This Halton School Could be Expanding
Published March 21, 2019 at 2:54 pm
Back in December of 2018, the Town of Oakville received an application from the owners of MacLachlan College – a private school in the town – regarding an expansion project.
Back in December of 2018, the Town of Oakville received an application from the owners of MacLachlan College – a private school in the town – regarding an expansion project.
According to a recent report from the Town of Oakville, the owners submitted a Zoning By-Law Amendment application. If approved, this would authorize the expansion of current boundaries of the school (which is located at 337 Trafalgar Rd.).
It was noted that the school has acquired additional lands that are adjacent to the existing location of the school. If the application gets approved, these lands, according to the report, would be rezoned as part of the expansion project and would be used for school purposes.
The exact subject lands of this proposed project, which are two acres in size, are located at 331, 337, 339, 349 Trafalgar Road and 272 Macdonald Road.
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The goals of this expansion project are as follows.
• Construct a 332.6 square-metre addition to the current building
• Use the current heritage building located at 349 Trafalgar Rd., for school offices and
high school elective classrooms (the existing carriage house would be
preserved by re-configuring its location on the property)
• Use the existing heritage building (331 Trafalgar Rd.) as a private staff
residence with the rear yard to be incorporated into a school playground
• Demolish the dwelling at 272 Macdonald Rd., and use the lands as a
vehicular exit from the site
• Remove one of two vehicular access points from Trafalgar Road;
• Reconfigure the parking/queuing area and introduce additional parking;
• Modify the existing landscaping on the site which would include removal of the pillars and fencing along Trafalgar Road.
According to the report, the subject lands are designated under the Ontario Heritage Act; however, the proposed addition to MacLachlan College does not negatively affect the heritage value of the area.
“In the opinion of the author of the Heritage Impact Assessment report, the proposed addition to MacLachlan College complies with the goals of the Town of Oakville’s Livable Oakville Official Plan and the plan and guidelines for the Trafalgar Road Heritage Conservation District,” reads the Heritage Impact Assessment.
“It also complies with national and international charters on conservation. It demonstrates accepted urban design principles and does not negatively impact the heritage value of the Kerosene Castle, now MacLachlan College or the Trafalgar and Macdonald Road streetscapes that are part of the Conservation District.”
However, there still have been some concerns raised surrounding this application.
Feedback from residents, from previous public information meetings, revealed that residents are concerned about impacts on traffic volumes and operations on Trafalgar Road, Heritage preservation, impacts on adjacent properties, the proposed floor area, student enrollments, and site landscaping and design.
In addition, earlier this year (Jan. 15 and Feb. 7), planning staff met with a number of residents, where issues such as massing impacts, traffic, and intensification is a stable residential area among other matters were discussed.
No decision has been made regarding this application yet. However, council has until May 18, 2019, to decide whether it will be approved or refused.
Would you like to see this application approved?
Cover photo is courtesy of MacLachlan College’s Facebook page.
Graphics are courtesy of the Town of Oakville report.
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