White Oaks “have done their homework,” leading them to arrive at the more than 800 units proposed, Zalepa said. If the town can’t agree to that capacity, then “you’re going to end up with no development there,” and the likelihood of something like a grocery store moving to that part of town will disappear. “The residents are going to keep asking the town why they have no amenities out there,” he said.  

Coun. Erwin Wiens agreed with Zalepa. “I’ve always been concerned when we plan on the fly,” he said, adding that councillors shouldn’t be “planning on the back of a napkin.”  

Coun. Sandra O’Connor supported Cheropita’s idea and responded to the motion’s criticism, saying it’s not planning on a napkin or a “willy nilly” idea. What Cheropita suggested, she said, is what’s in the town’s Official Plan. Turning down Cheropita’s attempt to find a compromise were Couns. Tim Balasiuk, Nick Ruller, Adriana Vizzari, Wiens and Zalepa.

The initial motion recommended by staff to approve Official Plan and zoning bylaw amendments to allow the project to move forward, subject to holding provisions such as one related to approval from Transport Canada regarding height, was defeated.  Councillors voting against the staff recommendation were Balasiuk, Cheropita, O’Connor, Nick Ruller and Gary Burroughs.

Transport Canada would need to approve the height of the buildings, otherwise they would be limited to no more than six storeys due to the proximity of the nearby Niagara District Airport. 

After the votes were taken, another debate ensued about giving staff direction to approach the applicant with a further conversation about height. This was also brought forward by Cheropita, who said it seemed that councillors were most concerned about the height of the buildings. “The intent of the project – it appears all councillors agree with it,” she said.  

Staff agreed this would need to be revisited through a notice of motion at an upcoming meeting.  

Before the development was nixed, Zalepa suggested the developer explore options related to affordable housing within the development. Planner Stephen Bedford said this would be something that can be investigated.  

“We’re quite open to discussing the opportunities and seeing how the development we’re proposing could complement the future policies with affordable housing,” said Bedford.  

Glendale resident Steven Hardaker had kicked off Tuesday's meeting by sharing that a petition had garnered more than 640 signatures in opposition of the project. He said its impact would be “detrimental to our community as a whole,” and that the town’s “charm lives in its low-rise skyline and serene environment.”