Parry Sound is holding a public meeting on October 17 to discuss increasing the height for a property in town.
The property, located near Booth Street Park and spanning around 17 acres, is currently zoned under Residential Second Density holding.
According to the town, the meeting will be held to decide if the property should be rezoned to Special Provision 26.137 in part.
According to the town’s bylaws, that rezoning would add Row, Townhouse or Maisonette Dwelling, Fourplex Dwellings and Apartment Dwellings as permitted uses.
In addition, the proposed zoning would also include a new maximum building height of 14 metres and a maximum number of units within an Apartment Dwelling to 10.
Parry Sound Mayor Jamie McGarvey says the property was put out for a Request for Proposal and the town received some response back.
“The property with its current zoning is kind of a rough piece of property. We figured that maybe what we should do is take a look at it, maybe get some rezoning done on the property, so there can be more opportunity for different types of dwellings on that piece of land,” he says.
McGarvey says the hearing is about trying to make that property more palatable to somebody for development. He says there will certainly be a need for infrastructure brought to the property, but it would give more opportunity for more dwelling units, which helps divide the cost out in a particular project.
“The height restrictions mean any proposed building would be probably somewhere around a four-story building. What we’re trying to do is provide more opportunity on that piece of property for development so we can increase the housing supply,” he says.
Mcgarvey says council is trying to capitalize on the town’s piece of property which has the potential for increasing housing stock within the community.
“I think council does want to increase our housing stock and I think you will find that people around the table will be, I would hope, very favorable to the proposed plan,” McGarvey says.
If you wish to be notified of the decision of the Town of Parry Sound on the proposed Zoning By-law Amendment, officials say you must make a written request to the town clerk.