Subdivision plan approved
Planning committee gives the green light for 1,744 houses, townhouses on land along Lily Lake Road
A 114.8 hectare development south of Lily Lake Road is a step closer to reality after draft plans for the subdivision and a zoning bylaw amendment application for its three farm properties were approved by the city’s planning committee Monday night.
Committee members questioned the engineers and consultants working on the project between Fairbairn Street and Ackison Road after hearing citizens speak mostly in opposition to the plan and a presentation by a city planner outlining the project.
The primarily agricultural land annexed from Selwyn Township in 2008 is surrounded by a 550-unit draft approved subdivision to the east, the Jackson Creek wetlands to the west and Jackson Creek valley and Trans Canada Trail to the south, city planner Brad Appleby said.
The proposal includes 1,744 total units, including 861 single units in widths of 35, 40 and 50 metres and 441 townhomes with up to eight units each as well as 442 mediumhigh density units.
It has two collector roads and two streets, space for parks, stormwater management features, trail connections, an elementary school and 2,000 square feet of commercial space.
Appleby pointed out that the market will dictate just how much commercial space goes into the subdivision; commercial is also a permitted use on the ground floor of the larger multi-unit buildings planned for the site.
The Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board is particularly interested in the site for an elementary school, he added.
The planner relayed public comments centered on environmental protection measures, the impact to groundwater, tree preservation, food production and traffic, for example. Those who then spoke in opposition to the plan reflected many of those concerns.
Parkhill Rd. resident Frank Stoeken asked the committee to delay the plan and instead consider development at the General Electric (GE) site on Monaghan Road.
The retired teacher questioned the growth numbers for Peterborough government is hoping for and building subdivisions with narrower lots.
“I think we are looking at a slum in the making,” he said, citing the loss of GE and potential loss of Sears Canada. “Why will people come to Peterborough when there are no jobs?”
Parkview Dr. resident Barry Parsons said he doesn’t think the subdivision will lessen his enjoyment of Jackson Park, but said the increased traffic it will create a hazard. He believes staff hasn’t considered how much Fairbairn St. will be affected.
He asked the committee to consider building another arterial road within the development instead of eventually widening Fairbairn to four lanes – a move he said would be both quicker and less expensive.
Later, asked by Coun. Gary Baldwin if that is feasible, engineer John Northcote of Barrie’s JD Engineering in Barrie said he could examine it but such an adjustment would create a significant amount of changes to the plan.
Weller St. resident Rob Steinman, who takes his dog for morning walks in the park daily, said the work at the site is already have an impact as morning bird song has been replaced with the rumbling sound of earthmoving equipment and steel hitting rock.
If any stormwater management pond needs a bigger setback from a delicate ecosystem such as the Jackson Creek Provincial Significant Wetland, it’s this one, he said, asking the committee to consider an expert-supported 120 metre buffer instead of 30 metres.
Later, asked by Coun. Don Vassiliadis if that is possible, Allan Benson of North York’s Dylan Consulting said the idea of a 120 metre buffer is the subject of a common misunderstanding. It’s not a buffer, per se, he said, explaining that it is the distance in which developers must undertake studies to determine the impact on natural heritage features.
Those studies were completed in this case before the 30-metre buffers were proposed, he said.
That shorter distance “puzzled” Steinmann, who earlier said birds require distances of as much as 300 metres for nesting and habitat, for example.
He encouraged the committee to consider low-impact development options such as biospheres and permeable pavement, which could also save the developer money.
“This PSW is too important to our area to risk making a mistake.” he said. “It is time for local government to take a stand to preserve the environment for future generations.”
Valleyview Dr. resident Maggie Savage spoke as a mother who enjoys the park with her kids. She shared how they were visited by three pileated woodpeckers the day before.
Savage asked councillors to think of future generations. “Please do consider Rob’s comments about the environment ... Jackson Park is so beautiful.”
Peter Hewett asked that the developer be made to install infrastructure related to public transit and suggested moving the planned commercial area closer to a larger number of residents, to reduce the need for automobile use.
Darren Vella of Barrie’s Innovative Planning Solutions, which has worked on the project since 2009 with city staff, also pointed out that other buildings are also permitted to have commercial space on the ground level.
Before addressing other concerns directly, he noted that the plan has been revised more than 20 times since the concept was first presented to the city. Numerous requests have been incorporated into “the right plan for this property that respects the Lily Lake Secondary Plan.”
Little tree clearing is needed at the site because it is mostly farmland, Vella said.
Most of the existing hedgerows have to be removed because of the significant amount of grading required at the site. However, tree planting requirements in the approval conditions aim to add more trees to the site than existed before the development, he pointed out.
Monday’s approvals will be subject to council ratification when councillors sits as committee of the whole on Sept. 5.