CENTRE WELLINGTON – The thought of 118 executive estate homes going where there are currently nine holes of golf, did not sit well with local residents, who came to Belwood Hall the evening of June 1 to meet the proponents of a proposed development near Belwood and voice their concerns.
And their concerns were many, including traffic, noise, water and well water impacts, and affordable housing.
Geranium Homes has submitted an application to Centre Wellington to build 118 estate homes on the south-east portion of the Fergus Golf Club, located on Wellington Road 19 just west of 3rd Line.
The golf course has 18 holes on the north side of Wellington Road 19, and it will remain a golf course.
But the nine-hole course on the south side of Wellington Road 19 is the subject of the application.
The homes will be single detached three-bedroom homes, from 2,800 to 3,500 square feet on half-acre lots.
The site will operate under a condominium agreement, with private roads and communal water and wastewater treatment systems proposed on the north edge of the golf course.
The central wetland area of the site will be maintained but two smaller wetlands will be filled, and the central wetland increased in size to compensate. Stormwater management and a sanitary pumping station will also be located here, making a central open space design.
The existing underpass connection between the north and south sites will be maintained, connecting the golf course to the private street network.
Cheryl Shindruk, executive vice president of land development for Geranium, said an application was approved in 1996 to build 41 homes on the site and maintain the nine-hole golf course, but that plan was abandoned when the golf course was taken over by new owners.
Executive vice president of Geranium Homes Cheryl Shindruk speaks to Belwood residents at a public meeting held by the company on June 1. Photo by Joanne Shuttleworth
Some people in the room started calling out that 118 homes was too much for the site.
“Why don’t you keep it at 41?” someone stated.
“Ontario has a huge housing supply shortage,” Shindruk said, adding that while these homes might not be considered affordable – they will sell for about $2 million – 118 more homes will contribute to the overall housing supply.
“We need more homes of all kinds. These houses will supply a certain type of housing,” she said.
Greg Padusenko, a hydrogeologist with Golder and Associates, who is working on Geranium’s behalf, said they dug a test well in the northwest corner of the golf course right into the bedrock and tested the flow at a rate higher than anticipated by the development.
Padusenko said most of the private wells in the area are shallow wells and this deep bedrock well will not impact shallow wells or any private deep wells.
“You can appreciate we are all on top of the same aquifer,” said Leanne Iravani, a resident who lives just north of the golf course.
“Standards are set by the regulatory agencies. If we don’t meet the test, we aren’t approved,” Shindruk said.
Residents also voiced concerns over traffic on the 3rd Line and flooding as a result of the development.
There is already an issue with flooding in the spring, residents said.
“There will be traffic, there’s no doubt about it,” Shindruk said. “We design the development so it will have the least impact.”
There will be two access roads from Wellington Road 19 and two from 3rd Line, which should dissipate the traffic coming to and from the site, she explained.
As well, the audience was told that although it’s out of its scope, Geranium might be be able to fix flooding issues during construction.
Shindruk said once the project is approved, the company is ready to begin pre-construction work and will build the homes as they are sold. She said she expects it will take three to five years.
She added the company likes to contribute to projects in the communities where they build and have had discussions with the local Lions Club about ways to help here.
“Your views are important,” Shindruk said at the close of the meeting.
“We want to do a development that’s very successful for us and the community.”
The matter has not yet come to Centre Wellington council and there will be a statutory public meeting at a future date before a final decision is made.
