Council split on plans for 400-unit Arthur subdivision

WELLINGTON NORTH – Plans for a large subdivision in Arthur are moving forward after Wellington North council approved 11 zoning bylaw amendments at the developer’s request. 

It was a close 3-2 vote on March 9 in support of the site-specific bylaw exemptions. 

Sarah Properties Limited is set to build a subdivision on an 18-hectare (46-acre) lot at 211 Eliza St. and 8014 Wellington Road 109 in Arthur’s south end. 

The proposal includes between 342 and 403 units (86 single detached homes, 32 semi-detached, 108 to 169 townhouses and 116 units in a four-storey apartment building) as well as a park and a 2.6-hectare commercial plaza.

A dwelling and accessory buildings on the site were recently demolished. 

Proposed uses for the commercial block, which the developer hopes to begin constructing this year, include a grocery store, drive-thru restaurants and retail stores.  

Wellington County planners have no concerns with the proposal. 

After a public meeting on July 21, developers revised the plan and brought the number of requested zoning amendments down from 19 to 11.

They include items like:

• reduced exterior side yard setbacks for detached, semi-detached and townhouses (4.2 metres instead of 6m);
• reduced minimum lot area for townhouses (195 square metres instead of 323m²);
• more townhouses in a row (eight instead of six);
• increased apartment building height (16m instead of 12m);
• reduced front yard and rear yard setback for commercial plaza (6m and 5m respectively, instead of 7.6m);
• reduced parking setback to a residential use (1.5m instead of 4.5m); and
• additional permitted uses for the commercial plaza including bake shop, medical clinic, convenience store, nursery, financial offices, place of entertainment, restaurants, retail stores, service or repair shops, and shopping centres or malls. 

Councillor Sherry Burke said while she appreciates that the developer reduced the number of requests, “I still believe there are a lot of asks." 

“So I’m just wondering, is this the final request, or is there room for additional improvement on the plan?” she asked. 

Brandon Flewwelling, the developer's planning consultant, said it’s the final request. 

“We think we’ve come a long way to hear the comments and make sure that this is a subdivision that meets the majority of the intent and the regulations of the township zoning bylaw,” he said. 

Councillor Penny Renken asked: “Have you made any attempts to design [it to] comply with all of the bylaws?” 

“Certainly,” Flewwelling said. “We took a look and ... came back with a much toned-down request.” 

The initial plan proposed 342 to 354 units (115 semi-detached, 13 to 25 townhouses, 44 bungalow townhouses and 130 units in a six-storey apartment building). 

Township planning staff have no concerns with the requested amendments, and say they are “generally minor in nature and should not negatively impact parking and snow storage.” 

Renken asked if the front and rear yard set back reductions in the commercial plaza would leave enough room for snow removal. 

Flewwelling said, “A snow removal contract will be required to maintain the property and extra snow on site is going to have to be removed if it becomes problematic in terms of availability of parking spaces, that type of thing.” 

The subdivision’s general layout remains unchanged, including street design and park location, but traffic lights were added at an entrance to the commercial plaza on Wellington Road 109. 

Developers are also set to urbanize a section of Wellington Road 109 with a sidewalk, curbs and gutters. 

Concerns raised during the public meeting included the apartment building’s height, traffic and congestion increases, servicing capacity, space in schools and sufficient grocery stores. 

There were concerns about firefighters not having the equipment required to service a six-storey apartment building, but these concerns have been resolved by brining the building down to four storeys. 

The developers does not yet have water and wastewater allotments for the subdivision – but is set to apply for those once the process opens in April. 

The Upper Grand and Wellington Catholic district school boards have been notified of the application and have not indicated any concerns. 

Renken asked how much parking there is for the apartment building and Flewwelling said while a detailed site plan does not yet exist, the plan is to meet the zoning requirement of 1.5 spots per unit. 

Mayor Andy Lennox and councillors Steve McCabe and Lisa Hern voted in favour of a bylaw amendment to approve the site-specific exemptions, while Burke and Renken were opposed. 

Building permits will not be issued until:

• municipal water and sewage allocations are granted; 
• storm water management is adequately addressed; 
• site plan approval is obtained and a site plan agreement is executed; and 
• a detailed engineering plan is approved and development agreements are made with the township. 

A traffic impact study has been submitted, but another will be required to address several issues, including calming measures, traffic signal and turn lane details, horse and buggy and agricultural traffic and operational details of the Highway 6 intersection.