A pile of dirt that has been called “a mountain of topsoil’ is slowly being moved from the backyards of residents of a subdivision here.
Public works director Larry Lynch reported at the Aug. 13 council meeting that some of the soil has been moved from the Drayton Heights subdivision, after developer Activa Holdings allowed it to be taken away for free. Lynch said 160 loads have been moved to local soccer fields and County of Wellington workers have taken away another 75 to 80 loads.
“We’re trying to take as much away as we can and then we’ll have Activa come in and level it down to a suitable height –10 feet instead of 25 feet,” said Lynch, who reminded council the original agreement with Activa requires them to keep the topsoil on site until the subdivision is completed.
“Rome isn’t built in a day and we’re trying, but in all honesty the agreement says that it’s supposed to be there.”
The soil pile issue came up during discussion of a request from the developer for a reduction in the amount of security required to ensure satisfactory completion of the subdivision, from close to $300,000 to $50,000. An engineer’s report from R. J. Burnside presented at the meeting indicates servicing work required under the subdivision agreement has been “for the most part completed.”
Councillor Andy Knetsch initiated the discussion about the soil, asking about the time frame for removing the dirt, which has been in its current location since 2007.
Council accepted a report from CAO Patty Sinnamon recommending the reduction in the security deposit.
A total of 46 detached and 10 semi-detached lots remain in the subdivision draft plan. Future registrations are contingent on additional sewage capacity being allocated in Drayton by the Ministry of Environment.
