A mini storage facility planned for the intersection of Highways 6 and 9 here was approved by council Monday evening with a condition that final approval is pending a decision by the Ministry of Transportation Ontario (MTO) on which highway the entrance will be on.
Landowner Jim Coffey is seeking to have the 2.52 acre property rezoned from agriculture to highway commercial to allow for the development.
Neighbour Tom Ristov raised issues with the rezoning.
“I don’t necessarily believe this is the best place for storage units, I don’t believe this is the best use of the land,” he told council during a June 17 public meeting on the rezoning.
The last time there was interest in the property was when Wellington County was looking for a site for a new OPP station. A site near Teviotdale was chosen instead and construction of the northern OPP station is underway.
Ristov believes having retail development on the site would mean more tax revenue for Wellington North.
Mayor Ray Tout agreed the county had once looked at the site for an OPP station, but added if the site had been chosen it “would not have generated taxes.” The mayor said a storage facility would create more tax revenue than the existing farmland.
“It will increase taxes for commercial, compared to agriculture,” he said.
Coffey requested that final approval be made pending the MTO report. It was approved by Wellington North council.
