Huntsville’s planning committee has approved the site plan for a three-storey, mixed-use building to be located at 167 Howland Drive, formerly 404 Centre Street North.
The lot was created through planning approvals in March of 2018. The zoning was also changed to “add an additional exception to allow a minimum southerly side yard setback of 1.5m and permit a lot with no frontage on a public road,” according to a report submitted to committee by Richard Clark, manager of planning for the Town.
The lot contains an approximate area of 0.62 hectares with access to Centre Street North via a private road, a road shared by an adjacent hotel and restaurant development, explained Clark.
Huntsville Properties Inc. had an application before committee on Aug. 20, 2020, seeking further planning approvals in order to proceed with the construction of the building. The building would contain five ground-floor commercial units—one of which would be a drive-through restaurant, as well as 15 loft-style tourist accommodation or hotel units, on the second and third floor of the building.
To ensure that the roads providing access to the development have sufficient capacity to accommodate traffic from the development, Clark said a traffic impact study was requested and its findings were peer-reviewed. He said the study concluded that intersection improvements would be required. Those improvements include enhancing existing signaling and an additional lane on Howland Drive for westbound traffic.
Clark also noted that the loft-style units are proposed to be leased to allow the sharing of services with the recently approved adjacent hotel.
Staff recommended that the site plan be approved subject to the noted conditions.
Planning committee concurred.
Don’t miss out on Doppler!
Sign up here to receive our email digest with links to our most recent stories.
Local news in your inbox three times per week!
Click here to support local news
Another drive-through?
Doesn’t the town of Huntsville have a no idling by-law in place?
I understand that the pandemic has created a situation where the drive through concept is preferred but honestly, this sounds like sitting in your car with the engine running is being encouraged by our town…
I have witnessed countless instances in Huntsville where people were sitting in their car in a parking lot in the summer or in the winter, with their car idling, totally oblivious to the bylaw and certainly to their impact on pollution and the climate.
Can we be consistent with our approach and not encourage this drive-through attitude?
Times are changing!
Wow.. all this concern over no housing available in our area….every new commercial building should be required to accommodate at least one or two month to month housing units ..
Solve your own housing problems ..don’t penalize short term rentals…