Sudbury committee OKs three apartment buildings in Minnow Lake

A lengthy committee meeting this week in Greater Sudbury ended with the approval of three new apartment buildings on Bancroft Drive.

Approval of the rezoning needed to add 84 apartment units at 1799 Bancroft Drive came after a lengthy public hearing in which several residents expressed their opposition.

Some said that the development would add runoff to Ramsey Lake and affect drinking water and fish habitats.

But most of the speakers at Monday’s planning committee said they were concerned about adding more traffic to that area of the roadway characterized by an ‘S’ curve.

Total of 84 units

The plan is to build three buildings, each three storeys high with 28 units each. While opponents agreed that the city needs more housing to address the housing crisis, they said that area of Minnow Lake is problematic.

“I know we need housing,” Sarah King Gold told the committee, but added that this area has “serious safety concerns” and risks “overwhelming the infrastructure.”

King Gold said there’s too much housing already planned for Minnow Lake, including major developments on First Avenue, Silverhills Drive, Howey Avenue and other nearby areas.

But a staff report on the plan said no city department had a problem with the plan.

Bancroft is a road designed to accommodate a lot of traffic, and a study showed there have been an average of two collisions a year along the ‘S’ curve, many of which had nothing to do with the design of the road, and most of them minor. Only one included a personal injury, and even that one involved only minor injuries.

No traffic study

Road staff said sightlines meet standards and that no traffic study was required. The developer would have to contribute land for an eventual road widening by five metres.

One person, Aarne Punkkinen, said that three apartment buildings would change the nature of the area.

“This is a quiet residential neighbourhood,” Punkkinen said.

He said that he had serious environmental concerns because the land slopes toward Ramsey Lake.

“Water will flow directly toward Ramsey Lake,” Punkkinen added.

But Kevin Jarus, a planner with Tulloch, speaking for the developer, said a stormwater management plan would have to be approved before construction proceeded.

That plan would ensure that Ramsey Lake would not be affected, Jarus said.

Ward 11 Coun. Bill Leduc had many questions about the plan, including whether a crosswalk could be installed to ensure pedestrian safety when the apartments are built.

Staff replied that there aren’t enough pedestrian crossings in the area to warrant a crossover, but added that longer-term, the city is looking at installing non-warranted pedestrian crossings in areas of concern.

After about three hours of public hearings and debate, the proposal was approved, with only Leduc voting against. It received approval from all of city council at the Oct. 21 meeting.