CENTRE WELLINGTON – Rural residents packed the house at a Centre Wellington town hall to show their disapproval of a planned subdivision of high-end estate homes as part of the Fergus Golf Club.
Council chambers were filled and an overflow crowd watched the proceedings from the basement.
The new private subdivision being proposed by Geranium Homes would be made up of 118 single homes on half acre lots south of Wellington Road 19 between Second and Third Line in a rural part of the township.
It would be integrated as part of an existing 18-hole golf course built in 2000 and would replace an older nine-hole course built in 1977, referred to as the northwest parcel and southeast parcel respectively. Communal water and wastewater services would be located at the northwest site.
The subdivision is planned to have two entries and exits on Third Line and one on Wellington Road 19.
A housing development was once approved at the site by the former West Garafraxa Township in 1992.
Cheryl Shindruk, Geranium Homes VP, said at the meeting the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing gave approval to a past owner for 41 residential units on the southeast parcel with the nine-hole course remaining.
“Taken together, the proposal maintains the principle of residential and recreational golf course uses on communal services,” said Cheryl Shindruk, vice-president of GeraniumHomes.
In a time period where terms like affordable or attainable housing are on people’s minds, Shindruk acknowledged these homes won’t fit into those categories.
“I know affordability is a huge issue in many communities and these will be homes that will be priced at a point that perhaps would not be an affordable home,” Shindruk said
The proposal needs a number of approvals at the township and county levels but the province approved a Wellington County Official Plan Amendment 119 which included modifications to the site-specific policy that pertains to the Fergus Golf Club lands.
Many people who came to the meeting did not officially speak as a delegate but could be seen shaking their heads or heard making off-handed comments about the scale of the development and how much more traffic it would bring to the area.
Third Line resident Leanne Iravani outlined a number of concerns about this development mainly focused on the lack of infrastructure to support an influx of new residents.
“Roads, traffic signs, lane changes, schooling, hospitals, all of the infrastructure that is required within our township to accommodate a ‘118 condominiums’ which could conceivably have up to four people dwelling in each of those and therefore cars,” Iravani said.
Ron Ashley, who lives on Rennie Boulevard off Third Line across from this proposal, was similarly concerned about lack of infrastructure, particularly the impact to well water, and noted the number of children who play outside in the area.
“We have no sidewalks, this isn’t metro Toronto, metro Newmarket or Markham, this is Fergus and it’s not even Fergus,” Ashley said. “It’s in the middle of nowhere between Fergus and Belwood.”
Bob Cameron, Third Line resident, spoke in favour as he said the developer has been answering all questions he had and was impressed by the quality when he visited a community they’ve already built.
“Everybody’s heard the term NIMBY, not in my backyard, well this is in my front yard,” Cameron said. “But if we don’t support things just because it’s a next door neighbour, we wouldn’t ever build anything.”
Coun. Bronwynne Wilton noted an active dairy farm south of the housing and wanted to know if there was anything being done to minimize any conflict there.
Shindruk said they’ve been in discussion with the farm and are working on installing fencing and a trees to act as a visual barrier. She stressed it will be made clear to potential residents they will be moving near an active farm.
Mayor Shawn Watters added this is a different application than has been the norm lately because of its rural context and wanted to ensure this development doesn’t impact current residents.
“I want you to continue that conversation with your neighbours to make sure that we’re not impacting what they hope to do themselves,” Watters said. “In this community we want to be good neighbours and we’d like to welcome new people to enter the community but we also want to protect the interests of our community here as well.”
A staff recommendation on this zoning application will come to council at a later date.
