HawthorneVillager.com

We were out in Hamilton today, and took the "scenic route" back down Dundas through Waterdown. I can't believe how sprawled down Dundas Waterdown has become. All low density and nothing distinctive. I know I don't want that here.

There's been much discussion on this subject for Milton, and I know the town has stated it would like to maintain views of the escarpment and incorporate that into the town. What else is important to make and keep Milton unique from an urban design perspective while achieving the density requirements needed? Zeeshan has posted some really informative links on this for other places but I'm really curious how we would apply some of these ideas to make Milton unquie.

For me, maintaining walkability/cyclability is important for urban design so maintaining and improving bike paths, walking paths and connecting to conservation areas if possible. Maintaining a connectivity to the farming community base is another, but not sure how to do that. I'd love to see more farms open to the public like Spring Ridge or Andrews Scenic Acres. They seem to do well with it. There are some operations like Willis Family Fruit farm that seem like they have made a start at it and could potentially do better if they expanded some family friendly activites through their season but again, is there anything the town and region can do to assist or encourage that?

Architecturally, how do we make Milton distinctive in it's design approach to apartment/condo buildings and low rise developments? Are there current architectural guidelines? I took a closer look at the condo north of Derry and West of 4th line and it looks more to me like a Flordia condo building than something that belongs here. The new proposed buildings seem to have more brick and stucco combination which I think looks more natural (depending on the stucco colour choice). The combination of brick/stone stucco and glass with blue tint seems to look nice and would tie in with themes set in buildings like the Town Hall and proposed A&E/Main Library. I'm reconsidering height as well. There's nothing that can be done about the building that is there now, but what architectural guidelines should/could be set to help the remaining development blend in, and apply to new buildings in order to make Milton distinctive? 4-6 story condos seem to blend in better with surrounding town homes in a high/medium density mix. What about promoting more mixed use residential on the first floor/first & second floor of a condo/apartment building to allow for convenience stores or small grocery stores that could serve the local community in walking distance as a supplement to larger focal point grocery stores? The low density housing is distinctive because of the large number of front porches in the designs that encourage neighbourliness which helps maintain the small town feel IMHO.

What ideas do others have?

I attended a meeting of the Milton Heights landowners about a week and a half ago. And I don't know how many know this yet, but there are plans for a 1200 home subdivision for the area. The developers there presented an overall concept of what the area might look like, and it was quite interesting. It appeared, at least on paper they took into account the area's history and natural surroundings.

It didn't look cookie-cutter, some thought had been put into the design- where the greenspace was going to go, where paths were located. They even had it all thought out down to the garage views. The idea is to different kinds of housing- spreading it out, instead of putting all the condos in one area, and all the comercial in another... this is merely a draft plan at this point. It has a long way to go. But I found the meeting a good example of how the public could have a say in what goes on in the community.

Thanks Zeeshan! Well articulated ideas! I really like your idea about going through the same excercise done for intensification for the whole town and really establishing an identity for the town and implementing REQUIREMENTS to achieve that - and following through.

I know there were many things I saw in the Eco Village concept that were very progressive, yet the only thing that materialized were "Energy Star" concept homes with little change to the way subdivisions were planned out. I think if I could come up with a one sentence "vision" for where I'd personally like to see Milton go it would be an "Eco-Friendly Sustainable Urban Village". Compact, pedestrian,cycling,transit friendly, medium overall average density with high focus on the natural environment. Envrionmentally you've mentioned great points - enhance our natural environment and set-up building requirements within the capacity available on the regulatory side for minimizing energy use, water use, add green space smartly with more trees and shrubs in clever areas, not just the obvious. It would certainly set Milton apart from other communities as well as creating a really nice place to live (IMHO).

Excellent explanation of LEED design standards Lou&Leanne. The town has applied them to their recent public buildings. Let's look at applying them to developments. Very much in line with Zeeshan's points.

This condo building at Derry and 4th looks terrible. Just not belongs here, too high.
Local housing market is record hot in Milton right now, but they couldn’t sell those new condos at same location.

Who actually needs those high-density high-rise buildings here in the middle of low density homes?
It is homeowner nightmare to have 12 storey apartments (rental) building at one hundred meters distance.