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Stouffville Sun-Tribune n www.yorkregion.com n Saturday, Sept. 8, 2012, 4 TOWN COUNCIL Neighbours, developer down on apartment building BY SANDRA BOLAN sbolan@yrmg.com Residents in the Bramble Crescent and Millard Avenue area do not like the idea of an apartment-style building going up in their neighbourhood and apparently neither does the developer. PACE Savings and Credit Union Ltd. (Geranium) is expected to file an amendment to the town's secondary plan, which designates a portion of their 5.3 acres of land abutting Ninth Line be developed only as an apartment-style building, so it can build townhouses and stacked townhomes instead, according to Andrew McNeely, director of planning and building services for the Town of Whitchurch-Stouffville. The Stouffville Secondary Plan has two parcels of land specifically zoned as urban medium density residential for apartmentstyle buildings only. This summer Kids Camp Cooking Classes were held by Queensbridge Mills, upstairs at The Village Grocer. Pictured here kids salute Canada with their Lemonade as they sit down to taste their creations. "That doesn't necessarily mean rental," Mr. McNeely said. One of the pieces of land is in the Tenth Line and Forsythe Farm Drive area, where the Stouffville Country Market currently sits. The second area is along Ninth Line between Bayberry and Millard streets. The apartment-style development was included in the town's northwest corridor to create an architectural break from the long line of single family homes being constructed along that stretch, according to Mr. McNeely. In order to change what gets constructed on that land, permission from council is required. Residents expressed their concerns about the potential apartment-style building, which could be as tall as 20 metres, before, during and after the June 19 public hearing, according to Mr. McNeely. By comparison, Stouffville Creek Retirement Residence and the Baker Hill condos are about 18.5 metres in height, according to Mr. McNeely. Area resident Mary Catherine Ramsden presented council with a 32-signature petition against the apartment-style building during its Aug. 1 meeting. "We signed residents do not want medium density nor any residential structure built with a higher street elevation than what is currently existing within our viewing capacity. We want all the roof lines to be of a similar existing elevation," part of the petition reads. In her delegation to council, Ms Ramsden noted she did not like the idea of living near an apartment building because of the transient population typically attracted to rentals. She was also concerned about the potential for voyeurism into her back yard. One of the pieces of land is in the Tenth Line and Forsythe Farm Drive area, where the Stouffville Country Market currently sits. The second area is along Ninth Line between Bayberry and Millard streets. The developers were expected to file planning applications to amend the Stouffville Secondary Plan and general zoning bylaw, which if approved, would reclassify this medium density block to a more broadly permitted use, such as townhouses or stacked townhomes, which would be between 11 and 12-feet in height, according to Mr. McNeely. A public hearing on the matter is anticipated to take place in the latter part of September. The medium density block currently has a `hold' attached to it by the town, which means sewer and water have not been allocated by the municipality, therefore, development cannot occur. However, servicing for the other portion of the development -- 23 single detached homes -- was approved Aug. 1 by council, therefore, that development can begin. Is Flaming! We are now selling woodstove's, gas fireplaces, wood inserts & much more any yw wood ood stoves stoves, gas or wood inser inserts or free standing gas fireplace $200 OFF 11862 Hwy. 48, Stouffville 905-642-5380 Visit our website:www.farmerjacks.ca Proud Media Sponsors: *PROCEEDS FROM THE 2012 FUNDRAISING GALA BENEFITING MARKHAM STOUFFVILLE HOSPITAL*