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2 Friday, June 4, 2021brooklintowncrier.com "Proud to be a Brooklinite" Founded in 2000 and published 24 times per year. Editor, Richard Bercuson 613-769-8629 • editorofbtc@gmail.com The Brooklin Town Crier is locally owned and operated and is a publication of Appletree Graphic Design Inc. We accept advertising in good faith but do not endorse advertisers nor advertisements. All editorial submissions are subject to editing. For advertising information, contact: 905.706.0482 Email: mulcahy42@rogers.com Next Issue: Friday, June 18, 2021 Deadline: Friday, June 11, 2021 Less than half the picture: By Richard Bercuson Meanwhile, on Camber Court… During COVID-19 dates are subject to change. There are 17 homes and homeowners on Camber Court, a quiet street that faces the Brooklin Concrete (BC) site. Every one of them agreed to form an association to look at the massive development soon to happen literally across from them. Two individuals stepped up as co-chairs and the group hired an urban planner to investigate what they could do to work with Geranium Corporation, the Ontario company that will develop the 11.35 hectare (28 acres) site. As one of the co-chairs, Steve Forman, noted, this will be the first major development in Brooklin that will directly affect homes. Apart from the construction time, expected to be around five years to completion, a myriad of issues face Camber Court residents. However, Forman states the developer has, so far, said all the right things. "We're not against development," he said following a May 18 virtual meeting with Geranium. "We're also not against rezoning provided Geranium addresses our concerns. We've become pretty knowledgeable on zoning. We just want them to work with us." Among the key issues facing the residents are: stacked townhomes on an already elevated chunk of land at the corner of Camber and Columbus, parking, and buffers across the street. The proposed five units of four-storey stacked townhomes would be directly across from Camber's first few homes. After meeting with the company, Geranium countered by eliminating one unit, however the residents want the four storeys reduced to three. "If they will do that, Forman adds, "the rest is manageable." For the buffer zone, Geranium has offered to plant 16-20 ft. evergreens on the east side of Camber along with building fencing. It even asked what kind of fencing residents preferred. This would mean Camber's homes would wind up facing the back doors of a treed, fenced residential community, an improvement over the status quo. The parking issue revolves around the fact that there will be about 900 dwellings of various sizes which could translate to about 2,000 people. Forman notes that they're allotted one space per dwelling with 0.2 extra for visitors. Where will the overflow go? Camber's homeowners fear much of it will end up on their short street. What are Geranium and the town prepared to do about it? Then there's the issue of the proposed 12-storey residential/commercial building on the corner of Baldwin and Columbus. While the building's size and location don't directly affect Camber, the parking very well may. Neither Baldwin nor Columbus can allow parking which means that the building's condo residents, visitors, and commercial clients and staff will need to go somewhere. Of greater importance is that Brooklin will no longer just be a quaint community of low level homes and buildings. A 12-storey edifice may aim to help increase density as per provincial legislation (see Councillor Steve Lee's column). But it doesn't fit. The Camber homeowners can't do anything about it and perhaps nor can anyone else. And sadly, it may just be the start. 905.655.6200 • www.brooklineyecare.ca Sunglasses for biking running golf fishing fashion & more Rx Swim Goggles Contact Lenses Laser Vision Correction Vision Solutions for Everyone and Everything The 412-418 tolls are still there.