Burlington Council Unanimously Approves 7 Storeys, 141 Housing Units at 276 Plains Rd. E.

At our May 21 meeting, Burlington Council unanimously approved a proposed development at 276, 284 and 292 Plains Rd. E. for a seven-storey building, featuring 141 residential units of one-, two-, and three-bedroom units.See My Take, the approved full motion from Council, and the associated staff report and related documents below — as well as additional background information further down this post.MY TAKE:This project will provide much needed housing along Plains Road that is well served by transportation, shops and adjacent parks. The project is appropriate height and density for the area, providing 141 units in a seven-storey structure. Council was sympathetic to the concerns raised by residents regarding the location of the driveway, and thank staff and the applicant for doing additional work to ensure there are no safety concerns with the location.APPROVED MOTION:

• Approve the applications for Official Plan Amendment and Zoning By-law Amendment at 276, 284 and 292 Plains Road East, as recommended by staff in community planning department report PL-36-24, to permit a 7 storey, 141 unit residential building; and
• Approve Official Plan Amendment No. 132 to the City of Burlington Official Plan, as provided in Appendix D of Report community planning department report PL-36-24, to re-designate the lands located at 276, 284 and 292 Plains Road East from “Residential – Medium Density” to “Mixed Use Corridor – General” and to include site specific policies for the subject lands; and
• Deem that Section 17(21) of The Planning Act has been met; and
• Instruct the City Clerk to prepare the necessary by-law adopting Official Plan Amendment No. 132 as contained in Appendix D of community planning department report PL-36-24 to be presented for approval at the same time as the associated by-law to amend Zoning By-law 2020, as amended, for the development proposal (505-07/21); and
• Approve Zoning By-law 2020.476, attached as Appendix E of community planning department report PL-36-24, to rezone the lands located at 276, 284 and 292 Plains Road East from “Residential – Medium Density (RM1-346) with site specific regulations to a site specific “Mixed Use General (H-MXG-542)” with a Holding “H” prefix as provided in Appendix E to community planning department report PL-36-24 (File: 520-08/21); and
• Deem that the amending zoning by-law will conform to the Official Plan for the City of Burlington once Official Plan Amendment No. 132 is adopted; and
• State that the amending zoning by-law will not come into effect until Official Plan Amendment No. 132 is adopted.

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To read the staff report and related supporting documents, please click/tap the links below:

• Staff report: PL-36-24 Recommendation Report for 276, 284 and 292 Plains Road East.pdf
• Appendices:
  • PL-36-24 Appendix D - Draft Official Plan Amendment.pdf
  • PL-36-24 Appendix E - Draft Zoning By-law.pdf
• Staff presentation: PL-36-24 Staff presentation.pdf

BACKGROUND:On November 12, 2021, the City acknowledged that a complete application had been received for an Official Plan Amendment and Zoning By-law Amendment for 284 and 292 Plains Road East. The purpose of these applications is to amend the Official Plan and Zoning By-law in order to facilitate a residential development consisting of one 8 storey residential building. A Statutory Public Meeting for the application was held on February 1, 2022, at which time a report was presented to the Community Planning, Regulation and Mobility Committee and the public for information purposes and to obtain feedback on the subject applications.In September 2023, the applicant revised the proposal to incorporate 276 Plains Road East into the proposed development. The applications were revised to include a 7 storey residential building including mechanical penthouse and indoor and outdoor rooftop amenity areas with 141 dwelling units. The location of the subject lands is illustrated in “Appendix A”. A Detail Sketch of the development proposal is provided in “Appendix B”.Site Description:The subject properties are located on the south side of Plains Road East, between Filmandale Road and Shadeland Avenue. The properties have an area of 0.50 hectares (1.23 acres) with an approximate lot frontage of 96 metres along Plains Road East. Existing land uses on the properties consist of two vacant dwelling conversions which include a medical office (276 Plains Road East) a commercial land use (284 Plains Road East) and office (292 Plains Road East).There are six bus stops within 500 metres of the subject lands with access to bus routes 1 (Plains/Fairview) and 4 (Central). The subject lands are within 1.1 kilometres of the Aldershot GO Station which provides connections to the Lakeshore West and Lakeshore East train and several bus options for the GTHA, Niagara, Brantford and Waterloo.Bus Route 1 runs along Plains Road West and Fairview Street and continues into downtown Hamilton along York Boulevard, King Street West, and Cannon Street West. Bus Route 1 provides connections to the Burlington GO Station, Appleby GO Station and Hamilton GO Station. Bus Route 4 connects the Aldershot GO Station to the Appleby GO Station with frequent transit stops along the route including King Road, Joseph Brant Hospital, the Downtown Bus Terminal at John Street, the Senior’s Centre at New Street, Guelph Line, Walker’s Line and Pinedale Avenue.Surrounding uses are as follows:

• North: institutional uses (Holy Rosary Catholic School and Holy Rosary Church) and Aldershot Park.
• East: a medical office at 300 Plains Road East and a dental office at 310 Plains Road East.
• South: low density residential consisting of one to two storey single detached dwellings.
• West: low density residential consisting of one to two storey single detached dwellings.

Description of Applications:Weston Consulting on behalf of Corley Development Inc. has made applications to amend the Official Plan Designation and Zoning By-law for the subject properties located at 276, 284 and 292 Plains Road East.These applications are proposing a 7 storey residential building including mechanical penthouse and indoor and outdoor rooftop amenity areas with a FAR of 2.6:1. The proposed development includes a total of 141 units including 89 one-bedroom units, 49 two-bedroom units and 3 three-bedroom units. A total of 153 parking spaces are proposed, with 100 parking spaces in one level of underground parking and 53 parking spaces located at the rear of the building. A total of 3,361.8 m2 of amenity space (indoor and outdoor) is proposed.Vehicular access is proposed from Plains Road East with a two-way driveway that will provide access to the underground and above ground parking area for residents, visitors, and delivery vehicles, and loading area for the building.