How high is too high for a building in Glendale? Depends on who you ask.
The town will be considering four tall buildings proposed by Whiteoaks Resort that neighbours say will tower over their homes and block their views, but Transport Canada has a say on how tall they can be, residents were told at a village meeting Thursday evening.
Glendale resident Steve Hardaker opened the question and answer period to ask about building height at the second of Lord Mayor Gary Zalepa’s village meetings, organized to give him the opportunity to speak directly to community members. The gathering was held at the Glendale fire station, with about 20 residents from that area coming out for his 45-minute presentation and the following question and answer period, despite the snow storm that blanketed Niagara.
One of the topics of concern for Hardaker and some his neighbours is the Whiteoaks towers, but before he had a chance to ask his questions, Zalepa addressed the new Glendale Secondary Plan during his opening rundown of some of the highlights of 2024. The plan has recently been approved by the committee of the whole, but still needs to be ratified by council.
The original secondary plan to guide future development in Glendale goes back to 2010, he said, with the updated plan creating a guide for the community to be developed moving forward “in a reasonable way.”
He told Hardaker and other residents that there are several stages to go through before the height of the Whiteoaks towers will be decided. “That level of detail will come at a later time,” he said.
Another resident also spoke of her concern of the proposed heights of the four Whiteoaks buildings. She moved to Glendale because she doesn’t want to live in Toronto, she said. “I don’t want to look out our windows and see these huge towers.”
The height of the Whiteoaks development needs approval by Transport Canada, which has height restrictions that would not allow what the developer is proposing, and staff will be involved in the final determination of the height allowed, with many more discussions to come throughout the process, Zalepa said.
The height that will be be permitted in that development, Hardaker said, will determine what other developments in Glendale are allowed. “It will be precedent-setting for the area.”
There will be specific sites where height will be considered “very carefully before any decisions will be made," Zalepa responded.
The highlights Zalepa spoke about in his presentation included events and capital projects of 2024, and what the town has on its agenda for this year.
He explained briefly to residents what a municipality does and how it is financed, and spoke of an opportunity he had with Grade 5 and 6 students, giving them a quick lesson in “municipal government 101,” along with an opportunity to hold their own elections and have a mock council meeting.
They were divided into two groups, each given "an opportunity to bring an issue forward forward to talk about.They both chose to debate whether they would bring an outdoor pool to town.” One group decided they would, the other made the decision not to. Impressed with the way they all handled their debate, Zalepa said, “we’ve got a really good future ahead of us."
He also included a brief update on the 2025 budget, explaining the differences between an operating budget and a capital budget. Discussion on the budget began last fall, with the capital budget that manages town assets now “tentatively approved,” and the operating budget, managing day-to day-expenses, almost there. The town is finalizing the budget,” he said, coming in at $38 million, about half of that funded by user fees, including application fees and parking revenues, and the rest from taxpayers.
“Say the average assessment is $600,000 (which has nothing to do with market value, he clarified), “the tax bill, in round numbers, might be $5,000 or maybe closer to $6,000, for all municipal taxes.” That includes regional taxes, which pay for items such as transit and policing, he said.
“The town’s portion of the levy is about $1.500. That puts a perspective on where we are — the municipality pays for what we do really well,” Zalepa said.
The next budget review meeting will be Thursday, Jan. 23, “and after a lot of hard work, I hope we can get the budget across the finish line very soon.”
Recreational programming has been increased, and will continue to, he said, “at the pools, the community centre and with library programming.” Annual revenue from those programs is now $70,000, "and we’re exploring delivering more programs in the villages as well.”
Zalepa also took some time to discuss the work that is being done toward heritage designation — he and other councillors spoke of the importance of preserving heritage during their election campaigns.
Provincial legislation has changed regarding heritage designation, he said, and NOTL has a large number of heritage properties listed for a municipality of its size – 200 when the town started its heritage designation program in 2023, of which 12 have since been designated, and has 429 properties on the municipal heritage register, which includes those that are designated individually and in the heritage district.
Zalepa included a brief update on the Official Plan, the detailed document that “gets the town where we want it to go,” noting it’s a priority to have it completed this term. He encouraged residents to get involved, explaining that there are still public engagement sessions, including open houses, to give the public a time to comment before a report goes to council, “hopefully with decisions on it by this fall. It will assist our community in reducing the gaps between when the applications coming forward for a development and our residents’ expectations for that plan.”
In the question and answer period, he was also asked about the development of the strip along the Outlet Collection that borders Glendale Ave., facing the Niagara-on-the-Green subdivision.
There is a draft plan online for input, he said. The plan is intended to provide amenities for residents, with a “mixed use strip” that would have commercial businesses at street level and residences above. There is a transit plan as well, and space for a community centre, as well as potentially for a grocery store — residents have made it known that is a priority for them. It also provides for “more local community retail uses,” he said.
Parking issues were also questioned, especially as more homes are built, pointing out “the importance of a long-term plan” for future development, Zalepa said.
And as the area grows with more housing, schools are a concern — residents brought up the need for another elementary school, as Crossroads and St. Davids are reaching capacity, and also asked about the possibility of a high school.
Zalepa explained there is property designated for a school in Glendale, but it's up to the school boards to decide if they want to buy the property and build on it.
The school boards have taken the position that they will bus kids "all over the place," and that the municipality has no say in that decision, he said.
When one resident brought up the possibility of a discussion of school boards working together, and having a school, community centre and library partnering to share a facility, Zalepa said school boards "are not the easiest organizations to deal with." The response was that it is the town's responsibility to try to open that conversation, with a suggestion "to bring visionaries together," and have the town "be the leader."
"If I was the premier," Zalepa said, "municipalities would dictate where education services are in town."
