“I can lobby my council colleagues to support me and the community in opposing this development… Based on my experience with developments going before the OMB and given that the City and Transportation experts support the current plan it would be very unlikely that the OMB would not allow the development to go forward…”
EDITOR’S NOTE: Councillor Shad Qadri responded on Facebook today to resident comments about Hazeldean Road access to the proposed Potter’s Key subdivision.
The temporary connection would be made through the site on Hazeldean Road and would connect into the road network of the development so this would be through an area of land that is shown to have residential development (the exact location has not been confirmed), after the timelines expires then they could develop those lots.
I have been working very hard to find a solution that can work for the community with respect to this development. Unfortunately the reality is that it is not as simple as City Council just saying no to the development and that be the final decision.
Here is some additional information I have shared with a few residents who have emailed me on this subject:
The traffic specialists with the City and those working with Minto Homes have both advised that based on their expertise a direct connection to Hazeldean Road is not required based on their transportation modeling. In their professional opinions the connections through Jackson Trails and Echowoods have sufficient capacity to handle the transportation needs of the new development. The City uses Institute of Transportation Engineers Trip Generation Manual 9th Edition, which is the industry standard for estimating traffic, for more information on this manual please visit http://www.ite.org/tripgeneration/trippubs.asp .
Therefore this puts us in a difficult position as the City cannot legally force the developer to provide the road access if transportation experts deem it not necessary. I do feel that the connection is needed and I feel that Minto should be providing a connection from the start of the development. I am also looking into their plan for construction traffic access to the site as well.
Minto is only allowing the gravel road as a temporary use because the concerns raised about traffic flow. They really are not obligated to provide any temporary road connections as all the traffic studies shows that road is not necessary.
The standard process is for a Plan of Subdivision is to be approved by the General Manager of Planning and Growth Management through Delegated Authority (DA) and with the concurrence of the ward councillor. As a result of the major concerns that residents and I have with the unresolved issues with the proposal I have lifted the DA which means the proposal will go before the City’s Planning Committee for a decision and to City Council for a final decision. I am a member of the Planning Committee which is made up of 10 City Councillors and I have spoken with Planning Committee Chair Councillor Jan Harder at length on this issue and she is well aware of the issues surrounding the proposed development.
I can lobby my council colleagues to support me and the community in opposing this development. In the possibility that Planning Committee and City Council do reject the proposed development then the developer has the legal rights to appeal the City decision to the Ontario Municipal Board. Based on my experience with developments going before the OMB and given that the City and Transportation experts support the current plan it would be very unlikely that the OMB would not allow the development to go forward. Therefore City Council can say no but then the developer would appeal the application and there is a good chance that the OMB would approve the development.