Puslinch councillors could find themselves between a rock and a hard place when it comes to making a decision regarding a proposed 25,000 square foot expansion of an Aberfoyle-area business.
On April 1, a public meeting was held regarding the Ren’s Pets Depot expansion.
Originally discussion on the matter was slated for March, but deferred because additional individuals wanted the chance to speak on the issue.
In a follow-up interview with the Wellington Advertiser, Puslinch Mayor Dennis Lever explained residents were informed council was considering the recommendations made in Wellington County planner Aldo Salis’ report.
The key issue, Lever maintained, was whether the township would recommend the county move ahead with the official plan amendment process.
Under that process, the proposal would move to the county committee level, then county council, then back to township council to consider the zoning.
Lever was clear the April 1 meeting was not to consider the zoning.
Lever suggested “a lot of the concern was about the original building.”
The problem, he said, is that council’s role was to consider the application before them, which was regarding an addition to the building.
“It’s disappointing the original building never went through a public process,” Lever said.
“We can’t find any record to indicate why it didn’t … it should have.”
Lever suggested, “If the original building had gone through a public process, we might not be in the situation we are in now.”
Lever said one of the presenters that night indicated the issue may end up going to the Ontario Municipal Board.
“… and if we turn it down, Ren’s will likely take it to the OMB,” said Lever. He wasn’t certain the residents completely understood the scope of what is involved in taking a matter to the OMB – or the kind of effort and money it involves.
“They seem pretty determined at this point,” he said.
Applications before the county and the township include a proposed official plan amendment and a zoning bylaw amendment which would allow the Ren’s expansion.
The official plan amendment would designate a portion of the subject lands from residential to highway commercial. Rezoning would change 1.5 acres of land from agricultural to a specialized highway commercial zone.
The balance of the 12.8 acre property would remain under agricultural and natural environment zoning.
The land, located immediately adjacent to the existing Ren’s Pets Depot property at 20 Brock Road North, is currently vacant and not used for farming. The property has frontage and access to Wellington Road 34.
The property contains a small watercourse (a tributary of Mill Creek) and its associated floodplain. The majority of the west half of the property is zoned Natural Environment (NE) which represents the extent of the floodplain.
Nearby properties include a mix of commercial and residential uses, institutional facilities, public uses, and large natural areas.
According to the applicant, the Ren’s Pets Depot business is growing and requires additional warehouse and distribution space. According to proponents, the existing Aberfoyle site is constrained and the most optimal arrangement is to extend the existing warehouse building towards the west onto the adjacent property.
Truck delivery and customer access to an expanded Ren’s site will continue to be provided from Brock Road (Wellington Road 46). No new commercial access is proposed from Wellington Road 34.
Salis noted the proposal also meets policies under the Greater Golden Horseshoe Growth Plan, as the lands are within the urban areas of Aberfoyle and adjacent to land already designated as highway commercial.
Salis said area residents expressed concerns related to past flooding of properties and the potential for further flooding due to the proposed development. However a large portion of the property which is not being rezoned will remain in a natural environment zone and the building expansion is not within the floodplain.
Salis added the Grand River Conservation Authority had no objection to the proposed official plan and zoning bylaw amendments. Salis stated the applicant has demonstrated, to the satisfaction of the GRCA and the township’s consulting engineers, that the stormwater management system on the Ren’s site can be modified to accommodate storm water runoff for the expansion.
Salis said concerns were raised regarding the design of the existing Ren’s Pets Depot buildings and site layout and the proposed building expansion. He explained the construction of the existing Ren’s buildings pre-date the approval of Puslinch design guidelines.
“In our opinion, the re-designation of the ‘area of consideration’ from residential to highway commercial to allow for the expansion of the existing commercial warehouse at 20 Brock Road is appropriate and conforms to the applicable policies of the county official plan,” said Salis.
He recommended Puslinch council receive the planning report and support of the proposed official plan amendment.
Resident Al Krist had a number of questions he felt were not answered to his satisfaction. Questions posed requested clarity on the source of the stream water, the depth of existing artesian wells, excavation depths to construct the additional building and what would happen if an aquifer or groundwater is encountered during excavation.
Krist added it was previously recommended to council by a professional ecological firm that a 30-metre setback from the stream be applied to the warehouse expansion.
Krist also wanted to see a noise study implemented as it is an issue of contention for area residents. He also wanted to see a way to measure truck traffic, something he believes was ignored in the past.
Brad Finck also had numerous comments to make on the proposed expansion.
“As you know, I have been one of the key opponents of this expansion for over two years due to a variety of reasons, many of which have never been satisfactorily addressed,” said Finck, adding he found it hard to swallow the proposal was allowing a building height typically reserved for industrial buildings. He added the topic of noise and truck traffic continues to be a point of concern.
Finck said it is quite reasonable to monitor the records of transport of shipping and receiving now and after a warehouse expansion and ensure that no additional truck traffic be incurred.
While it has been stated the issue of property value is not a consideration of the Planning Act, Finck believed it should still be a serious consideration of the township.
“As mentioned several times, there is a huge flooding problem on neighborhood properties and the worst is on 7410 Wellington Road 34.”
As far as Finck is concerned, there are no satisfactory answers given to how further and increased flooding will be prevented and who will pay for the damage caused.
Finck does not believe the existing warehouse is properly zoned and appears to be illegal in height.
“This property seems to have a history of a blatant disregard for policy and procedure and so you can understand why the public seems to have such a problem with this particular application,” Finck stated.
“It appears that there are still many significant issues that concern the public regarding this re-zoning and expansion that either have not been satisfactorily addressed or have been ignored.”
Finck urged council to act in the best interests of the people and vote against the application.
“I would think that whichever way council decides to vote that this matter will be appealed to the OMB for further debate and investigation,” said Finck.
“Therefore by voting in the best interests of the public you will at least be doing the right thing in the eyes of the public, whatever the final outcome of this application.”
