Burlington residents concerned about proposed 11-storey development near Downsview Plaza

Burlington residents are concerned about the latest development proposal for Aldershot’s Plains Rd. corridor.

People who live near the Downsview Plaza voiced their worries at a virtual pre-application public meeting last night. If the new development is approved, they believe privacy, traffic and shadowing issues would arise as a result of its height.

On average, buildings are four to six storeys on Plains Rd. East. However, the proposed development is expected to be nine to 11 floors.

Coletara Developments would like to get rid of the current one-storey plaza buildings and replace them with two separate mid-rise buildings on each side of Downsview Dr.

The new development would include two mid-rise residential buildings with tower heights of 11 and nine storeys to the east and eight storeys to the west, with stacked townhomes along the back of both sites.

The east portion of the site will include 343 apartment units and 40 townhouse units. The west portion of the site will have 141 apartment units and 56 townhouse units.

Overall, there would be 484 apartment units, 96 townhouse units and 12 commercial spaces.

Still on the topic of infrastructure, Burlington Mayor Marianne Meed Ward said there will be a committee meeting Thursday night to discuss tree protection in the Halton region.

Their goal is to have 35 per cent tree coverage. Meed Ward said the region has less than half of that figure due to significant tree loss as a result of tree diseases such as emerald ash borer.

“We are very committed to making sure that we have enough trees,” Meed Ward said in an interview on Morning Live on Wednesday. “Tree canopy is like natural infrastructure. It’s cooling, it keeps the rain off of our stormwater system, it absorbs water.”