Guelph-Eramosa has once again recommended deferral of a decision for a severance application at 49 Ash Street in Eden Mills.
The application is asking for a 0.481 hectare parcel of land with 46.73m of frontage on Ash Street to be severed from the property. The severed parcel would include the existing house and two drive sheds.
The retained parcel would be 8.016 ha with 41.5m of frontage on Wilson Street and 12m of frontage on Ash Street. The owners are proposing a new house on the retained parcel of land, which is within the hamlet area of Eden Mills.
The application first came up in January 2017 and at that time council recommended deferral until the applicant confirmed street access to the retained portion, conducted additional studies and completed a concept plan for a possible future subdivision. The county land division committee subsequently deferred the decision.
On Jan. 15, 2018, a revised application was brought to council addressing previous concerns.
One of those concerns was the potential for future development and placing the proposed new house in a location that would allow for a subdivision in the future.
Mayor Chris White said this fact could have caused confusion for some Eden Mills residents.
“I know two maps went out to the community,” he said. “One had basically that severance and one had 13 homes in it, a subdivision.”
He said because the severance application is for a parcel of land that is within the hamlet area of Eden Mills, the owners have a right to apply to build homes at a future date. The new house must be built in a location that will not hinder hypothetical future subdivision development.
“You don’t want to build this house in the wrong spot to preclude that,” White said.
“So, the reason you drew up the 13 homes was just, frankly, a fantasy subdivision about how it could work and show you that that home is not in the wrong place vis-à-vis a future application.
“So all we’re actually facing today is one severance, one home.”
Another issue addressed was proposed access to the retained parcel of land off Wilson Street, which was originally questioned because the access would go through core greenlands.
“This proposal has access off Ash Street,” planning consultant Dan Currie said. “There’s no access proposed off Wilson. So that access resolves that issue of the implications and potential implications to any access in that location.”
The application also included a hydrogeological study and Currie said the township’s engineering consultants, RJ Burnside, had concerns about the 0.481ha size of the portion proposed to be severed because of the sensitive groundwater area.
“They need quite a large area to be able to deal with any negative effects of nitrates coming out of the on-site sewage system,” Currie said. “So, what’s recommended from an engineering point of view is a minimum lot area of 0.65 hectares in size.
“Which is greater than what they’ve proposed … in the severance.”
Currie once again recommended deferral of the application until the applicants rectify the inadequacy of the lot size.
Approved unanimously
The recommendation passed unanimously with councillor Louise Marshal excusing herself due to a declaration of pecuniary conflict of interest. Marshall’s property borders the severed property, which could cause changes to her property value.
