North Kawartha Council has agreed to endorse an Official Plan and Zoning By-Law change to increase the boundaries of the hamlet of Woodview to allow for a new 59 lot subdivision on Northey’s Bay Road.
During the July 14 regular council meeting in North Kawartha, a report was presented by Forbes Symon, MCIP, RPP, Senior Planner outlining the intent of the change and what that would mean for the township.
A complete application for a subdivision has been submitted to both the township and county for a new 59 lot subdivision at the old golf course property on Northey’s Bay Road. The subdivision would be made up of 58 residential units in the form of single detached dwellings on private services. Symon’s report stated that lots will range in size from a minimum of 3,000 square metres (0.75 acres) to 4,783 square metres (1.2 acres) with 30-80 metres of frontage on the proposed internal roads and supported by the results of a hydrogeological investigation.
An Official Plan (OP) Amendment is needed to increase the boundary of the Hamlet of Woodview while a zoning by-law change is needed to allow for multi-residential use on the lands.
The report went on to say that lot 59, which will be approximately 1.4 hectares, is proposed to accommodate some small-scale neighbourhood/local commercial uses located in the vicinity of the existing golf course clubhouse and parking lot.
Symon explained that the proposal for the Official Plan Amendment and Zoning By-Law change would be to place the existing golf course lands entirely within the hamlet designation.Right now, the lands are partially within the hamlet and partially within the rural area.
The proposed lots will be accessed and served by an internal road network with a single connection to Northey’s Bay Road near the existing golf course entrance (approximately 400 metres south of Highway 28). The internal road network will be designed to municipal standards.
Symon told council that while all development for this subdivision will be paid for and constructed by the owner of the subdivision, the township would take over the maintenance of the roads and wastewater once complete.
He also mentioned that the new County Official Plan would place the entirety of the lands within the Hamlet designation, however because the new OP has been waiting for approval from the province for some time now, it was recommended to proceed with an amendment anyways to keep the ball rolling on the project.
Symon’s report explained, to permit the creation of multi-unit residential use, the subject property must be rezoned to a site-specific General Residential Exception (R-x) Zone. Natural heritage features identified within each open space block are to be rezoned to the Environmental Constraint (EC) Zone in order to protect said features and prohibit development, with the exception of stormwater management facilities and developable lands within Block 3. Lot 59 is to be rezoned to the General Commercial (C) Zone to permit commercial uses.
Symon also told council that municipalities are encouraged to ensure they have a three year supply of draft approved lots to accommodate growth. This subdivision would put North Kawartha in line with that directive.
He went on to tell council that the applicant has undergone all necessary studies and assessment of the lands to allow for the draft plan of subdivision.
There was a Traffic Impact Study completed that concluded the existing road system provided excellent overall operations and that no intersection improvements were required to support the proposed development
A hydrological study was also completed to determine the adequacy of water supply and recommend lot size.
Symon explained to council that while there is specific policies regarding development on Julian Lake, this development is over 640 meters away from the closest point of the lake and therefore those polices do not apply.
“This property is 640 meters to the closest point of the lake and is well outside of any reasonable impact assessment Zone associated with the lake and I made the statement in my report. The comments on the negative impact on Julian Lake are not matters that I give too much weight to in my decision. The distance exceeds everything that the ministry of the environment would suggest you look at and that there isn’t an issue in that regard.”
Symon told council that there were a total of 20 comments submitted by the public regarding this project, 16 of them opposing the development while four were in favour.
His report outlined the comments as:
• general concerns regarding the growth of Woodview Hamlet,
• the need for the development,
• impact on the rural character of the area,
• the general lack of amenities support development.
He said that the main concerns seemed to be focused on the potential impacts on the groundwater and the supply of potable water to service the development, along with increased traffic congestion and unsafe conditions at the intersection of County Road #56 and Highway #28.
He also said that there were several comments on the potential negative impact on the natural environment, with specific mention of Julian Lake. There were questions asked about the benefits to the Township and existing taxpayers for assuming responsibility for the maintenance of the roads and stormwater infrastructure and the availability of emergency services to support the development.
Comments that were submitted in support of the development included:
• need for additional housing
• the benefits of additional homeowners in the area to support the existing community amenities
Symon also explained to council that the township would just be responsible for providing a recommendation to County Council for the OP amendment while they would ultimately be responsible for the zoning by-law change to allow for multi-residential dwellings.
He recommended that Council endorse the proposed Official Plan Amendment and pass a motion recommending to Peterborough County that they approve the OP amendment as well as that Council endorse the proposed Zoning By-law Amendment for the property.
Coun. RuthAnne McIlmoyl asked Symon for clarification that they were just dealing with planning issues at this point in time and that should they have any concerns with the project outside of planning, that would be addressed through the County.
Symon answered by stating, “You’re going to be asked to provide comment to the county on the subdivision itself. You will provide a recommendation of a list of conditions that get added to the County’s decision or draft approval. It’s very similar to the consent process where the Township provides comments to the land division committee on the conditions you want to impose on the severance, and then the applicant proceeds with that conditional approval, and they satisfy the conditions and eventually begin their lot.”
Coun. Colin McLellan asked if, based on the current zoning, there would be a need for a second entrance to the subdivision.
Symon said that typically a second entrance is only required if the development exceeds 200 units.
“This being at 59, including the commercial, would be well below that standard and I think that there’s some efficiencies that can be achieved in terms of maintenance, snowplowing in particular, having an in and out. But I don’t think from an emergency services standpoint a secondary entrance will be triggered.”
Symon’s recommendation was moved by Deputy Mayor Jim Whelan and seconded by McIlmoyl.
The recommendation was approved.
