Slow growth

Two Wellington subdivisions pitched to planning committee

The Regent Theatre stage was back in action last week, hosting the Prince Edward County Planning Meeting. Two Wellington subdivisons—Wellington Bay Estates and Fields of Wellington— were shown to council, for their comments and feedback. Both subdivisions have been in the works for over a decade, and are inching closer to approval.

The front of the proposed units in the Fields of Wellington subdivision contain minimal steps for easy access, while the rear contains a garage with attached carport, as well as an apartment or office space above the garage with laneway access.

Wellington Bay Estates is a proposed 176 residential unit subdivision on the eastern limits of the village, complete with a community centre and lands to the west for a new stormwater management pond. Unit types will be comprised of single detached dwellings and semi-detached dwellings. The applicant proposes to provide access to the individual lots by constructing a new internal road network and a portion of a new collector road that would connect to Main Street. It is anticipated that this new collector road would provide future access to Belleville Street within the vicinity of the Lehigh Arena.

Wellington Bay Estates President Martin Mazierski told council that his company, which is working in conjunction with Sandbank Homes, has a strong reputation of building homes in the County. “The ownership of this company has built hundreds of homes in this community and has been building here for over 20 years having directly employed hundreds of people in this comminity,” he said. Mazierski explained he and his team have been working with County staff since 2017 to design something that fits in well with the existing community. “This whole community is designed with public roads and wide right of ways. We are including sidewalks on every road as well as double sidewalks on all the collector roads. We want his community to blend in well and connect well with the existing community and future developments,” said Mazierski.

Mazierski also explained that Wellington Bay Estates has purchased a property on West Lake that will allow for storm water management for their property, as well as future developments on the eastern end of the village.

Many councillors asked whether or not the homes Wellington Bay Estates plan on building will be affordable. “The homes in this community will be attainable. If there is any doubt in our company’s dedication to provide attainable housing in the County, we are currently building 10 properties in Picton, some of the most economical lots in that town in a while. We will also be building 16 more lots like that in Picton,” said Mazierski.

Wellington resident William Cobban joined the meeting via Zoom, and told council he was worried about the lack of parkland and green space. “There are two critical issues that need work. Density and green space. This is an overly dense development which needs green space for balance,” said Cobban. He also questioned the need for a community centre, noting that the Wellington and District Community Centre is underutilized. “Why build a community centre? The best one in the County is only a stone’s throw away,” said Cobban, hoping for green space instead of a community centre.

Councillor Mike Harper asked Mazierski if these homes would be a private community marketed to seniors. Mazierski explained that the market demand will play a big part on who the homes are marketed too. “The roads themselves will be public roads. We have gone through great lengths to make it accessible to the community. Right now it is still in flux. We are trying to figure out what the market dictates. We have requested zoning that would allow us to do a private community in the middle of that development. We are giving ourselves that option, but still exploring market factors and services,” said Mazierski, explaining that if it will sell to seniors, then that is who they will target.

Harper then asked about the flow of traffic onto an already busy Main Street. County engineer Steve Harvey explained that a turning lane off of Main Street is being proposed, but that signalling is not needed. The work on Main Street will also be at the expense of the developer.

Councillor Phil St. Jean tried to get Mazierski to pin down a starting price point. Mazierksi told council that still being two years away from an approval makes it tricky to provide a price. “We aren’t at draft plan approval stage yet. It is tricky to say what prices will be over two years from now. We are not aiming at a premium market. The houses will be attainable,” he said.

Mazierski was happy overall with how the meeting went. “I was glad to get a chance to answer the councillors’ concerns and to explain how the proposal has evolved through feedback from staff. I am hoping that the statutory meeting leads to a staff report and a council vote on the draft plan and rezoning before the end of September,” said Mazierski, who is eager to get shovels in the ground. “As soon as we can get the zoning and draft plan approved we can start working on detailed engineering, which would be the next step in the process toward securing building permits, thereby providing a much needed boost to the County’s economy and the municipality’s balance sheet.”

Mazierski explained to The Times that his development can provide that boost faster than the other already-filed Wellington proposals, which are tied to lands situated north of the Millennium Trail, because his property sits adjacent to Main Street and can therefore connect to existing sanitary lines instead of being dependent on new lines being built along the Millennium Trail.

Next on the docket was Fields of Wellington, a 110-acre property on the western limit of Wellington, running along Consecon Street. The proposed subdivision consists of a range of 671 to 691 residential units to be developed over eight phases. Unit types will be comprised of single detached dwellings, link homes, townhomes, and mid-rise residential.

Landowner Alan Hirschfield attended the meeting, and told council that he and his team are dedicated to producing a liveable community in the village. “Sine the inception of this project we have received only support and encouragement and relevant input from the public, from residents, from council and staff. We feel a great deal of responsibility to produce something worthwhile in Wellington,” said Hirschfield. “We are cognizant of the fact that Wellington is a village. We are faced with a significant challenge in providing needed infrastructure for the exitsting village and as well for growth.”

The proposed development will be located north of the Millennium Trail and according to Hirschfield, represents a logical extension of the existing neighbourhood to the south, and existing single family homes along the east and west sides of Consecon Street. The development hopes to maintains the small town feel and character of Wellington with a sympathetically designed built form. A diverse range of housing accommodations are proposed in the form of single-detached dwellings and townhouses, with ancillary residential dwellings, and mid-rise apartment buildings. Implementation has been designed to occur incrementally over time with the goal of gradual integration into the existing community based on market demand. The development contemplates a complete neighbourhood by providing a variety of residential dwellings, open spaces and community amenities, and connecting to the commercial services.

Councillors again asked if the homes would be affordable. Hirschfield explained that a large component of that lies in the hands of the municipality. “I think land bought in the last five to ten years in the County has not been that expensive. We have been able to buy it at a decent cost. All the other costs to build are comprised of consulting costs, municpal fees, development charges, minimal interest costs, and construction cost,” said Hirschfield. “Lenders want a minimum of 15 per cent profit to fund the construction cost. We are not at odds with council, I just wanted to explain how we add up that cost. If we can trim costs, it is a function of the municipal process as well as the private sector. The margins are quite slim.”

Part of the plan for the units in the subdivison are rentable apartment, office or short-term accommodation above the garage. Councillor Phil St-Jean asked how Hirschfield felt about supporting the municipality’s position on limiting the number of whole home short-term accommodation (STA) rentals. Hirschfield said it was never his intention to see the units as STAs.

“Our intention is to provide loose fit housing so that a young couple can move into a normal detached house and be able to afford it because they can rent an apartment above the garage,” said Hirschfield, who explained it could also be used for extended family, or as a home office.

A decision regarding both developments was not made at the meeting. A final decision will come before council in the form of a staff report at a later date following a peer review.

Last on the list was a proposed control bylaw, which would put a hold on all new development in Wellington for 12 months, allowing staff to come up with a plan for how development proceeds, in particular how the municipality deals with how much it will cost taxpayers. Mayor Steve Ferguson told his colleagues he was in support of this bylaw. “I think this is a very prudent move. We have been going at breakneck pace here and I think 12 months to take a pause and review where we are at is totally appropriate,” said Ferguson. Staff will bring forward an information report at a future date.

This layover shows the proposed Wellington Bay Estates subdivision on the eastern edge of the village. Main Street is south, and the Ashgill Gardens subdivision is to the west.