HARRISTON – Two small townhouses proposed for one growing street in Harriston has created some concerns among neighbouring properties.
During their Tuesday council meeting, the township of Minto accepted a proposal to provide relief from the town’s zoning bylaw for two, three-unit townhouses at 199/201 and 205/207 Queen Street North. The relief will allow the development to construct the townhouses with reduced front and back lot areas.
In a letter to council, one resident who would live across from the proposed development shared her disagreement with the proposal.
When Natascha Park moved to Harriston 20 years ago she knew that the retired scrapyard “with its orange and brown fence would one day be cleaned up” for houses.
“I have been excited to see interest in making more homes in our town, and especially our neighbourhood,” said Park, in her letter. “I am however concerned with the amount of housing being proposed in such a small space. The idea of six more units on this street worries me safety and infrastructure-wise.”
One of Park’s concerns centres around the lack of sidewalk from Jessie to Pellister Street despite “plenty of foot traffic.”
“I have watched this street grow from a sleepy quiet back street to a speedway/detour,” said Park. “When the summer traffic kicks in, and our main street is backed up on Fridays, this hill has become a detour.”
Calling the hill’s blind spot “a safety risk already,” she believes council should consider “squeezing” less units on the land, claiming her “property is wider than one of the lots” and “cannot imagine splitting it into thirds.”
“I have heard someone say "It's almost like living in the country here." And that is what I love about living in this area, and want others to experience,” said Park. “These future neighbours will be robbed of space, and a decent backyard. Why move from the city to live on top of each other?”
Each property is approximately 0.2 acres. Township bylaws require a minimum lot area of 280 squares metres whereas 244 squares metres is proposed. In terms of minimum lot frontage, 6.5 metres is required whereas 6.1 metres is proposed.
Park also believes the development would create strain on sewage, saying that her home and neighbouring properties already feel the effects of “the old sewage pipes” and lack of drainage, being on a hill.
“Six more households tapping into an already strained system worries me,” said Park. “Not to mention the manhole that gets hit by the snowplow and shakes our windows. At least three more households will have to get used to that.”
Ryan Binkle from the town's planning department shared he sees nothing wrong with the proposal.
“Infrastructure-wise, I don’t see any concern,” said Binkle. “Any added development is going to increase the population and the traffic so there is potential for it to move up in terms of getting sidewalks and curbs added but as of right now, there is no plan in the next five years."
Coun. Judy Dirksen had a question about stop signs and “the raceway” on Queen Street.
“(Putting in a stop sign) might discourage people from taking that street,” said Dirksen. but CAO Mark Potter wasn't sure.
“If there are multiple complaints, we can look into it,” said Potter. “It’s not typical (for traffic calming) purposes.”
In the report, planning staff noted that the properties previously came before council in April 2022 to rezone for two semi-detached dwellings. Since the passing of the bylaw, the properties have been sold to a new developer who is proposing the townhomes.
Deputy Mayor Jean Anderson had a question about future developers trying to squeeze more units on even smaller lots.
“I don’t know why anyone would want to put more units in there, they already look pretty small,” said Anderson. “But I struggle with this “as of right” business where if you own a piece of property, you can just add three units to it.”
Planning staff suggested that while it is possible in theory, without space for the appropriate parking, a proposal of that nature isn’t likely.
Up to four-unit street townhomes, eight-units total, are permitted with the existing zoning.
“The developer has considered multiple development alternatives on the property and feels that this is the most feasible and suitable for the existing neighbourhood,” said planning staff in the report. “The developer has worked with the existing zoning provisions as much as possible.”
Isabel Buckmaster is the Local Journalism Initiative reporter for GuelphToday. LJI is a federally-funded program.
