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WHITBY FREE PRESS, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 30, 1988, PAGE 7 PAGE SEVEN A BETTER BROCK STREET An important chapter in the planning history of Whitby is drawing to a close after almost two years of debate. Next Monday with any luck, the Administrative committee will appr'ethe final stage in the Brock Street S. Corridor Land Use Study. It will be a victory for appearance over expedience. Firstimpressions are always the most lasting and the first impression visitors get of Whitby is the stretch of Brock between Highway 401 and the downtown. At the moment, that impres- sion is, at best, spotty. Right next to the 401 on the west side of Brock are four large well-kept houses on spacious lots. There are lots of trees and grassand the impression is solid and prosperous. Half-way up Brock St., the stretch around Centennial Park reinforces that impression, but in between there is a mixture of so-so residential and a severely blighted commercial area. There are people in Whitby who think the entire Brock Street stretch from the 401.north should be commercial - "It's inevitable!' they say. Yet this already existing one-block commercial stretch is obviously not a viable commercial unit. The only reason it survives is that rents and overheads are lower than downtown. These people maintain that no-one is going to want to live on Brock Street. When the new GO station opens, apartments at the south end of Brock St. will be the hottest properties in Whitby. Where else can you live within walking distance of downtown Toronto at less than a thousand a month? If Whitby people can't grasp the significance of the GO train, there are lots of investors and speculators from Toronto who can. In fact, there will be se much pressure on the area that there should be special provisions to ensure that the low-density character of the area is preserved. Additions to existing buildings should be allowed only in their rear yards and in such a way'that the front lawns remain just that, fnot parking lots. And most of the commercial stretch should be zoned to permit çpnyersiofn back to quality medium-density.residential. Farther north on the southern fringe of the downtown, the block between Ontario and St. John St. was the'reason this study was originally undertaken. The area was originally included in the downtown secondary plan but was the subject of a great deal of controversy. One of the properties (zoned residential) had been bought with the express purpose of conversion to commercial use. "Why not, it's only one more property?" The proposal was for yet another small plaza - something Whitby needs like it needs more gas stations and donut shops. The proposal was met with opposition from the Downtown BIA (there is still plenty of empty real estate within Sthe downtown boundaries, se there is no need to extend them), local residents (there would be increased traffic and parking and noise problems on the neighbouring residential streets), heritage groups (one of the houses in particular is an exquisite early Victorian building with most of its original trim intact), and the planning department which felt the property should remain residential, albeit, medium density (small apartment building.) The only thing that kept the rezoning application alive was strong lobbying from planning consultant Kevin Tunney and Councillor Bugelli who will support almost any commercial rezoning regardless of its merits. When the downtown secondary plan seemed destined to close the door forever on the zoning application, its supporters succeeded in getting this one block stretch separated from the downtown plan as part of a new study of the Brock St. corridor. At the time, they regarded this as a victory but in retrospect, the delay has allowed more thought to go into this sensitive area. As a result a new commercial conversion zoning has been proposed which should ensure that the residential character of the area is preserved while allowing commercial use. For tbe first time, the planning department has recognized the concept of transitional zoning, i.e. that residential areas on the fringes of commercial areas may be converted to commercial use under very narrowly defined limits which will have minimal impact on their neighbours. The properties will remain zoned residential and the conditions under which rezoning to iommeial might be allowed will be carefully defined, specifically, no more tban 25% additional floorspace, preservation of the existing character of single-family dwellings, "low traffic and parking generation, day-time • rather than night-time use, minimum signage and exterior lighting and no negative impacts on adjacent residential properties in terms of noise and odours." The concept of transitional zoning would .have been very useful when numerous residential streets surroundmng the downtown were zoned for commercial use back in tbe sixties. This encouraged several sidestreet conversions at the expence of the main street itself. The downtown is still recovering. The purpose of planning is to protect existing land uses, and where necessary and desirable, ensure their orderly transition to new uses. This proposal for tbe block between Ontario and St. John will be the first time Whitby bas resisted tbe spot rezoning mnentality in favour of a carefully orchestrated plan. FIRST WIITBY YACHT CLUB HOUSE, 1935 Whitby's first Yacht Club was located on the present McNamara Marine property from 1934 until its officers left for overseas during the Second World War. The club house, built in 1934, was demolished in 1951 after years of neglect during and after. the war. Behind the club house is Norman Irwin's airplane hanger. The commodore of the first yacht club was Col. John H. Perry, manager of the Dominion Bank in Whitby. Whitby Archives photo 10 YEARS AGO from the Wednesday, March 29, 1978 edition of the WHITBY FREE PRESS • The Region. of Durham debates a proposed $5.6 million expansion of its headquarters on Rossland Road today. • Vandalism is becoming a serious public issue. Recently vandals broke into the Whitby Public Library and did $1,000 danage. • The Whitby Theatre Company will present Neil Simon's play "God's Favorite" at the Centennial Building, April 13 to 15. • Free Press correspondent Dean J. Kelly may run against Norm Cafik MP in the next federal election. 25 YEARS AGO from the Thursday, March 29, 1963 edition of the WHITBY WEEKLY NEWS • Whitby Red Cross printed an appeal for donations at local banks, in the Weekly News, because an outbreak of "flu" has prevented its annual canvas for funds. • Well known businessman Corb Stiner died on March 23 at the age of 68. • Whitby Benevolent Rebekah Lodge is planning is 50th anniversary celebrations. • Uniforms for girls will be introduced at King Street School. 100 TEARS AGO from the Friday, March 30, 1888 edition of the WHITBY CHRONICLE * Chief Constable Hugh McBrien has taken a young man to the lockup for participating in a "swearing contest" on Brock.Street. • St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church has held a Red, White and Blue Social, featuring Union Jacks and the Stars and Stripes in its decorations. • A battle of letters is occurring in the columns of the Chronicle over the character of Rev. A.J. FidIer, rector of All Saints' Anglican Church. * $40,000 was offered for a fine Whitby residence at an auction last week, but the bid was refused by the owner.