Plans are moving ahead on a proposed new apartment building in the area of Tweed.
On Tuesday, a committee of Hastings County council approved an amendment to the Official Plan to allow plans for the 24-unit apartment building in Actinolite.
The applicant proposes to develop the lands with a two-and-a-half storey, 24-unit one-bedroom apartment building.
The apartment building will be serviced by an individual private well and a private on-site sanitary sewage disposal system.
The subject property is located on the north side of Bridgewater Road, approximately 250 metres east of the intersection of Bridgewater Road and Highway 37.
Immediately north of the subject lands is a local wetland feature. The lands to the east and south are predominately rural areas that include a single detached dwelling development. Immediately west are vacant lands owned by the Municipality of Tweed. Beyond these municipal lands, further west is the built-up hamlet of Actinolite which includes residential dwellings, a municipal community hall (Actinolite Community Hall) and the Marble Arts Centre.
The applicant has indicated the apartment building development will be an affordable housing project partnered with the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). To qualify for affordable housing funding from the CMHC, 33% of the total units within the apartment building must offer rent at 80% of the median market rent as determined by CMHC and this reduced rent rate must be provided for no less than 20 years.
The permitted uses in the hamlet designation are listed as low density residential uses, defined as single detached dwellings and semi-detached dwellings. Triplexes, fourplexes and fiveplexes may be considered subject to a satisfactory hydrogeological study in support of these type of residential uses. An Official Plan Amendment is necessary as development of an apartment building at 53 Bridgewater Road in Actinolite does not conform with the current policies in the hamlet designation.
The issue will now go to a meeting of Hastings County Council.
You can see the full report HERE.
