Several residents made impassioned pleas on Monday night for Guelph-Eramosa council to maintain Rockwood’s rural character and deny a new subdivision in the south end of the village.
“Please, I beg you, don’t sell us out; don’t make us into another Mississauga or Brampton,” Patricia Patrick said.
Marty Durksen cautioned, “We’ve got one shot at this. There’s no going back.” And Scott Jamieson added, “What you’re proposing here is not Rockwood.”
But many of the 100-plus residents at the Rockmosa hall seemed surprised to learn that resistance to the Charleston Homes proposal off of Harris Street may be futile.
“We cannot deny this development,” Mayor Chris White said. “It’s a fact – we cannot stop this.”
White explained the 40-acre property has been zoned residential and included in the Rockwood urban boundary for decades. Plus, he added, the province has dictated, through Places to Grow and other legislation, that municipalities must meet specific population targets.
He said while residents and even councillors are not pleased with the higher density of the Charleston Home proposal – 6.6 units per acre – it does meet the provincial target of 6.5.
“The best thing we can do is try to manage this,” said White, who several times went on at length about provincially mandated requirements with which councillors are not pleased.
Charleston Homes is proposing a 258-unit development that will include single detached and semi-detached homes, as well as townhouses. A portion of the property will be governed under two separate condominium agreements, and the proposal also includes three acres of parkland and 1.5 acres for a storm water management pond.
The proponent is seeking a zoning change, from an R1-H designation to R2, from Guelph-Eramosa council, as well as a draft plan of subdivision and a draft plan of condominium from county council.
Many residents expressed concern with the lack of available sewage capacity for the development.
Township planner Bernie Hermsen explained there is capacity for about 115 more units, and the township’s engineering firm, R.J. Burnside and Associates, has recommended 80 be given to the Charleston Homes proposal. That means the project would have to be built in stages as more capacity becomes available, Hermsen said (Charleston Homes officials anticipate construction will begin in 2012).
White noted some of the capacity issues will be addressed once the township and the City of Guelph, which handles Guelph-Eramosa’s wastewater, come to a new agreement.
Other concerns identified by residents include: parking, traffic, access to the subdivision, drainage and flooding, ground water protection and construction concerns about noise, dust and traffic.
Bruce Donaldson, an agent for Charleston Homes, said there should be ample parking in the proposal, as some homes have four spaces and some have two, plus there will be 0.5 spaces per unit located throughout the development.
“You can’t compare it to Isaac Lane,” Donaldson said, alluding to another Rockwood street under a condominium agreement that has given the township headaches. He said the developer is aware of the parking issues and has addressed them.
When it comes to traffic issues, Phil Grubb, of Paradigm Transportation Solutions Limited, a firm working for Charleston Homes, said intersections along Harris Street – both at Highway 7 and at the new access road for the proposed subdivision – do not meet provincial warrants for traffic lights.
At least one resident, along with White, questioned the traffic study numbers. The mayor said the township will continue to negotiate with the Ministry of Transportation for a set of traffic lights.
Another Charleston consultant explained drainage in the area should actually be improved by the storm water management system proposed, although at least one resident doubted that assertion.
“Your control of water is not what you think it’s going to be,” Darryl Nichol charged. He said he is also concerned about the water in the aquifer beneath Rockwood.
Andrew Mulder, Charleston’s manager of land development and planning, said the company has built homes in Rockwood for 20 years, and many of its officials also call the village home.
“We have pride in the community,” Mulder said. He noted the company does not have parking issues in its other developments and it has worked hard to address concerns relayed by residents.
However, several at the meeting alleged the company is not a good steward of the land, citing past tree removal and a failure to address a gravel entrance that washed out onto Harris Street.
White said he understands residents have many concerns – most of which are also shared by the township. But if the township denies the zoning change, the matter would end up at the Ontario Municipal Board. The municipality would not win, he said, but it would cost hundreds of thousands of dollars and remove any township say on the matter.
“We’re trying to make the best of a bad situation, basically,” White concluded.
Township planners will present a final report to council sometime this spring.
