HARRISTON – Town of Minto council has endorsed a plan of subdivision for a 10-unit development on Lawrence Avenue here.
The development will consist of 10 single-detached homes, Minto planning technician Ashley Sawyer explained at the May 3 council meeting.
The one hectare (2.47 acre) property, fronts on Lawrence Avenue and is part of the former Harriston Senior School lands, a 6.5 acre property purchased by the town from the Upper Grand District School Board in 2012 and later sold for development.
Town staff note in a report the draft plan of subdivision, filed by 2626514 Ontario Ltd (Jeff Metzger) has been revised to address technical aspects of the development, particularly as it pertains to engineering.
“Town staff and the town’s engineering firm, Triton Engineering, are now satisfied with the proposed draft plan and are recommending council endorse it,” subject to a lengthy list of conditions which must be cleared prior to construction.
Among the more than 50 conditions are a five per cent parkland dedication (or cash in lieu) and preparation and implementation by the owner of a vegetation management plan which evaluates the opportunity for the protection of trees.
Another condition is the provision of adequate sidewalks, lighting and snow removal satisfactory to the town and the Upper Grand District School Board, which operates the adjacent Minto Clifford Public School “in respect of the means whereby the children can walk safely to school or to school bus “student collection areas.”
The draft plan also designates a block of land to be deeded to the town, which will be merged with a town owned adjacent lot to make it a buildable lot.
Once all conditions of the draft plan of subdivision approval are met, final approval will be given, and the plan of subdivision will then be registered.
Once registered, lots can be sold to prospective purchasers, the staff report explains.
“So the draft plan of subdivision is coming down the homestretch. This shows the conditions that they have to adjust to get that formal subdivision agreement in place before they can start their construction,” Sawyer told council.
Mayor George Bridge noted it has been over a decade since the town acquired the former school property.
“When this final development gets done …then that’s an amazing feather in a lot of the councillor’s caps over the last few terms, because that whole area is now paying good taxes and helping the development of Harrison for sure,” the mayor stated.
“And that was sitting there with an old school on it that, unfortunately, had asbestos and other problems … it’s a good news story for sure.”
