29| O akville B eaver | T hursday,A ugust 9,2018 insidehalton.com 3164Ninth Line (403&DundasSt.),Miss./Oakville,ON ArborMemorial Inc. Take the first step: Ask us about your FREEPlanningKit! 905-257-1100 glenoaks.ca You are unique. Your life is unlike any other. By pre-planning your final arrangements now, you can choose the options that reflect howyouwant to be remembered. What'smore, you can save thousands of dollars and protect family fromuncertainty about yourwishes. Youget just one funeral. Make it the one youwant. FamilyOwned. ProudlyCanadian. GlenOaksFuneral Home&Cemetery byArborMemorial Look for us onFacebook FREEPlanning Kit! The Town of Oakville is considering an application to construct an Avid Hotel at 170 North Service Rd. W. The development appli- cation from Empress Capi- tal Group came before the town's planning and devel- opment council on Mon- day, July 9. The developer is asking for zoning changes to per- mit the building of a seven- storey hotel on the 0.68- hectare property, which is on the south side of North Service Road West, west of the Kerr Street QEW off- ramp. The proposed hotel would have a gross floor ar- ea of 5,146 square metres, 114 hotel rooms, amenities for guests including a lob- by, fitness centre, break- fast area, outdoor patio, in- door pool, meeting facili- ties and "back of house" fa- cilities (employee areas, mechanical facilities and corridors). A representative for the applicant noted the hotel would create approximate- ly 25 full-time jobs and bring more customers to the restaurants and retail businesses of Dorval Crossing. No members of the pub- lic spoke about the pro- posed hotel, but some councillors voiced con- cerns about the plan the de- veloper is proposing. Ward 4 Town and Re- gional Coun. Allan Elgar took issue with the devel- oper's request for the re- duction of the minimum landscape buffer from three metres to 1.10 metres on the interior side yard. With such a small buff- er, Elgar voiced, concern about where the property owner would put snow it removed from the parking lot during the winter. The representative for the applicant noted that there are dedicated snow storage spaces on the prop- erty. Elgar also took issue with the amount of parking planned for the site. The developer's plan calls for a reduction in the required parking, from 134 spaces to just 95 spaces. Elgar said the lack of parking might result in ho- tel customers parking at nearby commercial park- ing lots - something those business owners might not appreciate. "We're having a lot of trouble right now with parking in Oakville because people assume they can park in a commer- cial area next door," said Elgar referring to a recent increase in the towing of vehicles from commercial plazas. "It's not working so well." The representative for the applicant said a traffic study had been done and found the proposed park- ing would be adequate. He said these days guests travelling on busi- ness often travel together in one vehicle or take Uber or a cab or transit. As a re- sult, he said, fewer parking spaces are needed. Ward 3 Town and Re- gional Coun. Dave Gittings pressed the representative on the parking, question- ing where the 25 full-time employees would park. The representative said the employees were taken into consideration in the traffic study. He said some would drive and require parking, while others would be driv- en there by someone else, some would take transit, and some would live in the area. The planning and devel- opment council will hear this matter again on Sept. 10, when town staff are ex- pected to make a recom- mendation about whether the development should be allowed to proceed. COUNCILLORS HAVE CONCERNS ABOUT PROPOSED OAKVILLE HOTEL DAVID LEA dlea@metroland.com NEWS