Just the Facts:
● The proposed development at 1455 and 1285 Speedsville Road, along with portions of 800 Briardean Road, led by River Mill, includes a mix of high, medium, and low-density residential uses, with 1,706-2,045 planned dwelling units. It will feature a mixed-use area, a school site, and a municipal park.
● The Official Plan Amendment seeks to redesignate portions of the site from the “Hunt Club Estates” policies to the “River Mill Community” policies. This would permit mixed-use areas with buildings up to 8 storeys and allow higher-density residential blocks along Speedsville Road and Equestrian Way.
● The Zoning By-law Amendment proposes to rezone the site to include specific RM4 and RM3 zones for various residential uses. These include increased building heights, reduced parking requirements, and decreased setbacks, along with provisions for a school block and larger park and stormwater areas.
CAMBRIDGE — The City of Cambridge has received a resubmitted development proposal for a residential project at 1455 Speedsville Road, 1285 Speedsville Road, a portion of 800 Briardean Road, and unaddressed lands at the northeast corner of Speedsville Road and Equestrian Way.
The revised proposal, scheduled for council review on October 8, 2024, includes several changes from the original submission, offering a mix of residential types and uses.
Several revisions have been made since the original plan, including:
● School Block: A 2.41-hectare site for the Waterloo Catholic District School Board has been added.
● Park Size: The size of the neighbourhood park has increased from 0.51 hectares to 2.00 hectares.
● Stormwater Management: The stormwater management pond has been expanded from 1.34 hectares to 1.77 hectares.
● Natural Heritage: The area of proposed wetlands and natural heritage has grown from 11.71 hectares to 12.57 hectares.
Additional land has been incorporated into the municipal right-of-way to the south for open space and institutional purposes, as well as the extension of Street ‘A’ to intersect with Equestrian Way.
The developer has proposed a total of 1,706 to 2,045 dwelling units in a combination of high, medium, and low-density residential developments, including a mixed-use area at the intersection of Speedsville Road and Equestrian Way.
Higher-density residential uses will front Speedsville Road, while medium and lower-density uses will be situated within the interior of the development.
The plan also includes a 2.41-hectare site for a new school and a municipal park, with significant refinements to the boundaries of open space areas to preserve natural heritage features.
To accommodate this proposal, the developer has submitted both an Official Plan Amendment and a Zoning By-law Amendment.
The Official Plan Amendment would redesignate portions of the lands from the current “Hunt Club Estates (Apartment Block)” and “Hunt Club Estates (Adult Lifestyle Community)” to new policies under the “River Mill Community” framework.
The change would permit mixed-use development with a maximum height of 8 storeys, high-density apartment blocks, and transitional medium-density residential uses, including cluster row houses.
A notable change from the original proposal is a reduction in the maximum density for the high-density blocks from 250 units per hectare to 200 units per hectare.
The residential density target is set at a maximum of 50 units per hectare for the rest of the development area.
The Zoning By-law Amendment proposes site-specific standards for the development, including increased building heights of up to 8 storeys, increased density, decreased setbacks, increased lot coverage, and reduced amenity and landscaping requirements.
Additionally, the proposed zone changes for the development include:
●RM4 Zone (River Mill Residential Neighbourhood)
●CS5 Zone (River Mill Main Street)
●RM3 Zone (River Mill Speedsville Apartment Blocks)
●N1 Zone (Elementary School Site)
The developer has also requested several site-specific provisions including but not limited to:
● Parking: A reduction in parking requirements to 1 space per dwelling unit, with an additional 0.15 spaces per unit allocated for visitor parking.
● Private Amenity Space: For cluster row house dwellings, private amenity space has been reduced from 35 square metres to 30 square metres.
● Setbacks: A standard setback of 3 metres from an access driveway, aisle, parking stall, or parking lot to a habitable window less than 1 metre above the finished grade has been added.
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