Vacant land condominium comments, an electronic documents management system and a security reduction were some of the items discussed at the Guelph-Eramosa council meeting on Nov. 16.
Vacant land condo
A vacant land condominium application has been submitted to Wellington County and the area of development is within Rockwood; however, the approval authority lies with the county.
Guelph-Eramosa planning associate Kelsey Lang presented proposed comments about the application at the council meeting.
The private development is proposed for lands east of Dowler Street and would include a private road connecting with Dowler.
The developer is proposing seven detached dwellings as well as an independent lot on the corner of Shanley and Dowler Streets.
A zoning bylaw amendment process is also in progress to remove a holding provision, provide limited relief and define the hazard zone boundaries and setbacks for the area.
Some of the proposed comments from the township include:
– R.J. Burnside and Associates Limited, the township’s consulting engineers, provided a number of comments ranging from runoff requirements to minimum road grades to geotechnical report requirements;
– director of parks and recreation Robin Milne said the township would accept the 3.776 hectares of hazard land to use for future trail development but it’s not acceptable for the developer’s parkland requirements. The township will be seeking payment in lieu of parkland;
– director of public works Harry Niemi provided a number of comments including snow removal requirements, watermain services and requirements and sanitary collection requirements to name a few; and
– chief building official Dan Sharina also added comments ranging from fire access route requirements to street light installation to street name and number requirements.
Council endorsed the draft plan of the condominium application subject to conditions of approval.
The township will submit the report and the resolution to the county.
Electronic records system
Deputy clerk Amanda Knight made a presentation to council regarding the progress of the implementation of the FileHold electronic document records management system the township implemented this year.
The program manages and stores all electronic records and provides comprehensive search capabilities, Knight explained.
“All in all staff have been really pleased with the program itself and the level of service that we are receiving from FileHold,” she said.
The goal is to be running the program corporate wide by January 2016.
Though this software is not available to the public it will make it easier for staff to locate any requested information.
Securities reduction
The developer of 42 Bedford Road has received the requested securities reduction after the required retaining wall was constructed across the three back lots.
Earlier this year the township refused the requested securities reduction because there was an immediate concern that some backyards on Bedford Road would be ruined and fall into the new development if a retaining wall was not constructed.
At the suggestion of township engineering consultants R.J. Burnside and Associates Limited, the township is retaining $84,463 in securities and returning the balance to the developer.
“I think it looks great …” councillor Corey Woods said.
“And I’m not an engineer so I cannot speak for the engineering, but aesthetically I think it looks wonderful.”
