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w at er lo oc hr on ic le .c a W at er lo o C hr on ic le | T hu rs da y, Ju ne 21 ,2 01 8 | 12 We offer a number of payment options including online banking, e-post and pre-authorized payments to make it easy to pay your tax or water bills from the comfort of your home. For payment options for your water utility bills visit waterloo.ca/waterpayment and for your tax bills visit waterloo.ca/taxpayment. Did you know you can pay your tax and water bills online? PAY ONLINE The City of Waterloo 2018 final residential property tax due dates are July 3, 2018 and September 4, 2018. Final tax bills have been mailed or sent via e-post. Please note, you are responsible for paying your taxes on or before the due dates. Non-receipt of your property tax bill does not exempt you from taxes and/or late payment penalty charges. If you have not received your tax bill, please let us know by contacting revenue services at revenue@waterloo.ca or calling at 519-747-8718. PAYING BY MAIL? Please remit the stub of your tax bill along with your payment to: City of Waterloo Revenue Services 100 Regina St. S. PO Box 337 Station Waterloo Waterloo, ON N2J 4A8 PAYING IN-PERSON? Payment can be made Monday to Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., at Waterloo City Centre (100 Regina St. S.) Waterloo Service Centre (265 Lexington Crt.) Did you receive your 2018 final residential property tax bill? P. 519-886-1550 TTY. 1-866-786-3941 waterloo.ca/publicnotices property line of the 421- bedroom development. The development, a mix of apartments and town- houses, will replace the 80- year-old Ontario Die Com- pany facility at Roger Street and Moore Avenue. The company has moved to a new location in north Waterloo, leaving the par- cel near the Kitchener bor- der open for development. While city staff and the developer, Reid Heritage Homes, agreed on a num- ber of issues during the in- formal meeting a year ago, they could not come to- gether on a plan for park- land. Residents raised con- cerns last June that chang- ing the zoning of the prop- erty would take what little green space there is in the uptown neighbourhood. Because of the size of the property, the developer is required to provide parkland. Since the devel- oper asked for an increase in density from the desig- nation in the Official Plan, community benefits must be provided. In this case, the construction and maintenance of the corner park will count as the com- munity benefit. An original wall from the historical factory will be preserved and worked into the park. The developer's sugges- tion was to make the cor- ner park about 1,200 square feet, the required amount, but it would remain pri- vately owned and main- tained. City staff recom- mended a plan that would have two smaller parks. "(The two-park model) enabled us to get the link- ages up to the Mount Hope cemetery," said the city's commissioner of commu- nity services, Mark Dyks- tra, adding that the interi- or park would be more con- ducive to activities such as throwing a baseball or kicking a soccer ball. The development also required a change to the zoning bylaw, which re- zoned one section of the property from industrial to multiple residential with a holding provision. While city staff was in agreement with most parts of the application, many neighbouring residents were not. Carl Simpson, who was a member of a neighbour- hood working group that worked with the developer to hammer out the details of the development, said since the application is not in alignment with the Offi- cial Plan, the community benefit must be apparent - and right now, it is not. "It's disingenuous to say that it conforms ... or fits with the neighbourhood," said Simpson. Simpson said the city has to respect the Official Plan, which was compiled through feedback from various stakeholders. "This decision is not a practical one, but a moral one," said Simpson. Marcus Moos, who lives close by in Kitchener, is an associate professor at the school of planning at the University of Waterloo. He encouraged more density as well as more under- ground - or less - parking. "I'd like to ask that you evaluate this proposal in how well will it get people to use those alternative modes of transportation," he said. Moos said infrastruc- ture will make a difference in how people get around and make them want to stay in the neighbourhood, rather than get in their cars and leave. He suggested interior green space by moving parking underground and reducing parking ratios. Derek Suderman, who lives on Roger Street, told council that the promised parkland is not nearly enough. Suderman said he has been told by the developer that the Mount Hope ceme- tery can be used as green space, but for children, it's not suitable. "It's a great place for se- niors, but it is not a place for children to play," said Suderman, adding that the closest park is Mary Allen Park, about a 15-minute walk away across Union Street. Suderman added that in the local apartments, not including single detached homes, the neighbourhood is already due for a one- hectare park, as per Water- loo's standard for one hect- are per 1,000 people in the draft Official Plan. Kevin Reid, who was a part of the neighbourhood working group, said the group wasn't respected in the process. "There's more work that needs to be done on this," said Reid. "Let's delay this and let's talk some more." Coun. Melissa Durrell said she was in support of having both parks on the land to create more inclu- sivity and allow the neigh- bourhood to take owner- ship of the park. Coun. Brian Bourke said he realizes the strug- gles with finding park space in urban areas, but the hassle and work of cre- ating those is difficult. He said the space has the potential to be a signif- icant part of the neigh- bourhood. "I see some of the pro- jects we're approving around here, and they're inspirational. But I look at this building and I have the thought - what are we do- ing? Are we doing that?" The city has the option to collect cash in lieu of parkland. But with density increasing, it is becoming more difficult to find suit- able land for purchase. Coun. Jeff Henry said in this situation, the only op- tion the city had for park space was collecting the community dedication space, rather than opting for cash. "I know it's not enough for the aspiration of where we'd like to be as a city," said Henry. "It's one thing to have an aspiration, but without a plan ... it's just an aspiration." Henry said he realizes there are gaps around the city, including in his own ward. "We'll get there, we just can't get there in all one shot," said Henry. NEWS l Continued from page 1 Residents concerned about lack of green space