Developer hopes Arkell boundary can expand to include proposal
Proposal has seen some changes since 2006
ABERFOYLE – It’s kind of ironic that a development proposal in Arkell that dates back to 2006 was referred to as coming to Puslinch council at the 11th hour.
But there are reasons why the proposal is coming just before Wellington County council makes a decision on official plan amendment (OPA) 131, said Ron Stovel.
He spoke to council on March 4 on behalf of Timberworx Custom Homes Inc., Sloot Construction Ltd. and John Sloot Investments Ltd., who own and want to develop land on the edge of Arkell.
The property runs south of Arkell Road, west of Watson Road behind the row of existing homes on Watson Road, and extends south to the train tracks. It’s about 50 acres in size. A small portion fronts onto Watson Road.
The original application came in 2006 for 38 one-acre lots but had to conform to the province’s growth plan of the day, which required 50 residents per hectare.
The proposal was turned down because there was not enough technical data to support it, including pump tests and the impacts on surrounding farmland.
“The road block was that in 2006, the province wanted all development in urban areas,” Stovel said, adding the proposal was essentially stalled until 2022, when the province released a new planning statement.
Since then, the county commenced an official plan review to come into conformity with current provincial growth plans, allocating residential and employment lands for its seven member municipalities.
OPA 131 sets the boundaries for Puslinch employment lands and for residential growth around the hamlets of Arkell, Aberfoyle and Morriston.
Puslinch council has already endorsed OPA 131; Wellington County recently held public meetings on the proposal and it is expected to go to county council in the very near future and then to the province for approval.
Stovel said a small portion of the subject property falls within the proposed boundary for Arkell, which also allows for 50 more homes in the hamlet.
The property changed hands in 2017 and this proposal has changed from 2006. The new owners hope to build 44 one-acre lots. Stovel said test wells have been constructed which support expansion on the property.
“It’s a logical extension of the hamlet,” he said, adding now is the right time to bring it to the county, prior to the passage of OPA 131.
“It avoids piecemeal private amendment later, reduces duplication of review and provides certainty within the broader growth framework,” Stovel stated in his presentation to council.
“This is the appropriate planning vehicle to consider settlement adjustments in a coordinated and efficient manner.”
Stovel said six other land parcels adjacent to Arkell were evaluated for growth and this site came out on top. The other sites have higher quality farmland and would face minimum distance separation issues, he noted.
He said he hopes Puslinch council will write a letter to the county endorsing the inclusion of the property within the boundary of Arkell as part of OPA 131.
“I like the application and it seems the appropriate spot. But to me this is the 11th hour,” said councillor Sara Bailey. “We’ve been talking about (OPA 131) for a year.”
Mayor James Seeley also thought it was an appropriate proposal for Arkell but noted it would take 44 of the 50 homes allotted to the hamlet. And he didn’t want this application to stall approval of OPA 131.
“We need growth and Arkell is a good spot,” Seeley said. “I don’t want to hold up OPA 131 though. I can’t justify pausing that for six months.”
In the end, council agreed to send a letter to the county endorsing expansion of Arkell to the boundary proposed by Stovel but it did not approve the proposal itself.
That will come back to council as a planning proposal if the boundary expansion is approved.
