WHITBY FREE PRESS, WEDNESDAY, JULY 10, 1985, PAGE 17 Port now closer to regaining old glory By JAN DODGE Free Press Staff Old Port Whitby may be one step closer to regaining its former glory after Whitby Town Council's ad- ministrative committee meeting last Tuesday night. Four draft by-laws implementing the Port Whitby Secondary Plan were approved by the committee and will now be recommended to council for approval. After the meeting Centre Ward Coun. Marcel Brunelle sum- marized the history of the port. "Port Whitby used to be the hub of the town. Then for many years it remained stagnant. There was neither growth nor development because there were no sewer facilities. "Then the region of Durham came along with $3.6 million for sewer pipe. When that happened there was op- portunity for expansion and redevelopment," he continued. "Basically there are three areas to consider in this makeover. "First is the periphery. In this area there is still room for new development. This area has not been built up yet, so it is necessary to put policies in place for appropriate development," Brunelle added. "Second is the present area where houses exist, Here we need zoning that would act as enticements that would permit people to build...It is a mishmash at present. There is high and low-rise residential and all kinds of in- dustrial. We are trying to rezone to turn Port Whitby into a com- munity. "Third is the in- dustrial area. Right now, there is everything from heavy steel tooling to electrical shops. "We want zoning in place to restrict this area to harbour-orien- ted industry," Brunelle said. In a report to the ad- ministrative commit- tee, the planning staff reviewed comments made regarding the draft by-laws as a result of a public meeting, and letters received. They also provided an over- view of the rationale for different types of housing suggested in the R4C zone category and indicated significant changes made to the draft by-laws as a result. Finally, they submit- ted four draft by-laws which they recommen- ded council approve. The report states, "The divergent opinions expressed ... are similar to those expressed during the Port Whitby Secondary Plan study process. "The density provisions of the plan for the existing residen- tial community en- courage a low-rise, ground-oriented form of development ... The overall density permit- ted is only slightly less than that which would result from the three- storey apartments per- mitted under the existing R4 zoning. It is the intention of the plan that the existing residential community re-develop as a more dense, urban area than a typical subdivision but with the exclusion of new apartment buildings." In areas on the fringe of the existing residen- tial community, however, "high density development can take advantage of the views and amenity of the har- bour and create a minimum of disruption of the existing com- munity." A letter from Russ Wilde requested that lands owned by L.E.R. Construction (property hetween Victoria St. and Watson St. on either side of the unopened Huron St.) be zoned R5. The zoning is presen- tly D(NR) for that area. This means it's a holding zone which permits - only agricultural uses. It also means, the report states, "the land will not be zoned for develop- ment until a proposai has been approved and the necessary sub- division or site plan agreements entered in- to." With the acceptance of the zoning by-laws, all of the Harbour Development Areas designated in the plan would also be in a holding zone. The planning staff .recommended that the property south of Wat- son St. and east of Bond St., presently zoned R4 be placed in a holding zone subject to any restrictions that the Central 'Jake Ontario Conservation Authority might place on its development. It is currently zoned R4, but in the Port Whitby Secondary Plan it is designated as high den- sity residential and hazard land, due to the floodplain of Pringle Creek. The owners of the site, Gem-Can Land Development, want to build a senior citizen's home on the property. It is so located, they say, as to stay clear of the floodplain. For areas to be zoned R4C, there were three principles which the planning staff con- sidered. The maximum den- sity should be 50 persons per acre as permitted by the Port Whitby Secondary Plan; there should be only ground- oriented building for- ms; and the dwelling types should be accom- modated on the existing lots in Port Whitby. The report noted that the majority of existing lots were unusually deep (up to 210 feet) thus common owner- ship, such as con- dominium, cooperative or rental would nor- mally be necessary. The Port Whitby Plan in- dicates that court-yard Innmwne and mid-blnck yoadways might be a possibility to permit freehold ownership. Types of housing proposed in the report for the R4C zone are single family detached, duplex, semi-detached, triplex, semi-detached linked below grade, street townhouses and links, semi-detached duplexes, block townhouses, and maisonettes or "back- to-back" townhouses. (The difference between CONT'D ON PG. 28 Typewriter RENTALS also SALES & SERVICE