Category: Brescia University College

Brescia is applying for a land use change and rezoning

Brescia is applying for a land use change and rezoning of the south side of Ramsay Road for parking! The application includes all of Brescia’s land on the west side of Brescia Lane from Ramsay Road to Sarnia Road, although it appears at this time that only the treed area between Ramsay and Brescia’s maintenance building is proposed to be paved and lighted for parking.

The process is that the planner will gather comments and write a report to City Council`s Built and Natural Environment Committee. A date for the public meeting where the application will be considered will be advertised in the Living in London section of the Free Press and the City’s web site.

Concerns and questions should be addressed by September 30th to the city planner, Michael Tomazincic, whose contact information appears below.

1285 Western Road (southwest portion) on the lands immediately to the west of Brescia Lane, south of Ramsay Road. The purpose and effect of the Official Plan and Zoning By-law amendments is to permit the relocation of the existing parking lot, currently located on the north side of Ramsay Road, to the subject site and to recognize the existing Physical Plant, Administration Offices, and ESL School Administration Offices as conforming land uses. Possible amendment to the Official Plan by amending Schedule A – Land Use – FROM Low Density Residential TO Regional Facility. Possible amendment to the Zoning By-law Z.-1 FROM a Residential R1 (R1-10) Zone which permits one Single Detached dwelling TO a Regional Facility (RF) Zone which permits: Adult secondary schools; Churches; Commercial parking structures and/or lots; Commercial schools; Community colleges; Day care centres; Elementary schools; Emergency care establishments; Group Home Type 2; Hospitals; Institutional uses; Libraries; Nursing homes; Private schools; Recreational buildings; Secondary schools; Stadia; Supervised residences; and, Ancillary residential and/or hostels and accommodations, together with permitted uses in this zone.
File: OZ-7955 Planner: Michael Tomazincic, mtomazin@london.ca, 519-661-2500 ext 4693

Please note: Comments and opinions submitted on these matters, including the originator’s name and address, become part of the public record, may be viewed by the general public and may be published in a Planning Report and Council Agenda. If a person or public body does not make oral submissions at a public meeting or make written submissions to the City of London before the application is adopted or approved, the person or public body is not entitled to appeal the decision of the Municipal Council or the Approval Authority of the City of London to the Ontario Municipal Board. If a person or public body does not make oral submissions at a public meeting or make written submissions to the City of London before the proposed amendment is adopted or approved, the person or public body may not be added as a party to the hearing of an appeal before the Ontario Municipal Board unless, in the opinion of the Board, there are reasonable grounds to add the person or public body as a party.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
If you wish to view additional information or material relating to these applications, the files are available to the public at the Planning Division, 206 Dundas Street, Monday to Friday, 8:30am-4:30pm. Key maps for the lands described in these applications are not provided as they are available for review at the offices noted above.
*Please ensure you reference the File Number or address in all communications.

Update on new Brescia residence

We have received from the city a copy of Brescia’s plans for its new residence and dining pavilion. There are three documents: the site plan, a close-up of the site plan, and the comments from the city to date.

The present plan does not call for a change to the use of the treed area on the south side of Ramsay Road. There will be additional parking on the east side of Brescia Lane and next to Brescia’s existing “lower” parking lot towards Western Road. There will be a lighted bike and pedestrian pathway built that will start from the new service entrance off Ramsay Road and wrap around the north side of the Brescia property to link up with Brescia’s driveway on the east side. Pedestrian access straight through the campus will still be possible.

No public meeting before any committee of City Council is required for this project. Any questions should be sent to the following:

Sheila Blagrave
Director of Communications, Marketing and External Relations
519-432-8353 ext. 28293
sblagrav@uwo.ca

July 2011 Updates

Seniors Community Association invitation

Adults 55 and older in our neighbourhood are invited to discussion groups hosted by the Seniors Community Association and to learn about the Connecting London Seniors project. All are welcome to attend at the Sherwood Forest Library on either Thursday, July 28th at 10 a.m. or Wednesday, Aug. 3rd at 1:30 p.m. Space is limited, so you must register in advance by contacting Jean Knight, 519-963-4567.

Jean Knight – Project Coordinator
Seniors Community Association
Office: 519.963.4567
Cell: 519.615.9366
http://www.scalondon.ca

Update on widening of Sarnia Road from Wonderland to Sleightholme

Although this project has been pushed off to 2019 by the city for financial reasons, the city council decided it best to complete the Environmental Assessment. The Ratepayers have yet to receive notification as to when the final report will be filed on the public record as required under Provincial legislation. Usually, we receive a letter from the city. Notice is also given in the Living in the City section of the city’s web site. My guess is it will be the fall at the earliest before any information is available.

Medway Valley Heritage Forest Conservation Master Plan Update

The city budget for this year included funds for an update of the Medway Valley Conservation Master Plan. No notice has been received as to when this project will commence. When it starts, it is anticipated to take at least 12 to 18 months to complete. It is suppose to include all parts of the Valley, including the parts north of Fanshawe Park Road.

New student residences at UWO and Brescia College

UWO will start building the new residence on the south west side of Sarnia and Western Road starting this fall. Brescia College has been in contact with the city about its plans for a new residence at Brescia Lane and Ramsey Road, but have not yet filed for formal site plan approval or a change in zoning which would be required to change the use of the land south of Ramsey. There is a web page with some information and contact information as well at http://www.brescia.uwo.ca/about/new_residence/index.html

Tennis Courts

Thanks to the diligence of a resident, the City will be taking the following actions as soon as possible.

  • Trim Apple Trees that drop fruit onto the court surfaces
  • Power-wash all areas of the courts.
  • Replace torn nets.
  • Repair cracks in the surface with a new fiberglass compound.
  • Safe-proof the protrusions on the outsides of the steel tennis posts.

Neighbourhood Questions regarding the New Brescia Residence

Brescia University College has provided some q&a regarding its plans for construction of a new residence. This is a follow-up and response to the neighborhood meeting that was held on March 10, 2011.

Bike path

Q. A number of people currently bike through Brescia to work at UWO. The idea of a bike path that goes around the campus was not well received for a few reasons. One is that it is an indirect path and bike riders, like drivers, will take the path of least resistance. A round about way is less likely to be used. Also, like the staff member who was concerned about the out of the way location of the potential “north side” parking lot, the bike path will also be out of the way which makes it less likely to be used later at night. The other concern is that it seems that bike riders would share the new driveway with delivery trucks in the morning. This may not be the case but I and others at the information session were trying to explain where the bike path started, without the benefit of any visuals. You might consider stopping some bike riders in the fall to invite them to a focus group to get their thoughts. Ramsay Road is a well used bike way in the AM rush hour between September and winter and again in the spring.

A. Responsibility to maintain a bike path for neighbourhood use goes beyond Brescia’s mandate but we will do our best to do so to be good neighbours. However, having a focus group to provide additional input would provide real challenges to us from a timing perspective in regards to completing the design. We did pay careful attention to neighbourhood input at our meeting on May 9th. Although the north route is more out of the way, it would certainly be safer from a grading perspective than what is happening now. We are also looking at the possibility of relocating a bike path around Mother St. James, but I think that this might actually be farther, more costly, and a steeper grade. There will only be five or six trucks per day that would be using the same space.

Location of new buildings/parking lot

Q. Due to the loss of trees/green area as well as the massing of buildings along Ramsay Road, residents asked Brescia to consider retaining the existing parking lot and putting the new residence further to the north. This could avoid the need for a rezoning. Another site plan suggestion was putting the dining pavilion on the far west side of the campus and the residence more to the east. This would reduce the distance from the loading area as well as avoiding the massing of a large building on a narrow street. Another suggestion was enlarging the lower parking lot and making the new, larger lot on the east side of Brescia Lane exclusively for those with mobility difficulties. This recognizes the need for a more level site for parking and continuing the buffering between Brescia and the homes on the south side of Ramsay Road.

A. We have gone through careful deliberation about the placement of the buildings for the new residence and dining complex. Of highest concern, in our decision making, has been the cohesiveness of the campus and access for students, the main users of the building and dining hall complex. There isn’t enough space to put the residence further north (due to grades, services, and cost) and we could not have developed the courtyards that we currently have in the present scheme. The dining pavilion is located centrally to provide access to all students/ staff. Placing it further west would isolate it and really just replicate the issue that we have now with our dining room situated in the basement and not very accessible. We are enlarging the lower lot, and the lot to the east of Brescia Lane has been maximized with regard to flat area available. Also, the building will be well set back from Ramsay Road, reducing the impact of massing of the building.

Access to new driveway/loading area

Q. Given how narrow Ramsay Road is, some residents thought it would be difficult for the city to agree to restricting turns in and out of the new driveway as food and beverage delivery trucks may have problems getting in and out of the driveway, particularly in winter, if turn movements are restricted. This also raised the question about how trucks would get out of the driveway – would they be backing up? This would increase the concern that the bike riders have about sharing the road in that location.

A. Trucks will not be backing out of the driveway. Rather they will back into the loading dock and drive out onto Ramsay in the forward direction. We can handle all turning radii on site, so that a left only onto Ramsay is possible.

Trees

Q. One of the people at the meeting went to count the trees on the south side of Ramsay where there are 15 trees. He asked, as Brescia promised two trees would be planted for every one cut, where will the 30 or so replacement trees be planted?

Who at Brescia is in charge of tagging trees with silver tags. Some of the trees are being questioned. They may or may not all be Brescia trees.

A. The landscape architect identified the trees to be tagged so that we could be sure that we identified significant trees. Trees that are not Brescia trees should not be tagged but it is possible that some might have been inadvertently tagged. We will not, however, be removing any trees that do not belong to us. It is too early to identify exactly where new trees will be planted.