Just over three dozen people attended the June 23 community meeting hosted by Sorbara Group developers.
The intent was to update residents on the first phase of the proposed 202-unit residential subdivision at Colborne Street and Beatty Line in the northwest section of Fergus.
The overall development is expected to contain 1,200 units and house 3,600 people.
Sorbara’s director of land development Jeff Solly brought team members to address questions from those in the audience – and questions raised at a previous public meeting.
“We thought it would be in the best interest of everyone to try to meet again in an informal setting. We will try to answer your questions as best we can,” Solly said.
He said in the Storybrook project, the company is working in partnership with Tribute Communities, which will also be constructing homes in addition to the Sorbara Group and that planning on this particular project began 10 years ago.
“This development did not just arrive yesterday … it is the result of many years of planning and studies and work.”
He briefly noted the township’s decision in 2003 to expand its urban boundaries.
In 2015, the northwest Fergus secondary plan came into effect and set the overall land use structure for the area.
Solly said that there has already been considerable work looking at roads, storm water, drainage and the impact on growth in this portion of Fergus in relationship to the rest of the community.
He stressed what was being discussed was only phase one of the plan – which is a mix of 50-and-40 foot singles and townhouses.
Plans for phases two and beyond, Solly said, will be submitted at a later date.
He hoped work preparing for phase one might allow for construction to begin as early as 2018.
Certain parts of the plan have been predetermined – such as the location of the Colborne Street realignment, a north/south road connecting Colborne Street to the Keating subdivision.
The road network is connected to the Keating subdivision, Colborne Street and the Beatty Line. There will be a variety of road types – depending on usage, he said.
Phase one also includes land set aside for both a school and an adjacent park.
“The park will be built as part of phase one, and we’d like to build it as early in the process we possibly can.”
He added the park construction and Nichol Drain naturalization work would be done together in a way to promote a trail system – which will eventually link to the nearby Elora Cataract Trailway.
He added the trails would eventually traverse the woodlot connecting to a future phase of the development.
Solly said the intent is to coordinate these trails with the Centre Wellington and Wellington County active transportation plans.
“We are not an island unto ourselves, we are tying in this subdivision with the balance of the community.”
He offered some details on the conservation easement intended to alleviate or mitigate concerns of residents in the Collie Court area which backs onto the proposed development.
Solly explained that at the back of the new lots is a five-metre easement which will be planted with trees and shrubs.
The easement would remain on title as a non-developed potion of the property to provide a sense of buffering.
“It means they cannot put in a pool or pool shed anywhere on the easement. It must remain in a vegetative state,” Solly said.
The development will have a small commercial block at the Beatty Colborne intersection.
In the interim, the plan is to have a sales marketing centre and eight model homes.
A zoning bylaw amendment is needed to allow those model homes.
So in addition, council will need to make a zoning change to allow the sales centre.
Solly said questions from last March related to the themes of traffic, growth, environment, design, construction management and timing.
He said studies have already indicated that at some point improvements will be needed and a trigger for the improvements has been established.
Some of the work identified is northbound left-hand turn lanes at Beatty Line and Millage Lane and monitoring to determine if traffic signals are needed.
Another area would be determining the need for traffic signals and exclusive left-hand turn lanes.
As to the timing of the Colborne Street realignment, Solly said there is a desire from the township to have that work done sooner rather than later.
He noted developers are looking at options for low impact development for storm water management.
Solly said efforts will also be made to ensure the minimum amount of topsoil is trucked offsite.
As the site is built out, he said Sorbara will work with the township to reduce or mitigate the amount of dust.
He added that areas which are not anticipated for immediate use will be seeded to prevent the area appearing like “a moonscape.”
Questions regarding the use of solar brought in more complex responses – primarily related to cost.
For one, he said the road patterns are intended to work with the lay of the land.
As to whether homes would be pre-built for solar energy, Solly said it may be considered as an option.
But he said it is very expensive “just to have the home ready for solar.”
He said it amounts to roughly a $20,000 investment per home.
While it may be offered as an option, Solly could not guarantee prospective homeowners would take the developer up on the offer.
Sobara is still learning more about it, because Solly believes solar energy will become more prevalent in the future.
“But it is something that is not really active on our radar at this point.”
Possible timelines
Solly said Sobara is hoping council will be in the position to approve draft plans and zoning this summer.
“We would like to commence construction of the sales centre this summer and begin sales this fall.”
And in the best case scenario, Solly hoped for home construction and new home occupancies in 2018 or early 2019. He noted additional information is available on the Centre Wellington website under the active planning applications page.
Questions
Questions were raised about safe entrance and exit of students at the proposed school and other details.
Solly noted that though a site is in place for a new school, details of what that would entail would be up to the Upper Grand District School Board.
He noted the school site size is slightly larger than the average school size.
The school also lies next to the proposed parkland to provide additional greenspace.
Audience members asked if there was any idea on how long it would take for the additional project phases to come online.
Solly said the phasing will be determined by sales of the first phase and what lands can be serviced.
He suggested construction of the first phase could take up to 10 years.
As to any immediate plans for Beatty Line reconstruction, Centre Wellington’s managing director of infrastructure services Colin Baker commented that at this point work has happened in phases.
As work progresses into detailed designs, Baker said work will be done to address sidewalks, bicycle transportation and turning lanes.
