• 6745 Main Street was approved for rezoning to facilitate an addition and permit six apartment units.
  • The current structure was built as early as 1846 and is listed on Stouffville’s Built Heritage Inventory.
  • The building’s facade will be maintained, and a new porch will be added to reflect its historic built form.
  • Eight vehicular parking spaces will be provided, one less than is required by the Town’s Zoning By-Law.
  • Reductions to yards and overall minimum landscape area requirements were also approved to facilitate the offered parking.

 

During their September 11 meeting, Stouffville’s Council unanimously supported a Zoning By-Law Amendment for 6745 Main Street. A planned addition will enable six total apartment units within the renovated building.

According to the Staff Report, the existing structure was built as early as 1846 after Edward Wheeler acquired the property from Abraham Stouffer. It was soon sold to Hiram Yake, who converted it to a hotel which operated until the 1870s. Yake then returned it to a residence that remained in their family for over a century.

“The building is an example of the late Georgian architectural style and is a landmark at the Tenth Line and Main Street intersection,” the report adds.

Current owners Mihael Vlasoc and Dinara Abubakirova submitted their original application in 2021, which sought permissions for a medical office. However, concerns over insufficient parking for the commercial use were raised during a September 2022 Public Planning Meeting. Worries over traffic impacts were also expressed due to the site’s close proximity to the busy Main Street and Tenth Line intersections.

Following the approval of their revised application, which now focuses strictly on residential uses, Vlasoc and Abubakirova’s addition will expand the building to the west along Main Street. Its facade will be maintained, helping to provide “diverse housing options in town and [encourage] the preservation, protection, improvement, and appreciation of the Town’s built heritage,” according to Staff.

The included number of parking spaces is one less than is required by Stouffville’s Zoning By-Law given the proposed number of units. Reductions in minimum required yard sizes, landscape area, and setbacks were also granted to accommodate the parking lot; however, some of those reductions reflect existing non-conformity “resulting from the historic siting of the structure in relation to the Town’s modern road network,” the Report notes.

The existing Tenth Line access point to the site will be maintained, and the Heritage Advisory Committee has offered support for the plans. In Staff’s view, this “gentle intensification” will “[continue] evolution along Main Street [and represents] good planning desirable for the community.”