Growing pains

Standing guard: (L-R) Tom Wall, Barry Mellor and Ron Thomson

Residents air concerns about expansion of Wellington on the Lake

The residents want a few issues sorted out before the owner of the residential community is permitted to expand. Sandbank Homes’ application to open a new phase of Wellington on the Lake was the subject of a public planning meeting last week. Nearly 50 residents of the largely seniors community filed into the pews at Shire Hall to voice a variety of concerns and worries before council.

Keeping construction vehicles from the main artery feeding into the oldest part of the development is the most immediate concern. The latest phase of successful development will see 153 new lots created north of the existing community centre and Empire Boulevard, and bounded on the north by the existing golf course. The only access to homes on the west side of Prince Edward Drive is by way of Empire Boulevard. Similarly the only access to the community centre and services housed there is by way of Empire Boulevard. Further compounding their worries is the fact that there are no sidewalks in the residential community— compelling pedestrians to use the roadway to get around on foot.

“We are not against the expansion,” said Norm Dodgeson, vice president of the Wellington on the Lake Residents’ Association. “But we have major concerns about its execution.”

Dodgeson said his community is composed of 550 retired persons ranging in age from 55 to more than 90. He explained that at the current rate of build out, construction and development of the new phase might take as much as 15 years. He said residents don’t want to navigate construction vehicles on Empire Boulevard for the next decade and a half.

“There are approximately 34 ongoing activities at the community centre in addition to weekly meetings,” said Dodgeson. “Most of the people who attend these functions walk or use walkers or electric carts. They have to use the roadway as there are no sidewalks.”

The residents’ association is urging the developer and the municipality to agree to extend Prince Edward Drive to the north and connect the roadwork for the next phase to this road— bypassing Empire Boulevard.

Graham Shannon agrees with the residents. Shannon is a principal in Sandbank Homes, the developer of Wellington on the Lake.

“They have a legitimate concern,” said Shannon in an interview with the Times. “They don’t want heavy trucks and vehicles going down Empire Boulevard beside their homes. Clearly we are not going to do that.”

Shannon explained that Sandbank Homes is constructing a temporary road access off Prince Edward Drive that will go all the way to the back of the expansion.

“There won’t be trucks on Empire Boulevard,” assured Shannon. “This is an understandable concern and we wouldn’t do something like that anyway.”

The residents raised other concerns in their presentation to the planning committee. Several said they wished to see additional parkland added to the development. Others expressed concern about debris that had been dumped on lands targeted for the next phase.

Dodgeson suggested that some time had passed since an environmental study had been completed on the project and the residents wanted assurance the next phase would meet current standards. Some residents complained their water pressure is already low—they worry that 153 more homes will make the situation worse.

Public Works Commissioner Robert McAuley explained that as part of the planning approval process the developer is required to update technical reports including environmental reports, as well as ensure that water pressure and flow standards are updated.

Shannon assured residents the material stockpiled on the site is clean fill from basements dug out elsewhere in the community over the last 15 years.

“There is also some compost material, wood and plants. But there is nothing in there like paint or chemicals,” said Shannon.

On the issue of adding parkland, he is clear Wellington on the Lake was designed as a master planned community, and that the parkland was built into the plan 15 years ago. He says it is inappropriate for the municipality or residents to demand more parkland at this stage.

“When these plans were submitted on day one, 15 years ago, it showed all the phases of development,” said Shannon. “All the phases were designed around a central area featuring amenities and parkland—a recreation centre, lawn bowling, tennis courts and a pool area that is getting expanded this summer. This is the community green space as it has been planned for the life of the project.”

He adds that the engineering and planning for the entire project—including all three phases—was completed based on the master plan.

“For any resident who was curious about what was going there, the information was readily available— because it was a master planned community. To say we should put five per cent parkland, or remove 10 homes in there, is not a reasonable request— they knew what they were buying into.”

Sandbank Homes expects to be sold out of its current phase of 56 homes at Wellington on the Lake this year. It has sold five of 37 bungalow villa residences introduced last year. Shannon expects the third phase of 153 new single family homes will take between 10 and 15 years to complete.