Posted by Sudbury Northern Life Reporter Bill Bradley
Attempts by Ward 5 Coun. Ron Dupuis to resurrect a controversial rooming house rezoning application for the Flour Mill area failed at city council Wednesday.
The proposal involved the conversion of a commercial space above a sewing business to a 12 unit student rooming accommodation. A substantial number of residents had opposed the application.
Over 60 signed a petition and dozens showed up at the last planning committee meeting to protest what they called an inappropriate use for the space. The vote ended up being a tie. For approval, a majority vote is required.
Led by their councillor, Joscelyne Landry-Altman, some residents claimed that the high amount criminal activity nearby, along with the presence of two nearby hotels, made the application a wrong move, both for the community and the future student tenants. Others supported the application, saying housing was desperately needed.
Residents also say there is insufficient parking, she said.
Dupuis, who grew up in the Flour Mill, argued that the applicants were only trying to improve the area and their accommodation was desperately needed considering the low vacancy rate in the city.
"Our staff recommended this application. They are only asking for eight parking spots, down from 23 required for the last commercial use. These people want to improve the Flour Mill and invest significant money as well. They want to be a part of the solution and not contribute to any problems," said Dupuis.
He took offense at the language of the petition, which made a number of assumptions. One was that if the rooms could not be rented, of if students moved out due to violence in the area, that prostitutes would move in.
"This petition is giving a black eye to the Flour Mill. We have to be careful about what we say about areas like the Flour Mill. I have been asked by many businesses to support this application."
Dupuis asked Greater Sudbury Police Chief Ian Davidson to give an analysis of criminal activity in the area.
Davidson said that statistically, the downtown core was the hot spot for crime, not the Flour Mill, but only marginally so.
"I looked at the data, and there actually is not much difference between areas like the city core, Flour Mill, Donovan and West End. But the stats do show the city core does come first. That could be due to socio-economic factors or a higher male cohort," said Davidson.
The chief remarked that the Flour Mill's stats may be higher than usual because of vigorous police enforcement in the past year.
"We need concrete reasons to deny this application," insisted Dupuis.
Landry-Altmann cited concerns over the safety of the students to be housed, and that the landlord is not allowed to limit renting the units only to students.
"We cannot people zone accommodation. The neighbouring drinking establishments have caused issues with neighbours already," she stated.
She ran through a long list of recent police incidents, from assaults to break-ins.
"Rooming houses are not a viable option for students."
She also said her investigations had confirmed to her that with the slowing economy and the building of new residences on campuses, the city's vacancy rate will improve significantly.
"Students will prefer to live in secure premises on campus or in shared accommodation with people they know, not with strangers."
In the end, the application was narrowly defeated seven to six.
