Despite opposition from neighbouring residents, city council approved a set of official plan and zoning amendments for a Princess Street development Tuesday night.

Councillors voted 7-5 in favour of granting the amendments to permit developer Jay Patry to proceed with plans to build a 230-unit apartment building of three to five storeys on a 1.8-hectare property just west of the intersection of Princess Street and Sydenham Road.

The proposal has upset residents of the neighbourhood behind the building site, who are concerned about the size of the building, its distance from exiting residences, increased traffic, noise and shadows.

In a letter to city council, Richard A. Ryde, director of the Walnut Grove Estates Community Association, called for the city to enforce the existing planning rules.

“Retaining the R5 zoning maximum allowable number of residential units of 215 would reduce the mass of the building, reduce the parking requirements, allow more setback and green space while reducing the impact on traffic and creating more design options to mitigate other development concerns,” Ryde wrote.

“The public does not agree with the size of this building, the clear cutting of the urban forest on the site, and the domineering presence the proposed building imposes on its residential neighbours,” added June Blackburn, chair of Residents Against Incompatible Development (RAID).

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