Slow growth

Fields of Wellington subdivision takes a step closer to reality

Fields of Wellington, a proposed subdivision located north of the cemetery along Consecon Street in Wellington, became a little closer to a reality after Council, sitting as planning committee, passed an Official Plan Amendment and Draft Plan of Subdivision and Zoning Bylaw Amendment.

Planner Ryan Guetter was on hand to tell the committee that phase one would consist of 127 residential units, made up of town houses, small detached family homes and bungalows. The timeline for a complete buildout of six phases would be in the 10- to 15-year range. “Ultimately, this is an overall vision that is intent on delivering a diversity of housing, both attainable to entry-level, first-time buyers, families big and small, as well as seniors,” said Guetter. “This will be a phased development, incremental over time, certainly beyond a 10-year horizon.”

Developer and land owner Alan Hirschfield was also in attendance, and told the committee and staff that he and his wife have enjoyed the process and getting to know the wants and needs of the village of Wellington. “We have been working for over four years in the County with residents, staff and council. We have enjoyed the process so far and we have learned a lot about what the County is looking for. We know that the County is facing some daunting challenges in terms of infrastructure and pace of growth, and we recognize that the character of the village above all has to be maintained to preserve the value of our real estate and your real estate,” said Hirschfield.

Councillor Mike Harper asked about the number of phases for this development, and brought up the issue of demand for housing in the village. “I know one of the concerns in the community is Wellington hasn’t grown, and how do we expect to sell all of these houses? Where are these people coming from?” asked Harper. Hirschfield replied that would not be a problem. “The biggest challenge is going to be to control growth, and not to find growth. Prince Edward County is one of the hottest markets in Ontario right now, and it’s because of the character of the County. I would hate to see that spoiled by overgrowth,” he said. “We’d like to build a few houses sooner rather than later, and then the County still has control through the interim phasing of infrastructure about how quickly it wants to grow.” Hirschfield also noted that the growth needs to be slow, as to not compromise the reason why folks are moving here in the first place. Each of the six phases would see roughly 100 homes built. “We have no concerns at all about a prolonged steady growth, but I think it needs to be done in the 10- to 15-year time frame, not in the 5- to 10-year time frame,” he said.

Hirschfield explained that some of the highlights would include townhouses with master bedrooms on the main floor, 1,700-square-foot detached homes with a home office, and semi-detached garages with 650- square-foot apartments above to deal with the longterm rental requirements of those who work in the community. “This allows a young family to rent the apartment in the back to someone in the community who can’t find anywhere to rent and supplement their mortgage,” added Hirschfield.

Councillor Janice Maynard asked about the issue of affordability. “We’ve heard pretty strongly that they want affordable housing. It’s not that our children can’t find a home, but they can’t afford to buy a home. If it is possible, I think that is probably the more immediate need,” said Maynard. Hirschfield stated that it’s a tough product to offer, but his team is getting creative. “It’s a very difficult and prickly question because we are dealing with fixed engineering and infrastructure costs, roads and construction costs. For example, lumber has doubled in the last year in price, so the split where you can affect affordability is quite small,” he said. Hirschfield noted that first time buyers often have trouble securing a mortgage from a bank. “Let me tell you if you are a first-time buyer they don’t help you at all. We do. We make sure that our building programs allow first-time buyers with their 5 per cent down to come in and buy a residence. We make efforts to that. We provide first-time buyer discounts,” said Hirschfield.

The draft plan will come to council at a later date for approval.