The news that developer Abode Varsity Living is taking its plan for a couple of university student high-rises to the Ontario Municipal Board is quite a way to start the new year. But perhaps it’s not all that surprising. Given the depth of the differences between the developer and nearby residents, it’s hardly a shock to learn the two sides have been unable to reach a compromise during meetings aided by a facilitator hired by the city.
Abode’s decision to appeal to the OMB – on the grounds that city hall hasn’t made a decision fast enough on its application for zoning and Official Plan changes – reminds us of the situation a few years back with a big commercial development proposed for a 54-acre vacant quarry site between the two ends of Silvercreek Parkway. That developer went to the OMB on the same grounds. In the end, OMB-led mediation resulted in a compromise that got the approval of city council, the local residents’ association and the developer. This development could start being built in 2013, once a railway underpass is built and the two ends of Silvercreek are reconnected.
However, finding a compromise that nearby residents can swallow might be tougher in the case of the densely populated high-rises proposed for the site where the low-rise Best Western Royal Brock Hotel and Conference Centre currently sits. This well-heeled university neighbourhood doesn’t want to sit in the shadow of high-rises populated by large numbers of students, whether it’s 1,200 students or 1,600 students, as Mayfield Park Community Association president Kate MacDonald has made clear.
MacDonald says what happens with Abode’s application will set the tone for development in Guelph for the next 50 years, and she might just be right. Abode’s proposal is such a big change from the way the city looks now. Making the proposal even more controversial is that it involves social impacts as well as physical ones. Some Guelphites, whose neighbourhoods are adversely impacted by student housing conversions, might welcome loads of students going into high-rises across from the U of G. Others will question whether it would be good for the city as a whole, let alone a good way for students to live.
It’s a difficult issue for council, which still has to take a position on Abode’s plan. A happy ending seems elusive.