Approved zoning on Baseline Road promises big housing boost

Published on
February 7, 2024
Council, committees and City Hall
Planning, development and construction
Water and environment

City Council approved a zoning amendment today to facilitate phase two of a multi-tower development southwest of Baseline Road and Fisher Avenue.

Phase two includes a 24-storey tower and a 32-storey tower facing Baseline Road, across the street from the Central Experimental Farm (CEF). The zoning approved today allows for flexibility in design changes to minimize shadowing on the CEF while maintaining the proposed density.

Phase one zoning, approved in December, included another 24-storey tower along Fisher Avenue. The overall development promises to deliver nearly 1,100 dwellings in the three towers, along with new commercial space.

Council also approved an amendment to the Master Drainage Plan (MDP) for the Western Development Lands of the Village of Richmond. The MDP details a stormwater management facility, known as Pond 2, that needs to be built before significant development of the area can proceed. The owner of the lands where Pond 2 will be located, however, is not yet ready to begin building that infrastructure. That delay is preventing development on lands nearby from proceeding, and today’s approval will allow the owner of those lands to proceed with an interim stormwater management solution. This will allow the development to proceed in a timely manner and will require the applicant to provide, at their expense, construction, monitoring and maintenance of any interim works.