A tied vote among council members has now left a proposed apartment building in Chatham pending a final decision before the Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT).
Council rejected the motion to accept a settlement from the developers of a planned 87-unit building on Indian Creek Road West.
The developer’s amendments included reducing the number of stories from nine to eight and transferring a portion of the property to the municipality at no cost for future road network extensions.
“It’s the height of the building, that was a big concern for a lot of the residents at the initial meeting,” said councilor Michael Bondy.
“Through negotiation, he’s taken one floor off, and I don’t think that is good enough.”
Councillors Bondy, Conor Allin, Anthony Ceccacci, Ryan Doyle, Amy Finn, John Wright, Rhonda Jubenville, and Alysson Storey rejected the settlement.
“On a night when we are discussing homelessness as a major issue in our community. One of the things that has led to this as an Ontario issue is a lack of housing,” said councillor Brock McGregor.
“It’s through decisions at council tables like this and planning that drive up the cost of building homes that has reduced that supply and slowly built this issue in our communities over time.”
Councillors Aaron Hall and Melissa Harrigan were not in attendance at Monday night’s meeting.
The original proposal by the developer will now be presented for a decision by the OLT in December.
