34 Minnesota Street Development

The City is in receipt of a planning application to build a 32-unit apartment building which includes a Day Nursery on the ground floor. It is important for the public to understand that the proposed land use and building envelope comply with current zoning HC [4] Highway Commercial, which allows for “dwelling units above commercial uses, not to exceed six (6) storeys or 20 m in height, and business and/or professional offices, and to adjust setback requirements to the front yard (water) 7 m, rear yard (road) 5 m, north side 1.5 m and south side 3 m from the lot lines which will permit condominium units and business and/or commercial offices.” 

The requested variances that are coming before the Planning Advisory Committee include:

1. Reduce a required side yard from 1.5m to 0m for garbage receptacles
2. Reduce a required side yard from 3.0 m to 1.2m for one parking stall and driveway access
3. Reduce the landscaped buffer between parking and neighbouring property from 3.0m to 1.2m
4. Reduce the required parking for Day Nursery from 12 stalls to 2 stalls (proposed mitigation: create 10 parking spaces on Minnesota Street Right-of-way and enter into a lease agreement with the City)
5. Reduce the required parking for Apartments from 48 stalls to 32 stalls (1 per unit) (proposed mitigation: enter into an agreement with the City to enhance the functionality of the public parking in Norman Park adding 22 parking stalls)
6. Reduce the required visitor parking from 6 stalls to 0 stalls (proposed mitigation: utilize Day Nursery parking on Minnesota Street for after-hours visitor parking)
7. Reduce the length of 10 on-site parking stalls from 6m to 3.79m (proposed mitigation: utilize City road right-of-way for remaining 2.21m stall depth.  A lease or encroachment permit would be required.)
8. Increase maximum dock projection from 20m to 30.4m to accommodate multiple docking slips.
9. Increase the maximum size for a private dock from 80m² to 113 m² to accommodate multiple docking slips.

To be clear, there is no intention or expectation to have exclusive use of the Norman Park parking lot for this development, nor would this development impact the park in any way. 

Any enhancements to the parking lot would be for public parking to ease the parking issues in the community currently generated by park users in the summer months. 

Next steps:  

You may attend the Virtual Public Meeting

All Planning Advisory Committee meetings are being held virtually. There are several ways in which the general public can provide input on the proposed application for consent, as follows:

• Submit comments in writing:
  Persons wishing to provide comments may submit such comments in writing, by email, to planning@kenora.ca or by regular mail to the address below, and quote File Number: D13-24-06. Comments must be submitted by 4:30 p.m. on Friday, August 16th, 2024.
• Register to Speak at the Planning Advisory Committee (PAC) Virtual Meeting:
  If you wish to speak at the PAC Virtual Public Meeting, you are asked to register in advance by Friday, August 16th, 2024, via email, to planning@kenora.ca and quote File Number: D13-24-06. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar by following the link provided through email. Please note that neither a computer, nor a video sharing device, is required to participate in the meeting via Zoom. You may also opt to call in from a cell or landline. A toll-free number will be provided for this purpose. To register by phone please call: 807-467-2152.