ABERFOYLE – Puslinch Township is taking the City of Guelph to the Ontario Land Tribunal over the city’s Clair-Maltby Secondary Plan.
Mayor James Seeley reported in the public session that Puslinch council approved the motion in camera at a special meeting on June 6.
“Council directs staff to file an appeal with the Ontario Land Tribunal and take all necessary steps in pursuit thereof with respect to the outstanding concerns raised by the township regarding the City of Guelph’s Official Plan Amendment 79, the Clair-Maltby Secondary Plan,” reads the motion unanimously approved by council.
The area encompassed by the Clair-Maltby plan stretches between Poppy Drive West (just south of Clair Road) and Maltby Road, and between Victoria Road South to lands just east of the Southgate Business Park.
It proposes a mix of housing types, a system of parks, open spaces and trails, multi-modal transportation routes and balanced development to protect the natural heritage system and the Paris Galt Moraine.
City staff presented the Clair-Maltby Secondary Plan to Puslinch council in February along with its Transportation Master Plan. In April, Guelph staff presented its water supply master plan, all of which inform the Clair-Maltby secondary plan and all of which have potential impacts on Puslinch.
At each meeting Puslinch councillors expressed their concerns.
As Guelph’s water taking needs increase, they worry about the township’s own water supply and potential impacts to Puslinch residents, all of whom rely on private wells and private septic systems.
They worry about stormwater runoff and road salt and how that could contaminate Puslinch’s water supply.
They worry about increased traffic through Aberfoyle as even more commuters head to Highway 401 when the currently undeveloped 414 hectares of land is populated.
And they worry about the transition between urban Guelph and rural Puslinch on Gordon Street/Brock Road.
In an email, Puslinch CAO Glenn Schwendinger explained the rationale for going to the land tribunal.
“The township has been working for some time with Guelph [regarding] the Clair Maltby Master Plan. A few concerns remain at this point, details of which were outlined in the agenda material presented to Puslinch council,” stated Schwendinger.
“Given that some concerns remained outstanding and the deadline for filing an appeal was approaching, council decided to file the appeal to ensure that the opportunity to have the concerns addressed is not lost.”
Schwendinger said the township did receive correspondence from Guelph, which is under review by staff and consultants.
“We are continuing to work with Guelph, and we are hopeful that a satisfactory resolution can be achieved prior to the formal hearing,” he said.
In a phone interview, Guelph’s deputy CAO Jayne Holmes said she too is optimistic Guelph and Puslinch can reach an agreement and cancel the hearing.
Holmes said the city has a few wells near the border of Guelph and Puslinch and is willing to include them in its water monitoring program.
Some of the problems stem from the fact there are a lot of private properties on the border, “so access has been an issue,” she said.
As well, “developers could install wells at certain locations and we would monitor them,” she said.
This wouldn’t happen until development actually begins, however.
“Puslinch wants long-term monitoring. We have to look at the costs associated with that,” Holmes said.
Regarding setbacks of the new development, “Puslinch wanted more commitment to those setbacks. But there’s an opportunity for Puslinch to be involved in the site plans,” she said.
Holmes said the city wants to be a good neighbour and feels they are close to a solution that is palatable to both municipalities.
“I do think we’re on a path to not having the appeal. I think we’re almost there,” she said.
