On Monday, June 29, 2020 the Town of The Blue Mountains Council began the formal planning and public consultation process for the Blue Mountains Attainable Housing Corporation (BMAHC) Gateway Site located at 171 King Street East in Thornbury. A final decision has not been made regarding changes to zoning or the official plan criteria for this site.
The BMAHC made a request to Council to clearly establish planning parameters for the site to help the BMAHC embark on the hiring of a design / builder private sector partner to develop and then build out the site for attainable housing. This direction from Council will allow staff to start the planning process to formally review and evaluate the potential design/build alternatives for the site, including up to a possible five-story option. Preliminary draft concept designs were presented to the community to get the discussion started. The draft concept designs can be viewed by visiting: https://www.thebluemountains.ca/171-king-street-east-bmahc-gateway.cfm.
As in all other similar planning initiatives, the planning process for the BMAHC Gateway Site will consist of drafting potential site-specific planning amendments to both the Town’s Official Plan and to the Comprehensive Zoning Bylaw. The Planning Act process will be followed, and if approved, changes to the Town’s Official Plan and to the Comprehensive Zoning Bylaw could allow for a mixed-use development up to a maximum of five stories at the site. In other words, the intent and purpose of initiating the planning process is to allow the Town and BMAHC to evaluate these options and to further consider public feedback from residents, local employers and the community at large.
The Town would like to emphasize that the direction by Council to start the planning process does not establish a final decision. Before any formal decisions regarding the development are made, Council will review the evaluations and will consider all public feedback. As part of any final decision, both BMAHC and the Town will also consider Design/Build options that will not require any Official Plan Amendments.
All project updates and additional information regarding the project will be posted and made available on the Town website by visiting: https://www.thebluemountains.ca/171-king-street-east-bmahc-gateway.cfm
For more information, please contact: