Hilden Homes held a second Public Information meeting at the Picton Town Hall last week, ostensibly to present revisions to its proposed Fawcettville development in response to resident complaints.
Only the plans had not been revised.
In June, Council’s Planning and Development Committee sent the plans for a new subdivision back to County planning staff for renegotiation with the developer.
The motion required the developer to consider and respond to nine requests:
Hilden Homes spokesperson Kelsey Jones, of Fotenn Planners, said the developer still has no plans for sidewalks or a second access road to the new development. Nor will it phase the development until one can be built.
An engineer hired by Fotenn determined Fawcett Avenue’s 20-metre road allowance was not wide enough to accommodate even a single sidewalk.
As for the access road, Ms. Jones said the Transportation Act does not mandate another road for developments of 90 homes or more. “There is no such rule,” she said.
“In our professional opinion a single access point is sufficient.”
At the June Planning and Development committee meeting, the County’s Manager of Planning, Michael Michaud, noted that developments of 90 homes or more generally include a second access road. He reiterated that to the Gazette last week. “That’s generally how it is done,” he explained. “That is what I have seen.”
In June, he suggested phasing the new subdivision, starting with about 40 new units, until a second access road could be built.
The 40 units by Hilden, added to Fawcettvillle’s 55, would be the limit that could be built with a single access point.
But Fotenn refused the phasing suggestion, noting that none of the land around the proposed subdivision has been developed, so there is nowhere to put a new road.
“Future development around the project will create the additional access point,” said Ms. Jones. “This is very much a temporary situation.”
At the June Planning meeting, County planners were also clear that Fawcett Avenue could not be used as a construction road. Mr. Michaud noted there were four options for possible construction roads.
While that route still has not been found, one of the four options has been ruled out: the idea of using the Millennium Trail as a temporary construction road has been jettisoned.
As for the Millennium Trail, an interior street running parallel will prevent houses from backing directly onto the Trail and enhance public access. A landscaped buffer of trees and grass will separate the edge of the road and the trail, though it is not clear how large that will be.
Fotenn did commission a traffic study, and add a dedicated green space to the planned subdivision, a 50-foot-wide grass strip running down the center of the development to connect pedestrians to the Millennium Trail.
Also of concern at the June meeting was the builder’s intention to clearcut the existing forest, including 16 protected Butternut trees. Fotenn’s Ms. Jones presented more details on the MECP requirement that 300 trees be planted to replace the destruction of a protected species. But she could not assure the public that the trees would be planted in Prince Edward County.
Councillors Phil Prinzen, John Hirsch, and Brad Nieman were in attendance, along with close to 40 residents. The prevailing sentiment was dismay that so little had been done to address the nine items listed by Council’s Planning and Development committee.
Ms. Jones noted that the revisions had been presented to County planning staff only the day before, leaving them no time to prepare a response.
As Councillor Prinzen put it, “I wish you had consulted with the planning staff before bringing this to the public.”
“I think we have all now spent two hours here that we will never get back.”
“If you brought this proposal to Council today, I would vote against it. Not nearly enough has been done to answer concerns raised over two months ago.”
Residents also had questions about
another property Hilden owns, off the Glenora Road at Owen Street. The company clearcut the property, failed to develop anything, and has now put it up for sale.
Hilden Homes CEO Eric denOuden, who was also at the meeting, explained that “financial and market difficulties led to the sale” of the property. He said he believed his company had cut down all the trees because of a plan to farm the land.
Ms. Jones ended her presentation by stressing that Hilden Homes and Fotenn will prepare a comprehensive response to all resident concerns, and said “no decisions have been taken.”
County planning staff will bring the revised application to Council’s Planning and Development Committee for a second time this fall.
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