The SORE core team has undertaken a comparison of the density of the proposed Marotta Rand Estate subdivision with the closest neighbourhoods to the Estate. Provided below are both “Gross” and “Net” density graphs illustrating the comparison.
Gross Density is calculated by dividing the number of units into the entire property — inclusive of lots, roads, parks, natural heritage lands, and buffers — excluding only the adjacent Greenbelt Lands.
Net Density is a more readily understood concept that divides the number of units into the lot area alone.
Not surprisingly, the Marotta planners included only a Gross Density calculation in their report, as this approach suppresses the resulting density number — as the charts below clearly demonstrate.
Bear in mind of course that not only is the proposed Marotta subdivision significantly denser than anything in the surrounding area, but it is also proposed for one of the most significant and iconic remaining estate lots in NOTL.
This is what Mr. Marotta evidently meant when he publicly stated he just wanted to make NOTL “more beautiful”. Or, as the SGL Planning Assessment Report states the “proposed development has been designed to reinforce the character of the surrounding neighbourhood” (pg. 4).
We respectfully suggest there may be more appropriate places for this type of beauty.