A city committee has moved a large residential development a step closer to becoming a reality. Windsor’s Development and Heritage Standing Committee met Tuesday and approved a plan for a 75-unit subdivision at the southwest corner of Richmond Street and St. Luke Road. The proposal includes 24 semi-detached homes and 51 townhomes on just over two hectares of land that is currently zoned for business park and industrial use. The development will be built in two phases with the first including the 12 semi-detached homes, while the second will include the townhomes and a stormwater management facility. The developer has made several changes to the plan following public feedback during open houses over the past few years. One of the main changes includes reducing the number of access points, with the new development having just one entrance and exit off Richmond Street. Three existing driveways, two on Richmond and one on St. Luke Road, will be eliminated. Outgoing ward 10 councillor and committee chair Jim Morrison says the revised proposal also addresses concerns about the size and height of the original plans. “I commend the developer for listening to the residents and saying this is a better development. It’s not quite as big and as high and all those issues that was originally considered. So this will be something that I think residents will really like and it really helps the neighbourhood.” He says city administration says the existing sanitary sewer system has enough capacity to handle additional wastewater. “They are not going to allow sanitary sewers not to be able to handle it. And we’ve had some that are a little closer, but this one is not going to have any impact. And the developer has to make sure that they’re retaining the stormwater when we do have significant events.” Morrison says this development fits the neighbourhood and is a good transitional piece. “Townhomes are a really good use of land, you don’t get the big backyard, but you’re not getting a really high mass. You’re not getting four storey’s, six storey’s. You’re not seeing it on a corridor. So basically this is just a really nice fit, it’s reasonably priced for people to buy.” A future westerly phase may include a mixed-use development along Walker Road under a separate application. The proposal will now go to Windsor City Council for final approval.
