Windmills out, sod roofs in

By Robert Frank, September 19th, 2012

While prospective provisions to protect passersby ability to view Lake St. Louis drew most of the political flak at Beaconsfield’s public information meeting, Sept. 17, the city has mooted a host of other new zoning restrictions.
Among them, on the environmental front, Beaconsfield plans to ban wind generators, but permit so-called eco-roofs. These can be planted with vegetation or made of white material, or a combination of both. Flat roofs, however, will be banned under the new bylaw.
Noise restrictions for equipment such as generators will remain limited to 55 decibels.
“Ninety per cent of Beaconsfield houses already have pitched roofs,” explained urban planning director Denis Chabot.
Vinyl siding will also be banned for new houses.
The city also plans to limit rain barrels to four per home. However, when a citizen pointed out that the total capacity would be insufficient to operate a rainwater toilet system, Chabot clarified that the new restrictions would not apply to large underground cisterns.
“We simply don't want to have a forest of rain barrels around a house,” he replied.
House sizes for lakefront properties will be limited to 25% of the lot size, down from the current 30%.
Mayor David Pollock explained that the city will also protect citizens’ privacy by limiting how close new additions to houses can be from neighbouring property lines.
City councilors were clearly not unanimous in their views of this restriction. District 2 councilor Karin Essen and District 6 councilor Rhonda Massad pointed out that extensions that don’t have side windows don’t intrude on privacy.
The city plans to permit intergenerational house renovation. Owners would be able to build a living space over garages that contain a bedroom, bathroom and kitchenette, provided that there is only one entrance to the premises, one mailing address and the occupants are all members of the same family.
A citizen also questioned why new zoning rule permitting small businesses is restricted to such a small number of professions.
Another citizen asked whether the environmental provisions of the new bylaw would apply to Angell Woods.
“We will just continue with what we have in place which is interim control,” replied Mayor Pollock.
However, he acknowledged that the green aspects of the draft bylaw “could ultimately be used for Angell Woods.”
The six-foot height limit for fences came under scrutiny for being too low for taller Beaconsfield residents.
Many citizens expressed concerns about plans to add residential housing atop the Elm commercial plaza, though Chabot and the mayor stated unequivocally that no zoning changes are planned there at this time.
Chabot explained, though, that although zoning rules do not yet permit it, the city’s master plan includes provisions for structures of up to four storeys alongside major thoroughfares such as highway 20.
“If you keep splitting this city in two,” a citizen told council members, “the north side will eventually go to Kirkland.”
For a full list of proposed new zoning restrictions, visit: www.beaconsfield.ca