Port Picton Homes finally got the green light for 870 new residences, ranging from detached houses to apartments, over five phases of development on 80 acres zoned for town residential development at Sandy Hook Road and the Loyalist Parkway.

Developer David Cleave has promised to expedite the first phase, which will include about 35 entry-level townhomes priced between $375,000 and $450,000.

Because the development is on the highly sensitive Cold Creek watershed, it has been subject to vigorous and sustained community opposition led by the Waring’s Creek Improvement Association.

Failed Attempts

First presented to residents at a public information session held in August, Council’s Planning and Development Committee discussed the proposal in September, and planning staff presented the file to the Committee for approval in October.

But a deadlocked Planning Committee overturned the staff recommendation and voted against the proposal in a 7-7 vote. A tie vote is a fail. When the file came to Council for a final vote later that month, it earned another 7-7 tie. A final fail.

Some councillors were responding to residents’ concerns about inadequate protections for the Cold Creek watershed. Others objected to the zoning of prime farmland for town development.

That left the developer headed to the Ontario Land Tribunal, where, because the property is zoned for town residential development, and County planners were in favour, he would almost certainly have won.

But, as Mr. Cleave noted at the time, “the OLT process will set the project back at least a year.” He knew also that the County would be on the hook for hundreds of thousands in legal fees.

He persuaded Councillor Brad Nieman to seek an in-house solution. Council passed a motion to reconsider at the end of November.

A revised application came before Council February 11. It included further studies, including a hydrogeological, a peer-reviewed Environmental Impact Study, and revisions to address environmental concerns. These included adding setbacks of 50m around wetlands and Low Impact Development (LID) measures for all phases of the development, to be administered through Site Plan Control.

A four-hour discussion ensued over the accuracy and legitimacy of the studies and reports prepared for both the municipality’s planners and Cold Creek by professional engineers, environmentalists, lawyers, and peer reviewers hired or consulted by, variously, the municipality, Port Picton Homes, and the WCIA.

An amending motion requires that prior to a subdivision agreement, further studies, and accompanying peer reviews, are to be commissioned. Port Picton Homes’ hydrogeological study will be reviewed by the Director of Development Services and an independent peer review consultant to be retained by the municipality.

All recommendations to emerge from the studies and the peer reviews will be incorporated into the development as it proceeds.

legal review

Meanwhile, the WCIA asked Council for a legal review of Minutes of Settlement it had established with the County in 2008, which guaranteed certain protections for Warings Creek.

It wanted to ascertain that the municipality met its terms when it executed the Picton-Hallowell Urban Area Secondary Plan and updated the County’s Official Plan to zone the land around the watershed for future town development.

The MOS called for the County to establish a natural heritage designation for Warings Creek, its tributaries, and the watershed as part of the preparation of the Secondary Plan and any changes to the Official Plan. It stipulates no development would take place in lands zoned Environmental Protection.

Council hired a third-party lawyer to do the study. Completed earlier this month, it found the County had fulfilled its obligations under the MOS. The WCIA is not convinced, however, and has hired another lawyer to do another study.

Cumulative Impact

The WCIA also asked for a Cumulative Impact Study to anticipate the pressures on the watershed of the two residential developments — Loyalist Heights and Cold Creek — proposed for the 144 acres at Sandy Hook Road and the Loyalist Parkway, in conjunction with the effects of climate change, including increased rainfall.

The amending motion Council passed last week will seek to create the terms of reference for the study in consultation with Port Picton Homes and the WCIA.

Developer David Cleave noted, “I am so grateful to the Councillors and Mayor who understood the importance of this project, allowing our community to grow with this affordable housing that is so needed.

“We also appreciate how vested the WCIA members are in keeping the Waring’s Creek healthy. As a local community member and developer, we also understand the balance of needed housing along with the environmental concerns. We will strive to be a great neighbour to the Creek.”

The subdivision will be the first in the County to avoid gas for heating or cooling. Instead, Mr. Cleave proposes heat pumps and, where possible, geothermal technology. The higher density development will include underground parking and a large open park, with wetland spaces and a forest zoned EP to be deeded to the municipality. Three public pathways to the Millenium Trail will also be provided.

But there Councillor Kate MacNaughton sounded a note of caution. “This development will absolutely have an impact on the Millennium Trail at that end. It’s unclear how much though—how close the buildings and parking areas will be and how much natural buffer will be lost.”