Opposition Petition to the 9-story Development Proposal at 1373-1389 Gordon Street, Guelph

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The City of Guelph has received a proposal to change the planning rules- the Official Plan and Zoning By-law at the corner of Vaughan Street and Gordon Street in order to construct a 9-story, 98 unit apartment building. The land is designated in the Official Plan with multiple land use designations- Neighbourhood Commercial Centre use on the frontage, Medium Density Residential Use in the rear portion, and the entire site area within the 120 meter adjacent lands area of a Provincially Significant Wetland - the Hanlon Creek Swamp. Residents in the area vehemently oppose this development plan for a number of reasons and request that City Council reject this proposal.

Firstly, the environmental impact is extremely concerning. An earlier preliminary six-story mixed-use apartment proposal at this site was rejected by the City partially due to concerns that the plan did not retain sufficient trees and landscaping along Vaughan Street but this new proposal has not addressed these concerns. Their plan is to level all vegetation on the site which will result in the loss of nearly 200 mature trees. This is by no means an improvement on the previously rejected proposal and it would significantly impact the resources available to wildlife in this area that is adjacent to a Provincially Significant Wetland and a conservation area. They plan to remove approximately half of these trees to make space for a surface parking lot. A significant portion of the surrounding trees and vegetation could be spared simply by installing an underground parking structure. Moreover, the environmental impact study identified 7 species of concern, 12 threatened species and 12 endangered species that may be affected by the development proposal. In particular, there are a number of endangered and threatened bird species listed which would certainly be at risk of flying into the windows of a 9-story building, not to mention the loss of their natural habitat.

Secondly, residents in the area have very serious concerns about the impact that this building will have on traffic. Gordon Street is an arterial road in Guelph since it is one of two roads providing access to the 401. As such, Gordon Street between Arkell Road and Gosling Gardens has seen increased traffic congestion in recent years and developing a 9-story apartment building will undoubtedly greatly increase traffic and therefore increase the number of potential collisions in the area. Research studies have shown that increased traffic congestion is directly correlated to an increased likelihood of collisions. A 2020 Guelph collision report has already listed Clair Road and Gordon Street as being one of the most dangerous intersections in Guelph, with a ¼ of collisions at this intersection resulting in injury. Sadly, we have seen evidence of this in the South End most recently in January 2022, where a pedestrian was struck and killed. The construction of a 98-unit building will absolutely contribute to the already troubling collision statistics in our area. Furthermore, the development proposal Traffic Impact Assessment was based on traffic volume studies conducted in 2019 which is likely to be inaccurate in 2022 as the Gordon Street traffic has increased considerably since that time. Moreover, this 9-story building is expected to contribute an additional 72-74 cars leaving and entering this small neighbourhood at peak hours and they propose that Vaughan Street will provide the only access to the building. The development road access to Vaughan Street would also necessitate removing on-street parking which is already insufficient for the current residents in the neighbourhood. Overall, the new roadway would result in a significant impairment to traffic movement in and out of the neighbourhood as Vaughan Street is already congested at peak hours and this proposal would only worsen the situation. The conclusion of this Traffic Impact Assessment stating that the proposal would not impact traffic in the area is nonsensical, particularly because it is stated in the report that the intersections at Gordon Street and Edinburgh Road South, as well the intersection of Gordon Street and Arkell Road are forecast to be extremely congested. This building will certainly contribute to the traffic oversaturation of the area and the increasing number of collisions.

To assist in spreading traffic over additional areas, the developer should redesign their proposal in line with the City’s Gordon Street Intensification Corridor Concept Plan (April 2018). This document displayed a roadway network coming directly from Gordon serving the development site, and also the lands to the north where additional development is expected to occur. In this manner, traffic will be spread over additional streets and the existing on-street parking spaces along Vaughan Street will be spared.

In conclusion, if this proposal is allowed to go through this would set a very dangerous precedent in the area that the City does not value residents' quality of life, nor do they value preserving mature trees and wildlife habitats. We understand that the City has agreed to provide the Province with more housing but new building proposals must appropriately balance the need of providing housing with the needs of local wildlife as well as the needs of the local residents. Our suggestion would be to consider more appropriate developments such as townhouses that would simultaneously maintain the spirit of our neighbourhood, allow for the preservation of trees, and wildlife habitat while mitigating the traffic and parking issues in our neighbourhood.

(Collection of personal information: Personal information is being collected and will be used for the purpose of informing City Council as to your views on a matter of public interest or concern as specified in this petition. Your information may be made public through the course of a meeting and corresponding agendas and minutes and/or distributed as part of the Information Items. Personal information, as defined by Section 2 of the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (MFIPPA), is collected under the authority of the Municipal Act, 2001, and will be maintained for the purpose of creating a record that is available to the general public in accordance with the provisions of MFIPPA. If you have questions about the collection, use or disclosure of this personal information please call 519-822-1260 extension 2349 or email privacy@guelph.ca).

Petition organizer contact information: Jackie MacKenzie, jmackc565@gmail.com