KENILWORTH – Despite a recent delegation imploring Wellington North council to allocate sewage capacity units to a future subdivision in north Arthur, Cachet Developments will have to wait.
Council voted to allocate 167 sewage units this year for four developments throughout Wellington North, but Cachet wasn’t included in the list.
The developer’s application for some of the limited capacity at the Arthur wastewater treatment plant was deemed to be premature by township staff.
Marcus Gagliardi of Cachet tried to convince council at an April 17 meeting to grant the developer 20 of the total 55 units available this year.
Staff recommended 35 units to go to VED Homes, which is undertaking an extension of Adelaide Street, and the remaining 20 be left to the discretion of the township’s building department for infill development throughout 2023.
“I’m here this evening really requesting that council or staff reconsider a request from us for the balance of the allocation that’s currently available,” Gagliardi said.
Referencing recent amendments to Wellington County’s Official Plan, changing some lands from employment to greenfield in Wellington North and Centre Wellington, Gagliardi said an “element of complexity” has been removed from the developer’s application.
“Between April of this year and April of next year, I believe that a lot of things will happen,” he said.
Gagliardi said the developer could proceed to draft subdivision plan approval, and be in a position for detailed engineering and potentially servicing, potentially by the year’s end.
“There needs to be some form of element of certainty with respect to what can proceed and what cannot proceed,” he said.
Gagliardi noted the developer has been working with community leaders and is assisting Arthur Public School with donations for a playground. In the end, Gagliardi’s pitch wasn’t enough to sway councillors from voting to leave the remaining units to staff discretion.
“We need this kind of a buffer for in-fill lots … I think we need to have a level playing field for everyone to pull from the allotments that are left over,” councillor Steve McCabe said.
Councillor Sherry Burke said with coming development, staff needs flexibility to accommodate in-fill lots.
Council unanimously voted to carry the staff recommendation as presented. Mayor Andy Lennox was not present at the meeting.
This year, the following developments are receiving allocations:
– VED Homes, extension of Adelaide Street, 35 units;
– Dan Prosporo and Ines Prosporo, 178 Main Street South, 14 units;
– John Welton Custom Homebuilding Ltd., Sunvale Homes Subdivision (northwest corner of Cork and Martin Streets), 100 units; and
– Farhan Mahood, 425-427 King Street East, 18 units.
Treatment plant capacity is limited in Arthur, with 368 units as of 2022, and 880 in Mount Forest. The township’s policy states that 15 per cent of a plant’s total capacity can be allotted each year.
Last year, council skirted that policy to award Cachet with 158 units for its Preston Street development in 2022-23 following a successful motion from McCabe.
