A quick update, folks, 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.
City Planning Staff held a Neighbourhood Information Meeting on Wednesday, September 8th to share details about the developer’s Official Plan and Zoning Bylaw Amendment application, clarify existing and planned land-use permissions, provide a status update, and to clarify the appeal process. The slide deck and the recorded presentation of the Neighbourhood Information Meeting are available here.
Planning Staff refrained from sharing opinions. Staff asserted that they do not intend to convene a statutory meeting (i.e., a public meeting before Council), but committed to stating a position at the Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT), with consideration given to comments received from the public. Please direct your comments to Garett Stevenson, Garett.Stevenson@kitchener.ca, as soon as possible.
Staff clarified that the developer’s proposal will be reviewed for compliance with the Civic Centre Heritage District Plan via Heritage Kitchener, as part of the site plan approval process. (The site plan approval process is not a part of the OLT hearing.)
If you haven’t done so already, please sign our petition and encourage others to sign on, too. As Official Plan amendment applications are subject to regional review, all members of the community throughout the Region of Waterloo are welcome to sign.
The next Case Management Conference (CMC) at the Ontario Land Tribunal is scheduled for 10:00am, October 5, 2021 (via video conference). Please help the Tribunal understand your concerns by submitting a written statement by Friday, September 24, 2021. Details here. To ensure your statement is considered by the Tribunal, you must attend the CMC. You can watch the CMC on October 5th at https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/326164837
Please note that we are encouraging you to write to both Planning Staff and the OLT: to Planning Staff to ensure that the City’s position considers your concerns and to the OLT to ensure that your specific concerns are fully heard, unabbreviated and unmitigated by intermediaries.
Please also request that City Council remind Development Review Staff of the need to uphold our Official Plan and its subsidiary legislation, when it is in compliance with provincial and regional legislation.
Our lawn signs are popping up throughout the neighbourhood. You can request a lawn sign here.
The OLT is a formal, adjudicative body and participation is expensive. Legal representation is recommended to navigate the complex system. Only expert witnesses are permitted to present opinions on the appropriate interpretation of land-use legislation, policies and guidelines. The vast majority of witnesses deemed experts by the OLT are unwilling to speak against a proposed development and the development industry that feeds them. Despite these challenges, Friends of Olde Berlin Town is prepared with a lawyer and expert witnesses. Having already contributed thousands of volunteer hours, Friends of Olde Berlin Town is incurring substantial costs to uphold our communally-approved land-use legislation and Heritage District Plan. We are engaged in a role citizens might expect the City to fill, because the City did not render a decision within the 120 days allotted and has still not announced a position on the proposed amendment. We need your support. Please make a donation today. Every donation counts, regardless of size. In addition to the much-needed funds, your donation signals your support to the rest of the team and enables us to carry on.
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.
Thank you