Zoning change for assisted care wing approved

The Maxwell Residence in Baie d’Urfé is one step closer to adding an assisted living wing to the 60-unit autonomous seniors home, following council’s adoption of a zoning change during last Tuesday’s monthly town meeting.

The amendment would allow for a 35-unit expansion to the current building located on Surrey Drive. According to the Maxwell Residence’s director general, Farzad Shodjai, the expansion will include 15 autonomous living units, while the additional units will be reserved for an assisted living wing. The extension will not involve changing the building’s height, setback, or number of stories, Shodjai added.

“We are complying with the existing bylaw,” he said.

The Maxwell Residence expansion has been in the works for the past three years. In 2006, a public consultation on the project saw numerous citizens come out to voice their concerns and opinions, both in favour and against the expansion. Baie d’Urfé council voted against Shodjai’s proposed extension plans, causing him to go back to the drawing board.

“We got a lot of input from people – existing residents – and we changed the plan,” he said. Recently, however, council received a 211-signature petition against the new proposal. It cited a number of concerns, including building size, where the expansion will go, whether the additional units will have an effect on the town’s drainage and sewage systems, and whether the residence’s expansion will devalue their properties.

In May, Shodjai, a long-time Baie d’Urfé resident himself, wrote a letter to people who had signed the petition explaining the project and refuting a number of claims. Among others, he surveyed and compared property sales in the town to those directly around the residence in the past two and a half years, demonstrating its presence has had no effect on property values.

“There was a lot of misinformation out there,” Shodjai said. “I think they misunderstood the project.”

Shodjai’s letter encouraged at least three households to write letters to council, requesting their names be removed from the petition. A number of other residents wrote letters in favour of the project.

“I just feel that it is very, very necessary for that type of home, that the next step be provided as well,” said Sandra Doig, adding it can be very stressful for seniors to have to move to another residence once they can’t care for themselves anymore.

Grace Berard also echoed that sentiment: “It’s finally come to pass that we have a residence (in Baie d’Urfé) and we feel strongly that the people who are there at the present time should be kept there if they become ill, so they can be looked after,” she said.

Susan Hawker, a resident who supported getting the seniors’ home in the town when it initially opened four years ago, also pointed out the Maxwell Residence is involved in the community: students from local schools, such as Dorset Elementary and the Alexander von Humboldt German International School, frequently visit the residence. The residence also gives Baie d’Urfé residents priority for occupancy, and opens its doors to the community to offer free activities, and for local events.

“The residence is even currently serving other residents in the community,” Hawker said. “It’s filling an absolute need we do and will continue to have.”

According to Baie d’Urfé town clerk Nathalie Hadida, a pubic notice will be put out next week informing residents they can sign a register opposing the zoning change for the Maxwell Residence expansion. If enough people sign it, a referendum may be called.

However, Shodjai said if everything goes according to plan, construction on the expansion should start in March 2009.