Village A

Base31 seeks draft subdivision approval, hopes to break ground by year-end

The first new village subdivision planned for the Base 31 project came before the County’s planning committee last week. These initial phases encompass 450 units, part of a concept plan that envisions 7,500 new homes on the former military base one day.

Village A, as it is currently known, is located at the northeast corner of the intersection of County Road 22 and Kinglsey Road. The current vacant parcel of land is about 28 hectares. The draft subdivision plan identifies 244 lots for single-detached homes, 171 townhouse units, plus 66 stacked townhouse units. In addition, two blocks are designated as high-density (multi-residential buildings). A central park, walkways and open space comprise two hectares.

According to the report filed with the planning committee, the overall vision of the project is to support ‘a diverse range of residential, commercial, employment, tourism, creative rural economic uses that meet the local and regional needs and foster economic development’.

Mike Pettigrew, of the Biglieri Group, a planning consultancy, spoke on behalf of the Base 31 partners. His firm conducted a public open house last year. Pettigrew stated that feedback from that session led to several changes in the plans.

“One of the main changes was to take the road pattern and make it more grid-like, so that it was easier to navigate and hearkening to the grid of the military base, and obviously adapting it a little bit to the topography and the shape of the lands,” explained Pettigrew.

ABOUT INFRASTRUCTURE

Much of the committee’s discussion focused on infrastructure and waterworks’ servicing capacity. Councillor Roy Pennell worries about the financial impact on the municipality if its waterworks capacity is insufficient.

“For this first phase, have you been assured by the County at this point that with no changes at all, we have the water and sewage capacity to go ahead?” asked Pennell.

Pettigrew stated that his clients are aware of the County’s capacity issues and that the draft approval would include conditions regarding servicing.

“The exact details of the servicing are being worked on right now,” said Pettigrew. “There isn’t a single solution that’s available right now.”

The answer didn’t satisfy the Ameliasburgh council member.

“Before I start approving something, I would kind of like to know where the municipality is standing,” said Pennell. He said he worries about the cost of approving the subdivision plan. Will it obligate the municipality to expand its waterworks infrastructure? And who will pay?

Mayor Steve Ferguson interjected to say that a report was forthcoming to council that would spell out the County’s waterworks infrastructure plans, costs, financial plan, and other details.

Councillor David Harrison approached the issue from a different angle, seeking to understand the developer’s perspective on the scale, timing, and pace of the projected buildout of Village A.

“Right now, our clients are contemplating two phases. But the build-out will be marketdriven,” explained Pettigrew. “They (Base 31 partners) are intending to move forward, if there is an approval, [by] the end of this year or beginning of next year. [But] the market will dictate how quickly they get through those phases.”

Chris Marchese from PEC Community Partners added that once draft plan approval is granted, his team will work toward a preservicing agreement, enabling earthworks to get underway.

“We are committed to building the homes regardless of where the market and the economy currently stand,” said Marchese. He told the committee the market would determine the pace of build-out.

Harrison pressed for clarity about how and when future blocks would be developed.

“How much build-out—40, 50, 80 per cent—would you want to see in Block A before you propose moving into another block…to give council and the County some sort of a projection if increased servicing is necessary and at what time frame?” asked the North Marysburgh councillor.

Marchese said it was not Base 31’s intent to be building multiple villages at one time.

“We may plan for future villages because of the approval process and the timing that comes with that, but we are fully focused on Village A right now,” said Marchese. “The timing is really dependent on the market.”

“We are working with staff very closely to understand how and when certain improvements need to be made into the system,” said Marchese.

Councillor Harrison didn’t derive comfort from the response. The councillor, and others, are reluctant to commit hundreds of millions of municipal dollars on infrastructure improvements without certainty that new homebuilding will occur at the pace and volume to fund the debt. The anxiety is amplified by an abundance of resale homes in Prince Edward County—with 412 active listings currently, according to the Canadian Real Estate Association. This compares to 231 active listings in 2022.

“If the market does not improve, then the build-out is really indefinite,” said Harrison. “If we actually see houses going up, at what stage would you feel the County would have to move ahead for more infrastructure?” he asked.

Marchese insisted the municipality should be making this investment now.

“The capacity across the County is being reached and the life expectancy of some of this capital infrastructure is coming to an end,” opined Marchese. “We are of the opinion that planning should be taking place now. So when we do come on stream for these future villages, when the market is there, we are ready to go and can provide that housing instead of waiting because we didn’t react.”