Council will again face the public tomorrow, July 12th, over a proposed development in a significant woodland on lands north of the Saugeen River,
The public meeting will take place at 6:30 p.m. at Rotary Hall in the Plex in Port Elgin to present the planning report to Council, and to obtain feedback from Council and the community.
The proposed development will include 14 single detached dwelling lots and 15 townhouse dwelling lots along a new municipal road to be constructed within a current unopened road allowance. A total of 29 new residential units are proposed.
The applicant is proposing an amendment that would allow the lands to be re-zoned Residential First Density (R1) and Residential Third Density (R3) to allow for the higher density. The R1 zoning allows single detached dwellings, semi-detached dwellings and duplex dwellings among its permitted residential uses, while the R3 zoning allows for townhouse dwellings, multi-unit dwellings and apartment dwellings.
The Saugeen Ojibway Nation (SON) has also expressed an interest in the project due to its natural heritage features and its proximity to First Nation lands. According to the application, the applicant has signed a Letter of Agreement with SON to support SON’s participation in, and input into, “… the technical assessments being undertaken as part of the consultation process”.
The planning application sets out the many requirements under the Provincial Policy Statement (PPS). Then, at a later date, staff will present a recommendation report, which will also address comments arising from this meeting.
Although the County and local Official Plans set a target of 30% of new housing to be provided as affordable housing for all development and the proposal is for mixed housing types, according to the County planner’s report, it is doubtful that “…the dwellings to be erected within this subdivision will fall within the Affordable housing category”.
Several public comments have been received on the proposed applications that include:
• The number of homes/density of the project is too high.
• Increased traffic and intersection concerns.
• Devaluation of surrounding properties.
• Impacts to drainage and water quality.
• Concerns regarding sewage line capacity.
• Increased noise.
• Loss of green space and wildlife habitat.
• Loss of woodlands.
• Too much change in an existing established neighbourhood.
Tomorrow’s meeting is an opportunity for the public to raise any further concerns and put them before Council. The meeting will be held virtually and in-person.
