KENILWORTH – There’s a moratorium on sewage allocations in Arthur due to limited wastewater capacities.
One developer complained to Wellington North council on June 23 that they haven’t received responses for requests for sewage allocation for “a multitude of projects.”
Paolo Pambianchi of Arthur Green Developments said he has been submitting sewage allocations for projects since 2023 “and we’ve never received an answer.
“We would like to have an answer so that we can make an educated decision about how we can proceed to complete some of the projects that we’ve proposed in regard to affordable housing and … commercial opportunities,” Pambianchi said.
He said the projects in question, including developments at 164 and 168 George St., “Are in compliance with the town zoning bylaw and … are in-fill developments.
“They meet the highest category of points in the point system for the sewage allocation,” Pambianchi added.
He said the developer learned of the moratorium during the site plan application process for the developments.
“We assumed that by the receipt of the site plan application process and with the heavy waiting of the project in relation to the fact that it’s an in-fill development in the commercial central zone, developing affordable housing (and) commercial opportunities that it did have the allocation that was required,” Pambianchi said.
“Unfortunately, we found out it did not. So we’re just trying to get some clarity.”
For other properties on George Street, Pambianchi said they never heard back about a sewage allocation request made in 2023.
For their property at 110 Frederick St., Pambianchi is looking for confirmation of sewer allocation for a proposed day care.
Mayor Andy Lennox said council handles sewage allocation in April of each year.
“We applied for sewage allocation three Aprils ago, and we assumed that it had been confirmed because we were promoted to move forward into the site plan approval process,” Pambianchi said.
“If we’re making a decision to proceed with a project … we need to ensure that the allocation is there, and not get three quarters of the way through quite an expensive process in terms of site plan approval, etcetera.”
Lennox said while some sewage allocation is made available for in-fill developments, that’s not for large-scale projects.
Pambianchi called the developments “Reasonably small additions” that are “adding to or reallocating existing buildings, reusing the same space.”
He asked how the developer could confirm if sewage allocation is in place, and engineering manager Tammy Stevenson offered confirmation it is not.
She said allocation is based on development applications’ review processes, what stage they’re at, and whether there’s an agreement in place.
“There’s other evaluations that we complete as well,” Stevenson said. “The evaluation forms are on the back of the sewage allocation policy which is posted on the township website.”
“None of that information was ever shared with us, that’s for sure,” Pambianchi said.
“If the application has been rejected, wouldn’t it be fair to at least acknowledge that there’s been a rejection?”
Lennox said, “Yeah and whatever may have happened in the past … there’s nothing we can do about that. We can try to move forward, and if you need notification of that please just ask and we will try to share that information with you as it develops.
“As you’re aware sewage allocation is at a premium in Arthur and at a standstill right now due to a need for an upgrade to the sewage treatment plant.”
There are 10 allocations made available for in-fill opportunities, Lennox said, that are awarded on a first come, first served basis to those that meet requirements and are ready for building permits, he noted.
“So if we expeditiously make an application for a building permit then there’s a good likelihood that it would move forward?” Pambianchi asked.
Chief building official Darren Jones said “the applications on George Street have not met the site plan approval requirements so a building permit will not be issued at this time and therefore not receive sewage allocation.”
Pambianchi said they were waiting for sewage allocation to meet the site plan approval requirements.
He asked more questions about specific sewage allocations, and council advised he work with staff instead.
Pambianchi thanked everyone for their time and noted, “I didn’t know to whom else to address the inquiries to,” as staff kept directing him to council and council kept directing him back to staff.
