Centre Wellington council has asked its staff to present reasons why a landowner is being asked to pay for a new watermain in order to receive a building permit.
Council was meeting for the first time in committee of the whole on Monday, and Steve Thorning, this Newspaper’s history columnist, told council he wants a building permit for a property he owns jointly with his sister, Susan, of Toronto.
Thorning lives on the corner of Colborne and Kertland Streets on the east side of Elora, and wants to know why his application for a permit requires that he pay $155,250 for a waterline that includes running it from Church Street to Colborne Street, up Kertland.
Thorning said the current watermain has been in place since 1953, and his 1.25-acre property, which includes his home, a garden, an orchard, and a croquet court is now too much for him to maintain.
“I don’t have the energy at 60 that I did at 30,” he said.
He said he applied for the permit in June and did not receive a reply, and then was refused at the end of November. He noted that the township has also requested a loop for that watermain, and added, “It’s not fair that I pay for a loop when no one else has ever been charged for one.”
Thorning said there are three houses on the west side of Kertland Street, across the road from his property, and they are connected to the water. He said they were asked, in a letter from the Director of Public Works, to keep their water running all winter, at no cost. A loop in a new watermain would correct that problem.
Water becomes stagnant when it hits the end of a line and stops moving.
Thorning said he sees no reason why he should pay for that loop.
He also pointed out there are two possible building lots across Kertland Street, but the township is asking only that he pay for the work.
His property was divided into five lots back in the late 1800s, more than 150 years ago, but he said he feels the township is treating him as a developer, when those lots have existed for a long time. He is seeking to a permit to build on the middle of the four currently vacant lots, and noted it is possible with his frontage onto Kertland Street that there are actually five lots that could be sold. He said he would place his new home in such a way that frontage for them is feasible.
Thorning also questioned the cost of the work being requested. He said for 475 feet of pipe, it works out to $325 per foot, and he suspects there are other improvements being planned that he should not have to pay. He pointed out that Elora has always considered his property as already being five lots, and he said his family paid for the sewage lines on the entire frontage, as well as five sewage connections when those lines went in sometime in the early 1980s.
Building inspector Bob Foster (not the councillor) sent Thorning a letter dated Nov. 28 stating a permit is “not available at this time.”
Foster wrote that he checked with consultants, who “advise that the only water service available for this lot would be from the existing ¾-inch water main on Kertland Street. Since that line already services two houses, the township staff and consultants advise that pursuant to … the Ontario Municipal Act, there is not a ‘sufficient supply of water’ on the street to service the proposed dwelling.”
Foster said if the main is upgraded, the permit is available.
He also added that “prior to the township undertaking this work, you would be required to enter into a development agreement acknowledging that the entire cost of this work would be at your expense.”
Councillor Shawn Watters asked, “Why is Dr. Thorning responsible for this?”
Director of Public Works Ken Elder said when the original request came in, the township checked and determined that the proper size water main for the street is a six-inch one. He added that would include a fire hydrant.
Elder said the road would need to be repaved for about $48,000, and the watermain would likely run about $50,000, and some rock would have to be removed.
Thorning pointed out that the new provincial rules for development call for intensification of building, rather than urban sprawl, and this type of infilling is just what is desirable. He also said five new house lots will also provide a large amount of taxes that the current vacant land does not.
Mayor Joanne thanked him for his presentation and explained council could not immediately make a decision.
Council then requested staff to prepare a report explaining why it denied the permit.
