Committee of Adjustment doesn’t take summers off, so the September meeting is no big thing. Just another month at the office as it were. And even though it’s September, there are a dozen different applications looking for committee approval from accessory units to a new coffee shop and a couple of property severances. It’s a full line-up so let’s see what Committee of Adjustment are going to be dealing with…
NOTE #1: This meeting will hybrid in format, available on the City of Guelph live stream, but you can also appear in-person at the council chambers in 1 Carden Street.
NOTE #2: If you would like to delegate on one of these matters, or submit a written comment, you have until Wednesday September 13 at noon to get in touch with committee staff at cofa [at] guelph.ca, or by calling 519-822-1260 extension 2524.
NOTE #3: The meeting begins at 4 pm.
A-34/23 204 Alma Street North – This application for a reduced side yard setback and increased height to convert a garage into an accessory unit first came to committee in June, but the vote to approve ended in a tie and was defeated. Committee instead voted to defer so the question now is if the owner can now make a case to turn one vote.
A-57/23 239 Liverpool Street – This homeowner is looking to convert a garage into an accessory unit, and while the footprint of the building isn’t changing, there’s a variance needed because the structure is otherwise too close the property line in the back corner.
A-58/23 10 Eleanor Court – This variance is about the installation of a fence with a maximum height of 1.9 metres. At issue is the fact that a front yard fence shall not exceed 0.8 metres according to the bylaw, and though the fence in question is not technically a front yard fence, the rules essentially still apply since this is a corner lot.
A-59/23 55 Menzie Avenue – The construction of a second storey addition at the rear of the current dwelling requires a variance to shave down the rear setback from the mandated 1.2 metres to 0.87 metres instead.
A-60/23 32 Norwich Street West – The homeowner here is looking for a variance to allow the construction of a new driveway for the right half of this duplex in an older, denser part of town between Norfolk and Dublin. Seems straightforward, but the requested front yard setback will virtually eliminate the 1.4 metres typically required between dwelling and driveway.
A-61/23 10 Graham Street – This is a pretty straightforward request for a two-storey addition to the rear of an existing house, plus the creation of a new attached garage at the side. (See the drawing above.) To make it happen, the homeowners need a minor variance cut down the minimum rear yard setback from 7.5 metres to 3.24.
A-62/23 236 Gordon Street – An “underutilized room” at this apartment building along Gordon Hill is being converted into a new unit, which means that their parking requirements are changing; they will need to have 31 spaces instead of 29, but they don’t have the room to add more parking. This variance asks to retain the 29 lawfully as “parking has never previously been a historic issue on the site” given that most tenants are U of G students.
A-63/23 535 Woolwich Street – The Polestar Hearth bakery at Woolwich and Earl is looking to expand into the space now formally occupied by the BarberRino barber shop in order to establish a new coffee shop with a staff room area. The current bylaw does allow for a bakery, but variances are needed for minimum parking and “permission to enlarge/extend the legal non-conforming bakery use into the 40 square metre neighbouring unit within the existing building.”
B-12/23 A-64/23 37 McCrae Boulevard – The plan here is to severe the portion of this property that sits on the corner of James Street, and tear down a rear portion of the dwelling plus a garage and a shed in order to build an additional dwelling on the new portion. A variance is needed to permit a reduced yard set back on the retained lot too.
B-13/23 B-14/23 B-15/23 B-16/23 B-17/23 B-18/23 300 Water Street – This is one of those things that looks complicated, but it’s actually quiet simple. The property owner wants to take this one piece of land at the east end of Water Street on the corner of Denver and turn it into six properties. They don’t even need to change the zoning, which is Specialized Residential Single Detached (R.1C-32), and Specialized Residential On-Street Townhouse (R.3B-24 and R.3B-25) Zones according to the still in effect 1995 zoning bylaw.
A-65/23 549 Watson Parkway South – Here’s another homeowner that would like to convert a garage into an accessory unit, but there are a couple of extra complications with this application. The owners would like to add another foot plus a car port and a second floor with an open deck.
A-66/23 7 Brighton Street – Like the house on Eleanor Court mentioned about, this is a corner lot that’s look for a tall fence beyond what’s typically allowed. Along with that 1.9-metre fence at the front and the 2.5-metre fence at the side, this homeowner is also seeking a variance to reduce the rear setback for a new attached carport that they want to build.
Guelph Politico 