Following the recommendation of the City of North Bay's Planning Department, North Bay City Council will vote during its next regular meeting on a rezoning application that could see a long-time commercial portion of an existing building in Birchaven transformed into four new apartment units, joining three existing basement units.
During a committee meeting on Jan. 28, Peter Carello, a senior planner with the City of North Bay told council members there were no objections from staff regarding the proposal. The committee members unanimously backed the recommendation. The rezoning vote will be held during the regular meeting of council on Feb. 11.
The commercial space, above the existing three units in the basement, includes what was previously a convenience store and a restaurant that is still in operation. Commercial and retail ventures have existed at the corner of Mountainview Drive and Wickstead Avenue — a densely populated residential neighbourhood — for decades under various names and operators.
The former convenience store has been gutted but a sign on the door of Hit the Spot, the restaurant located next door, indicates the homemade fast food joint is open for business as usual.
According to Paul Goodridge of Goodridge Goulet Planning & Surveying, the agent for the property owner, the rezoning does not preclude the restaurant from continuing to operate, at least in the short term. The renovations will begin in the former convenience store. A business arrangement between the tenant and the landlord will determine the long-term future of the restaurant.
Millford Development Limited, the property owner stated, "There is limited demand for this type of commercial development," in the rezoning application, referencing a nearby convenience store on Sage Road "that serves the day-to-day needs of the residential community."
Millford applied to rezone the property located at 150 Mountainview Dr. from a “Neighbourhood Commercial (C5)” zone to a “Residential Multiple Second Density Special (RM2 Sp.)” zone.
According to Carello's report, "The purpose of the application is to allow the conversion of the commercial portion of the building into residential apartment units. The Special Zone request would reduce the minimum side yard setbacks to 3.2 m along the northerly property line and 2.9 m along the southerly property
line. The requested application would also reduce the minimum parking standards to 1.25 parking spaces per unit or 9 parking spaces in total for 7 apartment units."
Carello adds, "The City’s Official Plan contains policies that allow for small-scale commercial operations within a residential area. In reviewing these policies and evaluating the property’s site characteristics, it is my opinion that the subject lands are appropriate for either the proposed apartment use or a commercial use."
The City of North Bay received no correspondence from the public and no objections were lodged with any of its internal municipal departments or external agencies.