Burlington Council Approves Staff Directions Related to Bateman Redevelopment Project Parking Options

Burlington City Council approved several staff directions related to parking options part of the redevelopment project of the former Robert Bateman High School site. See the approved full motion and My Take below, as well as the staff report and related appendices further down this post.APPROVED MOTION:

• Direct the Manager of Realty Services to explore with the Halton Catholic District School Board the option of utilizing land behind the Ascension Elementary School in order to include park amenities for the public and school for outdoor activities; and
• Direct the Manager of Realty Services to enter into discussions with the Pineland Baptist Church and Good Neighbour Ministries, for the option of leasing parking spaces to support the phase 1 occupancy requirements for the former Bateman site; and
• Direct the Executive Director of Environment, Infrastructure and Community Services to apply to the Committee of Adjustment for a variance to reduce on-site parking requirements at the former Bateman site based on a site specific parking justification analysis giving consideration of alternate modes of transportation and peak demand timing of the various uses on site; and
• Direct the Executive Director of Environment, Infrastructure and Community Services to apply to the Committee of Adjustment for a reduction of the on-site parking required at the former Bateman site based on leasing parking spaces at Pineland Baptist Church and/or Good Neighbour Ministries (subject to a lease agreement being agreed to) in order to support parking requirements and obtaining occupancy for phase 1 operation of the former Bateman site; and
• Based on the outcome of the submissions to the Committee of Adjustment for on-site parking reductions, authorize the Executive Director of Environment, Infrastructure and Community Services to design and construct any additional surface parking at the rear of the site to accommodate phase 1 occupancy requirements; and
• Direct the Director of Engineering Services to undertake a conceptual design exercise of the open space at the former Bateman site, including the Frontenac Park land and the land behind Ascension School (subject to HCDSB approval) to provide enhanced pedestrian connections, looped pedestrian trail and park amenities such as a junior sports field that would meet the needs of the students at Ascension Elementary school and the public; and
• Direct the Director of Transportation Services to assess the parking utilization of the former Bateman site after the opening of phase 1 and report back to council on the outcomes for phase 1 and parking requirements to support phase 2.

MY TAKE:Council tasked City staff to review any and all parking options and provide recommendations. This is exactly what we asked for and I thank them for their hard work on that and this report. Our goal is to protect greenspace and we all know parking standards are changing. The more we overbuild parking on yesterday’s standards, the more we’ll have impermeable surfaces. We won’t do a disservice to our existing regulations, but we have to have creative solutions until the rest of our policies and real-time parking uses catch up to what we will need on that site in reality. I like the idea of offsite parking because it’s a good use of urban land and gives people the chance to more easily walk between buildings.

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

• Staff report: EICS-12-23 Former Robert Bateman High School - Parking Options
• Appendices:
  • EICS-12-23 Appendix A - Aerial View of Nearby Church Proximities
  • EICS-12-23 Appendix B - Current Aerial View Highlighting Ascension Elementary School Green Space

BACKGROUND:The City of Burlington has purchased the former Robert Bateman High School building and site. With sustainability and community-building in mind, the City of Burlington is repurposing the existing Robert Bateman High School into a City-owned, multi-purpose community-focused asset that will align with the City’s objective of being net-zero carbon by 2040. The reuse and conversion of the former secondary school will have extensive interior renovations including renewal of all major building systems and exterior site and building modifications required to support the intended community uses.When the renovation is complete, tenants including Brock University, Burlington Public Library, Halton District School Board, Tech Place and City of Burlington will move into the building and begin offering services. There is currently parking, a small woodlot associated with the adjacent Appleby Creek Valley and a track with a football field (inside the track) located on the site. The building and property will remain in public ownership. In addition to the existing pool and gymnasiums and the new enhanced common areas of the building there will be approximately 21,000 square feet of new dedicated community recreation space and approximately 9,000 square feet of temporary recreation space that do not have defined uses at this time and that would form part of Phase 2 of the project.