The sponsors of a
massive subdivision proposal in
southeast Simcoe hope to run an
access road through a county woodlot
at the corner of Boswell Street and
Donly Drive South.
The preferred
access to the property, which is
located in the area of Decou Road
and Ireland Road, runs through a
13-acre forest that the former Town
of Simcoe deemed a significant
woodlot in its official plan.
The applicant is
Zitia Farms of Paris. Zitia plans to
build more than 750 homes on the
185-acre parcel.
The land in
question is wide open and rural in
character. However, access is
limited. Zitia Farms has only two
options: A westward extension of
Boswell Street in the East Lynn
Industrial Park or a southerly
extension of Donly Drive South
toward Decou Road.
John Vallee of
Simcoe, the consulting engineer
acting on behalf of Zetia Farms,
said the latter is a non-starter due
to the Hydro One works yard to the
immediate east of where an extension
would run.
"We just, quite
frankly, don't feel that is an
appropriate gateway into the last
parcel of land set aside for
residential use in Simcoe," Vallee
said. "We'd have a problem marketing
homes using that as our gateway."
The problem,
Vallee said, is that the works yard
-- a fenced compound ringed with
barbed wire -- is filled with
transformers, spools of cable, scrap
infrastructure and other items one
would expect to find in an
industrial park.
"We are very
concerned about this road running by
an industrial storage yard and its
impact on the marketability of our
plan," he said.
The only other
option is the east-west Boswell
extension, which Norfolk planning
staff opposes because of the need to
cut trees. Last night, the developer
took two other access options off
the table -- both of them running
through Oakwood Cemetery -- due to a
mounting public backlash.
The access
question is one of several
unresolved issues that prompted
Norfolk council to defer the
proposal last night.
For starters, the
developer has yet to submit an
environmental impact study.
As well, the
developer wants to rezone 35 acres from
industrial to urban residential. The
Ministry of Municipal Affairs and
Housing wants evidence that Norfolk can
part with this much "employment land"
without hurting its economic prospects.
Norfolk and the developers -- Paul Halyk
and Peter Labiris -- also have to agree
on a 150-metre setback from Simcoe's
sewage treatment plant. The plant is
located 165 metres from the subject
land's western boundary.
Norfolk public works says the setback
should begin at the county's property
line; Zetia Farms maintains it should
begin in the centre of the plant itself.
Zetia Farms says this is where the odour
arises that creates the need for a
setback. If the proposal goes forward,
the matter will be negotiated.
Norfolk also has to calculate whether an
ongoing expansion at the Simcoe sewage
treatment plant will create enough
capacity to accommodate the development.
Planning consultant Catherine Cooper, of
Paris, says the subdivision, if
approved, will be built in seven or
eight phases. Zetia is seeking immediate
approval for Phase 1, which consists of
204 homes. The timeline for construction
is "10 or 20 years."
Access to the site is so limited because
Zetia Farms needs to build on existing
infrastructure in the East L ynn
Industrial Park. The ideal entry point
for water and sewer lines, Vallee said,
is along the proposed extension of
Boswell Street at the north end of the
property.
