With support from city staff, the chair of the Coniston Non-Profit Seniors Housing Corporation hopes construction on a planned five-storey, 55-unit seniors apartment can begin in the fall.
“Once the rezoning is approved we can go move quickly to the next step,” said Les Lisk, who has pushed to get a complex for Coniston's seniors for more than three years.
On July 14, city staff tabled a report recommending council approve a request to rezone lands where the apartment building would be built from open space, conservation and future development to medium density residential.
The report will be presented to the city's planning committee on Aug. 8.
Lisk said the population in Coniston is aging, and there is a great need to accommodate seniors who want to sell their homes and downsize to apartments.
“There are so many seniors moving out of the community because they can't get any housing,” he said.
The Coniston Non-Profit Seniors Housing Corporation currently has 110 members who would be ready to move in once the building is completed.
Lisk said the non-profit corporation is aiming to charge 80 per cent of the going rate for the apartments – which would primarily be two-bedroom units with their own washers and dryers.
Lisk said the apartment building would also open up Coniston's current housing stock for younger families.
“As they (seniors) sell their homes, younger families will be moving into the community,” he said.
More young families would make nearby schools more viable, he added, and help improve the community overall.
While the staff report supported rezoning the 16-acre property in Coniston, located at the west end of Elm Street, for residential use, it also noted “a significant portion of the lands are located within the floodplain overlay zone.”
In the only letter of concern attached to the proposal to rezone the land, Naomi Grant, chair of the Coalition for a Liveable Sudbury, raised concerns about potential flooding at the site.
“Removal of vegetation and an increase of hard surfaces have the potential to further aggravate flooding on this site and adjacent sites,” she said in the letter.
“Therefore, the building and parking areas must be placed outside of the floodplain. In addition, low impact development measures should be used to mitigate impacts of stormwater run-off from the site on adjacent properties and the natural function of the floodplain.”
Lisk said that while most of Coniston is on a floodplain, the community has never had any trouble with flooding due to various measures to control the flow of water.
If council approves the rezoning, Lisk said the next step will be to work out a cost-sharing agreement to bring water services to the site.
He said the Coniston Non-Profit Seniors Housing Corporation has already tabled engineering studies that support the project.
If construction starts in the fall, he added it would take around a year and a half to complete.
