Height of planned highrise tower cut in half in Brampton due to airport zoning rules

The height of a proposed 45-storey highrise in Brampton has been cut in half due to air traffic from Pearson International Airport in Mississauga.

Previous applications were for three towers between 10 and 45 storeys tall at 507 Balmoral Dr. in Brampton, the current site of a building where tenants say they’ve been struggling for years with deteriorating conditions and the possible evictions due to demolition of the building to make way for the new development.

But a revised plan filed with the city shows the height of the tallest tower has been cut by moire than half down to 19 storey due to the buildings breaking airport regulations.

“Following review from the Greater Toronto Airports Authority (GTAA) and NAVCanada, it was found that the buildings would breach airport zoning regulations, imposed to ensure aviation safety and protection to the public and maintain operational integrity of the airport,” the document reads.

The updated application from Gagnon Walker Domes Ltd. on behalf of a company called Balmoral Inc. is for three buildings between 15 and 19 storeys tall, with 932 residential units, ground-floor commercial space and three levels of underground parking with nearly 800 stalls.

Plans include 13 bachelor suites, 453 one-bedroom units, 367 two-bedroom units and 99 three-bedroom units.

The property at 507 Balmoral is around 1.36 hectares with a four storey apartment building with about 55 units, and some residents who are seniors or have medical or mobility issues.

Rental advocacy groups and tenants have held multiple rallies to protest the potential demolition and call for better protections for renters from “demovictions.”

A public meeting held in June also found area residents were concerned with how the development could impact neighbourhood parking, school over crowding, and a “quality-of-life decline tied to congestion, noise, and higher density.”

RELATED: Possible demolition of Brampton apartment has tenants worried about homelessness

At a planning and development meeting on Monday, area City Councillors Pat Fortini and Rod Power raised concerns over the current residents’ evictions if the building does get torn down.

A representative of Gagnon Walker Domes told the committee that there is “no definitive timeline to demolish the existing building,” and that developers will follow all provincial rules for a “displacement program” for tenants.

Ontario requires landlords demolishing buildings with five or more residential units to give tenants an amount equal to three months’ rent, or offer another rental unit that is acceptable to the tenant.

A land use application and report were approved by the committee and will go to council for final approval to Brampton City Council later this month. Power, Fortini and Coun. Martin Medeiros voted against the application.

A report from affordable housing advocates ACORN last year found that, between 2017 and August 2023, there were 112 N13 or ‘renoviction’ notices issued in Brampton, and 68 were issued in Mississauga. The most notices were issued in Toronto (950), Hamilton (337), and Ottawa (184).