By Mark Newman
Mountain News Aug 08, 2008

When Deanlee Management submits its final draft plan for Chedoke brow land development to the city in the next few weeks it could contain fewer then the 750 units the Mississauga developer had originally proposed.

“It could vary any place from 600 to 750 (units), but we don’t think the 750 is something that we’re going to push simply because I think, given some of the market studies we’ve done, we’ve seen people want larger units,” said Ron Starr, president of development at Deanlee.

After reviewing comments from city planning officials and agencies such as the Niagara Escarpment Commission about the proposal that was given to the city in June 2007, Mr. Starr said Deanlee filed revised conceptual drawings of the proposed development north of Scenic Drive with the city’s planning department about three weeks ago.

Mr. Starr said the company is now in the process of refining those drawings after hearing back from city planners and some agencies and he expects a final draft plan to go to the city in the next few weeks. He’s hoping to get approval from the economic development and planning committee in mid September which would allow the development to go forward.

Deanlee purchased the 9.6 hectare (24 acre) brow lands from the Chedoke Health Corporation in the spring of 2007, with the sale slated to close in December. The developer is also looking to close Sanatorium Road north of Scenic and make it a private condo road.

Under the revamped proposal, Deanlee is looking to build an eight to 10 storey condominium building and a couple of six to eight storey buildings at the centre of the property. The four to six storey condo buildings proposed for the northwest side of the property and on either side of Sanatorium Road just north of Scenic are retained from the earlier proposal.

The two to three storey condo town houses planned along Scenic Drive west of Sanatorium Road have been reworked so it won’t look like row housing.

“It’ll look like a very, very large house, but with multiple units in it,” Mr. Starr said.

In addition, Deanlee is looking to build a three to five storey condo building in front of the wood lot on the east side of the site. The wood lot is expected to be turned over to the city for preservation.

The high end condos are expected to sell for upwards of $300,000.

Mr. Starr said the green space near the centre of the property that includes the storm water management pond will be expanded.

NEC concerns

In a Jan. 7 report responding to the city’s request for comments on the project, the Niagara Escarpment Commission said Deanlee did not submit enough documents to determine whether the development was acceptable under the Niagara Escarpment Planning and Development Act and recommended the city refuse the developer’s application until additional information to satisfy the requirements of the Act were submitted.

NEC planner Martin Kilian said the proposal must comply with section 1.7 of the Act which, in part, the states: “All development should be of an urban design compatible with the visual and natural environment of the Escarpment.”

Essentially, Mr. Kilian said, that means when someone looks up from the base of the Escarpment they will see natural features rather then tall buildings.

Mr. Kilian added the NEC is also concerned that Deanlee is considering too many tall buildings too close to the brow.

“We’re not saying they are, we’re saying they might be,” Mr. Kilian said.

The NEC has asked Deanlee to provide a visual assessment of their proposal. Mr. Starr said that has been done and that report is included as part of the revamped proposal that has been submitted to the city. It will be circulated to commenting agencies such as the NEC.

In its earlier comments the NEC said the 30 meter set-back (from the brow) proposed for the development should be the minimum setback should the existing brow building be demolished.

Mr. Starr feels Deanlee has addressed the NEC’s concerns. He noted the tallest building on the site will be at least 200 metres from the Mountain brow and the brown and green buildings they are planning to build on the property should blend in well with the existing landscape.

“From the ground you can’t see this project,” Mr. Starr said. “With…the visualization and the angle and the right facade treatment, I challenge people once the project is done to find it from many miles out.”

All of the existing buildings on the site, with the exception of the Long and Bisby building, currently home to a day care operation, will be torn down.

Mr. Starr said the Long and Bisby building may be used as a medical clinic in the future.

“We’re exploring all that,” he said.

Deanlee is also looking at possibly saving part of the former continuing care building near the brow which dates back to 1917 and has been empty for more than two years.

The revamped plan is unlikely to get approval from a group of nearby residents who have been adamantly opposed to the project.

“It seems like a bit of a shell game,” said Barry Colbert, a neighbour who feels the developer is just moving units around from one part of the site to another.”I don’t think any of the residents are going to be impressed by that.”

Mr. Colbert is concerned Deanlee’s development will result in more pedestrian and vehicular traffic in the area, adding the move to reduce the number of units from 750 to somewhere around 600 is still no where near what the residents are seeking.

HamiltonMountainNews.com: News: Story: Brow land could see fewer units

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By Mark Newman
Mountain News
Residents living near Chedoke hospital have until midnight Dec. 31 to vote on-line for one of six public development options for the brow lands.

City planning staff and a subcommittee of residents originally came up with five options after community input in October. One of the options for medium- low development has since been split into two sections, one calling for the use of some existing buildings on the brow lands and the other would see those buildings torn down.

At a Dec. 13 public information centre at the Nash auditorium, residents were given the option of voting for one of six options ranging from no development to medium development.

A vote in person and on-line following a Nov. 13 public meeting indicated the residents’ two preferred options were either no development or limited development with 26 single family homes. But many of the neighbours noted that vote was done without knowing unit numbers, traffic flow numbers and population density estimates that city planning staff provided at last week’s meeting and requested all the options be opened for a final vote.

Some residents also noted many neighbours were unable to attend the Dec. 13 meeting and requested they be given the opportunity to vote on-line.

City senior project manager Brenda Khes said Chedoke area residents who were unable to attend the meeting can vote on-line via www.hamilton.ca/brow lands up until midnight Dec. 31.

Ward 8 councillor Terry Whitehead told last week’s meeting his office will print a few hundred flyers notifying Chedoke area residents of the final on-line vote if some of the neighbours agree to deliver them.

Many of the residents who attended last week’s meeting voted for their preferred option by placing a red sticker on one of six diagrams outlining each proposal.

Option number one – no development- garnered five votes. Option number two – limited development with 25 single detached homes – drew 16 votes. Option 3a – medium low development with 234 units drew eight votes. Option 3b – featuring 122 units, 68 of which would be in existing buildings, received four votes.

Option four – mixed use medium development with 256 units – attracted eight votes and Option five – the most development with 469 units – garnered two votes.

The residents’ input, which began with the first of four public information centres in September, will be used by the city to develop a modified secondary plan for the area which the residents hope will control the size and scope of future development on the brow lands.

Last spring, Deanlee Management of Mississauga purchased the brow lands from the Chedoke Health Corporation and in June submitted a proposal to the city to build 750 high-end condominium units on the site. The developer is also looking to close Sanatorium Road north of Scenic and make it a private condo road. The road closure process is expected to go through the public process in the coming months.

The city’s economic development and planning committee will consider both the modified secondary plan developed by the residents and Deanlee’s proposal in March or April. Planning staff also have the option of recommending to the councillors a proposal that incorporates some aspects of both proposals.

“We’ll prepare a report that includes all the information,” Ms. Khes said. “Everything Deanlee submitted, all the community consultation that we’ve done and we end up with a planning option and we justify what approach we are taking in that planning option. We provide a planning rationale for it.”

Barry Colbert, one of the Chedoke residents who has been part of the public planning process since the beginning, commended city planners for involving the residents in the process.

“I’m really impressed with the city planning department and the length they’ve gone to really educate us and do some pretty professional work here to show us what these things could look like and to facilitate the process as well to try and get us converging on something,” Mr. Colbert said. “I would vote for something medium because I’m concerned about the environmental impact of dropping 2,000 new people on the edge of the brow.”

Deanlee will hold a public information meeting about their proposal Jan. 17, 6:30 p.m. in the Nash auditorium. The developer is also offering to host a tour of Deanlee projects in the Toronto area, similar to the one being proposed for the brow lands, on the same day.

Nov 16, 2007

Community-generated options range from no development to modest residential housing

Residents living near the Chedoke brow lands have been given five development options for the west Mountain property. The options range from no development to a modest plan for residential housing north of Scenic Drive.

The options were presented to about 100 residents at the third public information centre organized by the city’s planning and economic development department in the Ewart Auditorium at the Chedoke Hospital campus Nov. 13.

Each of the options were presented by members of a citizens sub-committee that was formed last month to mull over and try to find common themes from 12 general development plans that were put together by Chedoke area residents at a public information centre at Mohawk College Oct. 11.

The citizens’ input is being used by city planning officials to develop a modified secondary plan for the area which the residents hope will control the size and scope of future development on the brow lands.

Last spring, Deanlee Management of Mississauga purchased the 9.6 hectare (24 acres) brow lands from the Chedoke Health Corporation and in June submitted a proposal to the city to build 750 high-end condominium units on the site.

It’s expected the city’s economic development and planning committee will consider both the modified secondary plan developed by the residents and Deanlee’s proposal early next spring.

Eric Soberg, who grew up in the area and his mother still lives on Scenic Drive, presented the first option that calls for no development. He urged residents to fight against any development on the property and preserve it for future generations.

“This is a crown piece of property,” Mr. Soberg said. “Chedoke Health Sciences has sold us out as a community.”

The second option calls for limited development, with single detached homes no more than two and a half storeys high on the north-west side of the brow lands and some

similar homes on a pocket of land at the north-west corner of Scenic Drive and Sanatorium Road.

“Everything else we’d like to leave as green space,” said Colleen Morrison, who presented the proposal. “This is what I see as a good option.”

Option three calls for medium-low development with low-rise four storey buildings behind the former continuing care building on the north-west side of the land and a low rise building on the west side of the site near the wood lot and Long and Bisby building.

“We’re looking at development around existing buildings,” said Bart Brosseau, who presented the option.

The plan also calls for two blocks of three storey townhouses on either side of Sanatorium Road just north of Scenic Drive. Green space is proposed along the majority of Scenic as a buffer to the interior development.

Barry Colbert, who presented option five, which calls for mixed-use medium development, noted the property has a healthcare history and he would like to see that maintained in any new development.

“Let’s make this a wellness-themed, mixed use development,” said Mr. Colbert, who noted that could mean a nursing home or some other kinds of wellness facility.

The option calls for four storey terrace buildings near the former continuing care building with wellness services on the ground floor and residential units above. Single homes are proposed along Scenic Drive (west of Sanatorium) with rear access lanes. Townhouses are proposed on either side of Sanatorium north of Scenic and a four storey building is suggested for the middle of the property on the west side of Sanatorium. The Long and Bisby building would be converted for mixed public and residential use.

The fifth option contains the most development of the five proposals.

“The intent here is to provide heavier development within the centre area (of the brow lands),” said presenter John Norris.

The option proposes to retain the former continuing care building and develop six storey (mid rise) terraced residential buildings on the south side of the facility. Parking will be inside the buildings or screened from the roads. A six storey building is proposed near the Long and Bisby building with two low rise (three and four storey) buildings on either side of Sanatorium, north of Scenic. A row of townhouses facing Scenic with rear lane access are proposed for the west side of the site.

“It allows us to get as much green space as possible,” said Mr. Norris, who estimated the plan could include as many as 400 units, 350 less than Deanlee’s proposal.

Mr. Norris said he believes the option is defendable should the developer take the matter to the Ontario Municipal Board.

After the proposals were presented, the residents voted for their first and second preferred options.

City senior project manager Brenda Khes said Chedoke neighbours who were unable to attend the meeting can vote on-line until Dec. 3.

Several residents complained it was difficult to pick an option because the proposals did not come with a number of units attached.

“We don’t have a unit count on them yet because there’s a lot of work that has to be done to figure out units,” Ms. Khes said.

Ms. Khes said planning staff will tally the votes and bring back the community’s preferred option to the next public information centre on Dec. 13. At that time planning staff will also have an estimated number of units for each option.

“If the votes are really close, then we have to decide whether or not are we going to combine the two types of options or are we going to come back with two preferred options,” Ms. Khes said.

Residents will have one final chance to comment on and make adjustments to the preferred option next month before it is incorporated into the modified secondary plan and sent to the councillors.

Ms. Khes said a final meeting may be required in January to complete the process.

She told the residents the time and effort they’ve spent on the secondary planning process will carry have a lot of weight before city council and the OMB.

(Oct 26, 2007)

Neighbours group meets with CHC officials

They weren’t able to stop the sale of the brow lands, but a group of Chedoke area residents came away with a better understanding of what the Chedoke Health Corporation does after a meeting with some CHC board members earlier this month.

“It was information gathering on our part,” said Barry Colbert, one of the four residents who attended the meeting along with Ward 8 councillor Terry Whitehead.

The Oct. 11 meeting at the Hamilton Yacht Club was organized by CHC planner Don May at Mr. Whitehead’s request.

Some west Mountain residents wanted to question CHC officials about the sale last spring of the 9.6 hectare (24 acre) brow lands to a Mississauga firm that is looking to build 750 condominium units on the property.

Chedoke Health Corporation president Paul Southall was one of three CHC officials, along with Mr. May, who attended the meeting.

Mr. Colbert said the residents were told the sale of the brow lands had been talked about by the CHC for more than a decade.

“Part of what they were telling us…they’ve been talking about this (land sale) for 16 years and they’ve been notifying the city and the community that something is going to happen to this land and it’s only recently that there’s been a real groundswell of opposition around it,” Mr. Colbert said. “What they said was it is out of our hands now, it’s up to you and the city and the developer.”

Mr. Colbert said the issue of a covenant in the 1935 sale of some of the brow land from the landowners to the Hamilton Health Association (forerunner of the CHC) that restricts future use of the property to parkland or for residential purposes was also discussed.

But the west Mountain resident doesn’t put much stock in the covenant.

“We’re all living here now and in 100 years there’s going to be a bunch of other people living here and I don’t think I should be able to control things from the grave and I don’t think other people should be doing that either, it should be us as a community who are here now and try to decide what do we want to do with the land,” Mr. Colbert said.

The CHC and Deanlee Management, who purchased the brow lands, have stated previously they feel the restriction no longer applies because covenants expire after 40 years.

Mr. Colbert said he found the meeting to be useful for getting information, adding he did not go into the discussion expecting they were going to get the CHC to reverse the decision to sell the brow lands.

Mr. May said the two sides had a frank and open discussion for more than an hour.

“I think the telling part was at the end where everybody shook hands,” he said.

Mr. May said some of the residents were relatively new to the area and did not know much about the CHC’s mandate to help provide funding for healthcare programs in the community through land sales or of the previous consultations the organization has had with the community.

“For 12 years we’ve been saying the brow land would be sold,” said Mr. May, who noted many of the healthcare programs they support at other hospitals in Hamilton were once offered at Chedoke.

One of the few remaining open spaces on the west Mountain with a scenic view of the lower city is slated for development, upsetting neighbours who don’t want to lose the view or the peacefulness of the area.

The residents are trying to preserve as much as they can with a campaign to keep Scenic Drive scenic, by working on alternatives to 750 condominium homes, some in highrises, planned for the old Chedoke hospital site.

Ward Councillor Terry Whitehead calls the Chedoke brow lands the last bastion of green space on the Mountain and likens its high heritage value to that of the city’s beachfront.

“A lot of people want to protect Scenic Drive,” he says.

The size of the development on the 9.6-hectare property will add at least 1,500 people, assuming two per household, to the already congested rush-hour traffic on the west Mountain, residents say. The site is an expansive property with a handful of heritage buildings and large open green spaces and trees. Hamilton Health Sciences, which took over the Chedoke site, is selling it to developer Deanlee Management Inc. of Mississauga. The deal is expected to close in December 2008.

Following the initial residents’ outcry, Deanlee reduced its original plans for 900 units to 750 and reduced its 12- to 14-storey highrises to eight storeys. The proposal is for three-storey and four-storey townhouses, four- to six-, and now eight-storey condominium buildings. The units are selling for about $300,000 each.

The area’s current dwellings are mostly single family homes.

The city, at Whitehead’s request, has started a secondary planning process so the residents can present alternatives to the development — one that avoids highrises, reduces the number of homes and preserves mature trees.

“I think 200 is reasonable,” says resident Barry Colbert, who lives beside the site. “It’s the last good-size piece of land left on the brow,” he says.

Colbert says the traffic generated otherwise will overburden area streets. Traffic near the Queen Street hill down to the lower city is already paralyzed whenever there’s a minor accident.

It is an example of the difficulty in balancing a community’s character with provincial policies steering development to already urbanized areas.

The residents will present their alternative plan at a public meeting Nov. 13.

TheSpec.com – Local – Keep it scenic, Mountain residents tell condominium developer

Oct 19, 2007)

Maintaining public access to Mountain brow trails, keeping as much green space as possible, limiting development to single family homes or three or four storey buildings and saving the former continuing care building at the north end of the site were among the common themes that emerged from a public meeting on the future of the Chedoke brow lands Oct. 11.

About 60 area residents attended a public information centre at Mohawk College, where with the help of city staff, they broke into 12 groups and mapped out the kind of development they would like to see or at least could live with on the brow lands.

Several residents expressed previous concerns that development of the brow lands will lead to increased traffic in their neighbourhood. Some maintained that no development on the site would be their preferred option.

Last month, the residents and city planning staff embarked on a process to create a modified secondary plan for the site which the residents hope will limit the size and scope of future development. The meeting at Mohawk was the second step in the process which is expected to continue into December.

The 9.6 hectare (24 acres) parcel of land in question was purchased by Deanlee Management of Mississauga from the Chedoke Health Corporation last spring with the deal expected to close in December 2008.

In June, Deanlee submitted a proposal to the city for a development that would include 750 condominium units in buildings ranging from two to eight storeys in height. Each unit would sell for about $300,000.

While no specific number of units was mentioned at the meeting, none of the groups supported Deanlee’s target of 750.

“I think the process is good,” said Barry Colbert, an assistant professor of business and economics at Wilfrid Laurier University and one of the residents taking part in the secondary planning process. “I really admire what the city staff has done and the work they’re putting into, in a very organized way, gathering input from the whole community.

Mr. Colbert is also a member of a sub committee that was set up last week with a representative from each of the 12 groups.

The sub committee will take all of the recommendations from the meeting and try to come up with as many as four options for brow land development. Those options will be presented to the residents at their next meeting on Nov. 13.

“Given what I saw (of) the different designs tonight, I think there’s…enough commonality, I think we can probably come to a couple of different designs,” Mr. Colbert said. “I came into this meeting kind of skeptical that in two hours we could really accomplish anything.”

Brenda Khes, senior project manager in with the city’s planning division, said planning staff will be sitting down with the sub committee shortly to work out the list of options.

Once the options are determined, Ms. Khes said it will be up to the community to choose their preferred plan.

“It may be one of the (options) or it could be a combination of all of them,” Ms. Khes said.

After the residents pick their desired option, Ms. Khes said planning staff will review it, along with Deanlee’s proposal and get comments from other organizations such as the Niagara Escarpment Commission and Hamilton Conservation Authority.

“We’ll look at this plan that the community has come up with and we’ll say is this a reasonable alternative to what Deanlee is proposing?” Ms. Khes said. “Is it something that we should come up with a compromise situation or do we pick one?”

Planning staff will prepare a report for the city’s economic development and planning committee and city council, who will ultimately decide (providing the decision is not appealed to the Ontario Municipal Board) what kind of development will take place on the brow lands. The report will outline the residents’ proposal, Deanlee’s proposal and the public consultation process.

While staff could also suggest a proposal that contains elements of the residents’ option and Deanlee’s proposal, Ms. Khes said, “I have no idea at this point” if there is enough common elements between both sides to work out a compromise development plan. She said what ever option is recommended has to be defendable at the OMB.

The issue is not expected to go before city council until next March, Ms. Khes said.

At the economic and planning committee meeting the residents and Deanlee will be able to make presentations to the councillors.

Ward 8 councillor Terry Whitehead was encouraged by the number of residents who showed up at the Mohawk meeting.

“They showed up, they participated, they put pen to paper and now they’re in the driver’s seat as far as I’m concerned,” Mr. Whitehead said.

The west Mountain rep feels his council colleagues will respect the residents’ input.

“What are you going to do with all this traffic,” asked Scenic Drive resident Don Fawcett, who called the street “an express route”.

Mr. Fawcett said he counted 978 vehicles drive past his home between 8 a.m. and 11 a.m. on June 12.

Brenda Khes, senior project manager at the city, told the gathering Deanlee has yet to submit an application to develop the site.”

There is nothing we can do to stop them submitting an application,” Ms. Khes said.

She noted any application by the developer will have to include a numbers of items including an environmental impact statement, traffic study, archeological assessment, heritage assessment, planning justification report and a functional servicing report (what impact will the develop have on the local sewer system).“They have to basically justify (their development),” Ms. Khes said.

Mr. Whitehead said it should be the city not the developer that leads the planning process in the west Mountain neighbourhood and he asked the residents to join him in helping develop a modified secondary plan that will govern the size and scope of future browland development.

The councillor said he’s hoping the secondary plan will, with input from city planners, become the development blueprint for the site. The process is expected to run from September to December.“

At (the end) of that process we’ll have an understanding of what kind of densities, what kind of heights the community can live with,” Mr. Whitehead said.

The council also warned the residents that what ever plan for the browlands they agree to, it must be comprehensive, based on solid planning principles and be defendable at city council and at the Ontario Municipal Board.

He said simply denying Deanlee’s proposal is not an option for the community, because the developer would likely appeal that decision to the OMB.

“We’re going to spend lots of money at the OMB and we’re going to lose,” Mr. Whitehead said.

The councillor also noted the city has 180 days to respond to any application from Deanlee which is enough to complete a modified secondary plan process for the browlands.

Mr. Whitehead said he would ask his council colleagues to delay considering any site plan application until the modified secondary planning is completed.

Barry Colbert, a spokesperson for a group of Scenic Drive residents opposed to the browland development supported Mr. Whitehead’s call for a modified secondary plan.

“I’m happy with what I’ve heard here tonight in that it sounds like there will be a process for us to come together and put together some kind of proposal (for browland development),”

Mr. Colbert said.He noted the residents would prefer no development on the site and that adding another 2,000 new neighbours to the area would put added stress on the community.

Deanlee director Ron Starr stressed the drawings passed on to the neighbours earlier this month are merely concepts.

“Those are numbers that are not written in stone,” Mr. Starr said.

Mr. Starr said he is well aware of the public concerns about having 12-14 storey buildings near Scenic and Sanatorium and they are looking to “tone down” the development in that area, possibly going with three to six storey condo units near the intersection and 8-12 storey buildings on the interior of the property. He expects to have another draft proposal done in a couple of weeks.

Mr. Starr said while they are still looking at building about 700 condo units on the browlands, about half the property will remain “green” and the woodlot will be turned over to the city.

Deanlee is expected to file with the city in the next few weeks a request for an official plan amendment that will include information on the size and scope of the project. A site plan, including detailed drawings is expected to be filed by the end of July.

Mr. Starr figures Deanlee has spent about a half million dollars so far on project planning.

While Deanlee has hosted a series of open houses to publicize it’s plans for browland development, Mr. Starr said the company remains “amenable to ideas or changes” and he is willing to work with the neighbours to try and come up with some mutually agreeable design.

“I want to work with the people,” said Mr. Starr, who has had limited contact with the neighbours so far. “I want (the development) to work for the city of Hamilton.

“Mr. Starr noted the city is paralleling their efforts by working on a secondary plan while Deanlee is preparing to file it’s paper work with the city, adding the move will not stop the developer from submitting its proposal.

“Hopefully we can co-operate with each other,” Mr. Starr said.

The beginnings of Chedoke date back to 1905 when when local businessmen W.D. Long and George Bisby donated 40 hectares (98 acres) of farm land that was to be the site of the Mountain Sanatorium.

At last week’s city hall meeting, some neighbours questioned whether the Chedoke Health Corporation has the authority to sell the land to the developer.

CHC planner Don May said they have a variety of paperwork concerning the property, including several deeds from the early 20th century, and there are no wills or anything in writing that restricts the sale of land for residential purposes.

“We are not aware of any wills,” Mr. May said. “This is one of those urban myths.”

He noted Deanlee has paid for an extensive title search of the browlands and all that information was to be forwarded to the city’s legal department this week.Mr. May said proceeds from the sale of CHC land goes to support healthcare in
Hamilton.