Chatham-Kent Council gave the green light for a former Dresden funeral home to be converted into a hotel or an apartment building.
The vacant building at 620 Cross St. was formerly the Thomas L. DeBurger Funeral Home, which closed in 2016.
The building and property was purchased in 2017 by Guelph investors Kevin Tierney and Lily Szawlowski, who are aiming to convert it into a 13-unit hotel or an eight-unit apartment.
“Dresden does not currently offer traditional overnight accommodation options such as bed and breakfast establishments, hotels or motels,” said Ryan Jacques, municipal planner, in a report.
“Tourists visiting Dresden overnight to attend events or visit local attractions usually stay in either Wallaceburg, Chatham, or in neighbouring municipalities. Some local events in Dresden include the Dresden Exhibition, Kinstock, Demolition Derby, and Horse Shows. These are in addition to family-oriented events such as reunions and weddings.”
Jacques said to mitigate potential impacts of a hotel in the neighbourhood some special provisions are recommended.
“A public restaurant, tavern, banquet facility, or meeting rooms are not permitted,” Jacques wrote in his report.
Jacques said turning the property into an apartment building is also a possibility.
“Although the surrounding neighbourhood is fully built out with mainly single detached homes and to a lesser extent multi-unit rental dwellings, the subject property is well suited to convert to the proposed eight unit apartment dwelling,” Jacques said.
A Municipal policy “states that Chatham-Kent shall, ‘encourage the provision of a diverse range of housing choices to meet the projected demographic and market requirements of current and future residents…
This includes accommodating a variety of household types and sizes that can respond to fluctuations in the local housing markets. The proposal is suitable for this site and is consistent with the overall development
policies of the Official Plan,” Jacques said.
Dresden residents Nancy Richards and Doug Shaw spoke against the proposal during Monday night’s meeting.
Their concerns included a lack of parking, increased traffic and the potential for property values to decrease.
However, Council approved a official plan amendment, zoning by-law amendment and site plan control application on Monday night.
Tom Storey of Storey Samways Planning, represented Tierney and Szawlowski at Monday night’s meeting.
Storey said if the application hadn’t been approved, there was a risk that the “historical” building would become derelict or demolished.
