Risk Analysis:

N/A

Financial Matters:

Consultations:

1. City Departments and Agencies

Comments from municipal departments and external agencies are attached as Appendix E Consultation to this report. There are no objections to the proposed amendments.

2. Public Notice

The official notice will be advertised in the Windsor Star newspaper as mandated by the Planning Act.

A courtesy notice will be mailed to all properties within 120 meters (400 feet) of the subject site, prior to the Planning and Heritage Standing Committee (PHEDSC) meeting.

Conclusion:

The recommended Zoning By-law amendments provides an appropriate adaptive re-use of the vacant first floor of the existing building with additional onsite parking to service the six unit multi-residential building. The parking area will be designed to City standards with curb, guttering, drainage, and landscape areas.

The recommended Zoning By-law Amendment will maintain conformity with the Official Plan and is consistent with the PPS.

The subject Zoning By-law amendment constitutes good planning when considering that the first floor commercial units have remained vacant for several years and the challenges traditional retail faces when competing against “big box “ retail, online shopping, and increasing mobility options. The zoning amendment provides a type of flexible zoning where the first floor residential units are permitted as an additional permitted use, giving the property owner another financial option to the existing vacant storefronts. If demand for neighbourhood retail changes in the future the owner can still convert the first floor residential units back to a commercial use. The Zoning amendment will have no negative impact on the Sandwich Main Street area (Brock through to Detroit Streets) where commercial/retail is historically focused.