Kingsville approves by-law amendment

KINGSVILLE — Amendments to the Kingsville Official Plan and a Zoning By-Law have received approval by the Town of Kingsville, allowing a proposed office building to move forward.

At issue are two adjacent properties at 45 and 49 Division Street North.

The home at 45 Division North has been the site of Peralta Engineering for over 25 years, while the home at 49 Division North has been a rental home, also owned by Peralta Engineering.

The owners plan to remove both of the structures and build a state-of-the-art two storey office building on the combined properties.

The amendments are required to allow the project to move forward, with one of the lots being zoned Commercial and the other Residential. In addition, the owners of the property were asking for a change to the Official Plan which would reduce the setback on the north side of the property to 15 feet from 20 feet.

Several letters were presented on both sides of the issues, with some neighbours objecting based on the look of the modern building not conforming with the Victorian homes in the area.

There were also many letters supporting the change, sent in by community members and other neighbouring residents.

After discussion, Deputy Mayor Gord Queen urged council to think carefully before they allowed this to happen, and asked for a recorded vote.

In the end, the motion was passed by a 6-1 count, with Queen being the only member to vote against.