Guelph-Eramosa Township will proceed with a public meeting for a proposed 259-unit residential development in Rockwood, although several councillors have expressed concerns with the plan.
The meeting for the Harris Street development, which will include 130 single detached dwellings, 42 semi-detached dwellings, and 87 townhouses, has been scheduled for March 28 at 7pm at the Rockmosa community centre.
At a meeting last week several councillors again expressed concerns about density, as the developer, Harris Street Developments Inc. (HSDI), is seeking lot coverage of 50 to 60% depending on the type of unit, when the bylaw maximum is 35%. Councillors also raised the issues of parking and traffic.
Councillor Doug Breen wondered if the subdivision access from Harris Street could be eliminated, and instead use only the entrance off Jolliffe Avenue via Main Street (Highway 7).
Planner Lana Phillips, of MHBC Planning, said eliminating an entrance is likely not a good idea, considering the number of units in the proposed subdivision.
Mayor Chris White then suggested the entrances be made one-way accesses to help address traffic issue on Highway 7 and Harris Street, which, he said, is very busy, has sidewalks close to the road that are used by a lot of kids and has a lot of speeders.
“It’s going to be a huge bottleneck … I think we’re setting ourselves up for failure to a certain degree in regards to traffic,” White said.
Breen said part of the problem is there are no traffic lights at the existing subdivision entrance off of Highway 7, which the township has requested for years from the Ministry of Transportation.
“When are we going to get this dam stoplight?” Breen asked. “The situation was not good 1,000 units ago … My gut tells me you couldn’t turn left [there] 1,000 houses ago.”
Breen said he would like to get some input on the subdivision plans from the township’s fire department. He noted the creation of two separate condo associations creates a similar situation – just on a much larger scale – as that with Isaac Lane, which has had issues with parking and snow removal and concerns about emergency access in the past.
White warned the developer that if the public has concerns about the proposal, besides density, they are going to focus on traffic and safety issues.
“We’re raising the flag,” White said.
The mayor asked if it is possible to get more background on the property, including when it was zoned residential, and suggested expanding from 120 metres to 240 the area in which nearby residents will receive written notice of the proposal and public meeting.
“I’d hate for anybody to be left out because they’re three metres outside the planning parameters,” said White.
Council agreed and also voted unanimously to proceed with the public meeting on March 28 at Rockmosa.
