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

Mary Ellen Kaye
The Hamilton Spectator
Brantford
(Oct 25, 2007)

Re: ‘Keep it scenic, Mountain residents tell condominium developer’ (Oct. 22)

We have the same issue in Brantford. Beautifully treed lots are being converted to apartment complexes right along the Grand River. The developer promises to put gardens on top of the buildings to convince people that green space is not being lost. Gardens on top of a highrise do not compensate for trees on the ground. Must we go up in an airplane to enjoy the landscape?

Gardens on top of a building are what we do when we are already stuck with the building. Open green spaces in an urban setting should be maintained for the good of the community. City councils in Ontario need to stop issuing building permits recklessly. It appears they are oblivious to the fact that eliminating more treed, open spaces will only work to further deteriorate the already poor air quality. Trees work against pollution. Why eliminate them? Reforestation should be on every city council’s agenda.

There is not enough money in the bank to justify removing yet more treed, open spaces within a city. Like Hamilton, Brantford has many developed lots that are places of vacant businesses, old storefronts, bellied-up bingo parlours and stores that have relocated elsewhere in the city. These lands haven’t been used for many years. Why not redevelop those spaces first? A large asphalted parking lot is the perfect place for these wall-to-wall cement development ideas.

My advice: Don’t negotiate for fewer floors on the condominiums. Once you say yes to a building, no matter how many floors it has, you have lost your forest. You will have lost your scenic route. The city should tell them to build elsewhere.

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.

Mark Newman, Mountain

Sep 21, 2007)

Residents living near the Chedoke browlands are hoping a document from 1935 will force a Mississauga firm to de-intensify plans for browland development.

Deanlee Management is looking to erect 750 units in a combination of low rise and townhouse condominiums on 9.6 hectares (24 acres) of browland property north of Scenic Drive that it purchased last spring from the Chedoke Health Corporation. The sale is expected to close in December, 2008.

After pouring through a large pile of title search documents supplied by Deanlee, city officials recently came across a land transfer document dated Aug. 31, 1935 regarding the sale of a piece of browland property to the Hamilton Health Association (forerunner of the Chedoke Health Corporation) for what appears to be $1,200. The sellers were Hamilton lawyer Cecil V. Langs, his wife Edith Langs and a New York City resident.

According to a photo copy of the faded document obtained by the Mountain News, the sellers put in some covenants or restrictions that the property be used for “park and/or residential purposes only” and that no buildings other than single family residences worth more than $6,000 shall be built on the site.

If the document still has any legal application to the property it could affect Deanlee’s plans for development.

Ward 8 councillor Terry Whitehead has asked the city’s legal department to see if the covenants can be enforced.

“Do we have a legal recourse to ensure the covenant is adhered to and not lifted and does the Chedoke (Health Corporation) have a moral responsibility to let the (public) know there was a covenant in place and do we have a moral high ground in pressing them to abide by the spirit of the covenant that was in place,” Mr. Whitehead said.

The councillor said his staff are trying to track down descendants of Edith Langs to see if there are family members who wish to pursue the land restrictions or have an agent (such as the city) do it on their behalf.

“It’s another piece of the argument in the context of trying to push or force Deanlee to understand the concerns of the community,” Mr. Whitehead said.

Colleen Morrison, one of a group of area residents opposed to the proposed development, is hopeful the document will help them in their battle.

“I believe it does, saying that this land was intended for parkland or single family homes and when you say single family homes, to me I think of individual houses, I guess that is open to interpretation,” Ms. Morrison said.

Other browland area residents remain vehemently opposed to the development.

“I’ve always regarded (the browlands) as a park,” said Willi Wald. “All of a sudden it has been sold to a speculator to build vertical slums in there.”

“The project proposed for this area goes against every common sense,” said Constatin Lacatus. “Destroying such a beautiful area here doesn’t make any sense.”

Chris Robertson, who is running for the Progressive Conservatives in Hamilton Centre (which includes part of the west Mountain), said he supports the residents in their opposition and urges Hamilton Health Sciences (a beneficiary of monies from the Chedoke Health Corporation raised through land sales) to do what it can to ensure the browlands becomes parkland or only detached single family homes are built on the site.

Deanlee director Ron Starr said the old land document has no bearing on the proposed development.

“As far as we’re concerned it doesn’t apply.” said Mr. Starr, who noted that under the land registry system, restrictions like the ones in the document expire after 40 years.

Mr. Starr said Deanlee would not have gone to all the trouble and expense of purchasing the land and making development plans for the property if there was anything that would have stopped the project from moving forward.

“We’ve done our homework,” said Mr. Starr, who noted no one from the opposition group has come to the company with an alternative development proposal.

Mr. Starr said he was going to discuss the matter further with Deanlee lawyers this week and send a letter to the city and the community in the coming weeks to clarify the covenant matter.

Chedoke Health Corporation planner Don May also said the 40 year rule applies to the browlands.

“Our lawyers are satisfied (the document) has no status,” Mr. May said.

He added the parcel of land the document refers to is about an acre in size on the west side of the browlands.

Height of buildings will be lower than initial proposals

Mark Newman, Hamilton Mountain News

A diagram of the proposed development of the Chedoke browlands by Deanlee Management. The numbers indicate the number of storeys for each building.

(Aug 24, 2007)

There won’t be any skyscrapers, but development plans for the Chedoke browlands call for at least one eight-storey building and two other complexes that could reach the same height as part of the proposal to build 750 units on the site.

If each unit has two occupants, the new development will bring another 1,500 residents to the west Mountain community over the next several years.

The request for an official plan amendment and by-law amendment were submitted early last week by Deanlee Management of Mississauga, who purchased the 9.6 hectare (24 acre) property from the Chedoke Health Corporation last spring with the deal expected to close in December 2008.

According to a concept drawing included among the box of documents submitted by Deanlee, the developer wants to build an eight-storey condominium complex in the middle of the browlands north of Scenic Drive and two, four- to six-storey condominium buildings on either side of Sanatorium Road at Scenic. According to the diagram, two six- to eight -storey condos are planned within the footprint of the two smaller units further back from the intersection.

In addition, an L-shaped, four- to six-storey building is planned for the north-west side of the property and a couple of rows of two- to three-storey condo townhouse units are planned along Scenic Drive, west of Sanatorium.

Several residents in the area sounded alarm bells earlier this year when previous development options floated

by Deanlee included three or four 12- to 14- storey buildings near Scenic and Sanatorium.

Deanlee director Ron Starr said they backed off from the higher structures following public complaints.

“It’s medium density,” Mr. Starr said. “We listened to the folks in the area.”

Regarding the number of units planned for the development, Mr. Starr called the 750 proposal “a good number for the site.”

All of the units are expected to be targeted at the high-end market, selling for upwards of $300,000 each.

The former long-term continuing care building near the brow that dates back to 1917 will be incorporated as part of the L-shaped building. Mr. Starr said they are hoping to save part of the structure.

Most of the other buildings on the site are expected to be torn down although the Long and Bisby building will be maintained. Mr. Starr said the daycare service currently operating in the building will likely remain there for at least the near future. He added the building could become home to a social agency some time down the road.

Mr. Starr said the green belt near the middle of the property west of Sanatorium will be expanded and left open as a rain-water catch pond and the woodlot east of Sanatorium will be turned over to the city and public access to local trails on the browlands will be maintained.

Deanlee, Mr. Star said, has spent about $500,000 preparing its submission to the city. The submission was expected to contain a number of reports including: an environmental impact statement, traffic study, archeological assessment, heritage assessment, a planning justification report and a functional servicing report.

“Hopefully we don’t have to go to the OMB (Ontario Municipal Board), but if we do, we’ve generated all the information we need to go ahead,” Mr. Starr said.

The developer is hoping to begin construction next spring, with the work being done in two or three phases, probably starting with the redevelopment of the former long-term continuing care building.

Mr. Starr said Deanlee has heard from about 12 area residents who have expressed interest in buying one of the units.

Brenda Khes, project manager of community planning at city hall, confirmed Deanlee’s application has been received.

She said the proposal will be reviewed by city planning staff to see if any issues need to be resolved. The proposal will also be sent to a variety of departments and community organizations such as the Niagara Escarpment Commission and Hamilton Conservation Authority for comment.

By late August or early September, the city will notify residents living within 120 metres of the site of the development proposal and provide a number to call for more information.

The next step would normally be for city staff to forward the proposal to the planning and development committee with a recommendation for or against approval.

But, at the request of Ward 8 councillor Terry Whitehead and with input from local residents, the city has begun a modified secondary planning process for the area that is expected to govern the size and scope of future development on the browlands.

Ms. Khes said nothing will go to committee until after the secondary plan is done and the public comments gathered as part of that process will be taken into account when Deanlee’s proposal is reviewed.

Under provincial law, the city must respond to Deanlee’s proposal within six months of receiving the application.

The Storeys just keep changing…and I do mean Storeys.

The attached article is another from the Mountain News from April 27, 2007.

Mississauga firm looking at low rise development for browlands

Part of former continuing care building to be torn down

Mark Newman, Mountain (Apr 27, 2007)

Deanlee Management Inc. is contemplating as many as 600 high-end units in a series of mostly town house style, low rise buildings on the Chedoke browlands in the coming years.

The Mississauga firm recently completed an agreement with the Chedoke Health Corporation to purchase 9.6 hectares (24 acres) of CHC land along Sanatorium Road north of Scenic Drive.

Deanlee director Ron Starr said the company put together the proposal after after consulting with a committee of area residents on two occasions in the past six weeks.“Something that will blend in with the homes across the road (on Scenic Drive),” Mr. Starr said.The firm is looking at tearing down the middle section of the former continuing care building that faces the Mountain brow.

Mr. Starr said they are considering saving the ends of the structure that dates back to 1917, and including them as part of a three or four storey condominium development.

Heritage and cultural architects have been retained by the company to assist with planning future use of the building. A retirement or nursing home complex on the land is also being considered.

Mr. Starr said the 2.9 hectare (seven acre) woodlot on the site will be maintained as will the Long and Bisby building that carries a heritage designation. All other buildings on the browlands will eventually be torn down. Existing public walkways and pathways through the area will also be maintained, Mr. Starr said.Details of the proposal, including conceptual drawings, were to be presented at a public meeting at the Nash Auditorium of Chedoke Hospital last night (April 26).

Mr. Starr said the company will consider public input from last night’s meeting before coming up with a final development plan they hope to file with the city by mid May.

Demolition of some of the buildings on the browlands could begin in the fall.

Mr. Starr said the new buildings will go up in phases over a three or four year period.

The new condos and town house units are expected to sell in the $300,000 to $400,000 range.“Something that will blend in with the home across the road on Scenic Drive is the goal.”