Sixty new homes are coming to Ospringe, if a new subdivision development application is approved.
Subdivision plans for the 45-acre property at the southwest corner of Wellington Roads 124 and 125 was presented to the public and council on Feb. 21.
The proposal includes a park, storm water management system, a walkway, public roads and an area for future development.
The residential lots, to be serviced by private wells and septic systems, will have a frontage of 24 to 30 metres.
Wellington County planner Sarah Wilhelm said the Provincial Growth plan as well as both the town and county official plans “all allow for small-scale low density residential uses in a hamlet such as Ospringe.”
Hugh Handy, a planner on behalf of developer Thomasfields Homes, said the property has been within the settlement land for Ospringe for a number of years.
“The growth will also support, in our mind, schools, commercial, recreation facilities in the area and throughout the town,” he said.
Handy said an existing house and silo will be removed from the site. He added an environmental impact study, transportation impact assessment, noise assessment, archaeological assessment and hydrological report, as well as other studies, have been completed.
“There’s been a lot of work that has been done up to this point, but we realize this is really the introduction of the application,” said Handy.
Three neighbours voiced concerns during the meeting about fencing, water supply and leakage from septic beds.
Matt Nelson, the developer’s hydrogeologist, said water supply shouldn’t be a concern.
“The bedrock aquifer in the area … stretches quite far, all the way from Hamilton to Tobermory and it has very good supply properties that used to supply towns and cities all the way along the Niagara escarpment,” he said.
Erin resident Pauline Follett said she was concerned about traffic.
“They say it’s a small scale subdivision; it’s 60 homes, doesn’t sound like a small scale,” she said.
Councillor Jeff Duncan agreed the development is large scale for the area.
“These lands have been designated hamlet area, which means development area … since 1995,” he said.
Councillor Matt Sammut said he was concerned with this type of growth.
“Our town doesn’t grow… we haven’t grown in a long time,” Sammut said.
“Statistics argue that, but I don’t see those statistics as being as they really are. We haven’t grown that much in a long time.”
According to the recently-released 2016 census data, Erin saw the largest growth in the county at 6.2 per cent.
“We shouldn’t dump a subdivision, I won’t say in the middle of nowhere, but we’ve got a lot of land that can be developed like this,” said Sammut.
“I realize it’s a process but sometimes I think what we should be doing from a planning perspective is really plan it out saying, do we want a town with no character with a parcel here with 60 homes, another one with 30 homes … it’s just hodgepodge; it concerns me a little bit.”
Wilhelm will likely provide recommendations at a future meeting, once outstanding issues are resolved.
Mayor Allan Alls was absent for the public meeting.
