FERGUS – A proposed four-storey hotel in Fergus is heading before the Centre Wellington Committee of Adjustment Thursday afternoon.
The application involves the property at 675 St. David Street North, the current site of the KFC restaurant. The proposal calls for an 83-room Hampton Inn hotel, with amenities including a fitness centre, swimming pool, restaurant, patio and laundry facilities. The plans show 82 parking spaces on the property.
photo (screenshot from report): proposed layout of a Hampton Inn Hotel Fergus
The applicant, 2701404 Ontario Inc., is seeking four minor variances to the Township’s zoning bylaw to allow the project to proceed.
The biggest variance involves the building’s height. The C2 Highway Commercial zoning allows a maximum of three storeys and 11 metres, while the proposed hotel would be four storeys and approximately 15.9 metres tall.
The application also seeks to reduce the required landscaped area from 20 per cent to 19 per cent, allow parking spaces to be located closer to property and street lines, and reduce the required parking supply from 83 spaces to 82.
Township planning staff are recommending no objection. Staff say the proposed hotel is a permitted use under the property’s Highway Commercial designation and that the requested variances are minor and are not expected to create adverse impacts on surrounding properties.
Staff also note the additional height is considered appropriate for the site, which is primarily surrounded by commercial uses. A residential property is located to the south, but planning staff say the hotel would be positioned far enough away that the additional storey is not expected to negatively affect it.
The County of Wellington’s planning staff have also indicated they have no concerns with the proposed minor variances.
However, at least one area resident has raised concerns about the proposal, including the potential for additional traffic, parking on nearby residential streets, delivery trucks, and increased noise from a four-storey hotel.
The resident also suggested increasing the amount of green space through measures such as a green roof or green balconies.
The applications will be presented at tomorrow’s Committee of Adjustment meeting set for 3 p.m. in the Council Chambers at 1 MacDonald Square in Elora.
You can find the full application here.
