A quick update, neighbour, on the progress of our Friends of Olde Berlin Town campaign in pursuit of a compatible, inclusive development of 22 Weber St W that permits existing neighbours to thrive and the heritage district to endure.
At the December 4th Case Management Conference, the Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT) directed the Applicant, a corporation named “30 Duke St Ltd”, to submit their revised application to the City of Kitchener. The revised application seeks additional floor space, and enables an increase from 15 to 19 storeys. The OLT directed the City, in reviewing the resubmission, to “utilize its normal protocol and process”.
In response, the City collected feedback via a Heritage Kitchener Committee meeting. The City also held a Neighbourhood Meeting to share details on the amended application and the OLT process and to collect further comments from the public. While participants expressed their appreciation for the City’s presentation, many questions were left unanswered, including:
- Would this application help ensure that we are building an inclusive city? What is the proposed sale or rental price per square foot?
- Does Kitchener’s Official Plan provide for enough housing to accommodate expected population growth?
- Do planning staff deem the application consistent with general principals of the City’s zoning bylaws?
30 Duke St Ltd did not present or answer questions. The City also refrained from answering many questions, saying its positions would be conveyed to the Tribunal. Some participants expressed frustration around how difficult it is to engage meaningfully without complete answers to the public’s questions.
Planning staff stated that, because the OLT will be making the ultimate decision on this case, the City will not hold public meetings before Council. The City’s standard review process includes two meetings before Council members, after which Council issues a decision.
Friends of Olde Berlin Town engaged a registered heritage planner to review the application. You can see his presentation to Heritage Kitchener here. We also engaged a registered land-use planner. The two consultants’ reports will be submitted to the City along with our petition opposing the application signed by over 250 citizens of Kitchener and Waterloo Region.
There is still time to submit your opinion on this application. Please send your comments to the City via Planner Craig Dumart, Craig.dumart@kitchener.ca, by March 15, 2022.
Further details are available at www.obtfriends.ca. The recording of the Neighbourhood Meeting and the presentation slides are expected to be posted on the City’s “Current Planning Applications” page shortly.
The next Case Management Conference will be held at 10am, April 4, 2022. The OLT will consider potential motions to dismiss on jurisdictional grounds, acceptance of additional participant- and party-status requests and revisions to the Draft Procedural Order, the plan and schedule of the process to determine the outcome. You can watch the meeting here. The actual hearing is scheduled to begin August 29, 2022.
How can you get involved?
- Sign our petition and encourage others to sign, too. As Official Plan amendment applications are subject to regional review, everyone throughout the Region of Waterloo is welcome to sign.
- Submit your comments to the City, via Craig Dumart, Craig.dumart@kitchener.ca, by March 15th.
- Request participant status at the Tribunal. Details here.
- Contribute to our campaign. We continue to need your support to pay our lawyer and expert witnesses to uphold our communally-approved land-use legislation and Heritage District Plan. Every contribution counts, regardless of size.
- Volunteer with us.
Further information is available at our campaign website, www.obtfriends.ca. Please be in touch with any questions to obtfriends@gmail.com.
Please share this message widely. We are succeeding together.