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Kings continue their winning ways against Kitchener............................... »23 THE OBSERVER | Saturday, November 29, 2008
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»28 VOLUME 13, ISSUE 47
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2008
www.ObserverXtra.com
Small subdivision proposed for Union Street in Elmira
Township looks at wastewater allocation in relation to other projects
CHaNGES ON THE HOrIZON The old farmhouse and orchard sitting on 5.5 acres of land on elmira’s union street is being considered for a small residential subdivision.
PHOTO | JOe MerliHan
STEVE KANNON Still early in the planning stage, a small residential subdivision will put a new face on Elmira’s Union Street. The Hawk Ridge Homes Inc. development is slated for the long-vacant orchard site opposite the former Nutrite fertilizer plant. To date, the developer has had only an informal meeting with Woolwich Township and Waterloo Region planners, consultations in advance of the formal submission. What’s proposed is a mix of single-family and semi-detached homes on the 5.5-acre site. Given the size of the property, the usable space would allow for 30 or 40 units, suggested John Scarfone, Wool-
wich’s manager of planning. “They’re proposing a mix of housing … sensitive to the existing neighbourhood.” The site, which fronts on Union Street between First and South streets, abuts an existing residential area to the west. Across Union Street to the east is the older industrial section of town. New access points to the subdivision, which would likely involve the extension of Bauman and College Streets, would be from First Street rather than Union Street, he said. At this early stage, the township is looking where the development fits in terms of its staging policies for new homes and the allocation of wastewater hookups. Ordinarily, the small size of the project would have little impact
on the number of available units – currently standing at 1,418 – but the plan follows a submission by the Lunor Group for a sprawling new subdivision of up to 1,400 residential units on Church Street West. At a meeting earlier this month for the Lunor project, Hawk Ridge Homes expressed a concern about the impact on sewage allocation, noted township planner Jeremy Vink. But because the Lunor subdivision would take many years to build out, the township has few worries about the allocations. In fact, the region has tentatively earmarked 2014 or 2015 as the time for another upgrade at the Elmira wastewater treatment plant, well within the timeline for the staging of construction at the Lunor site.
Because it’s a brownfield project, the Hawk Ridge plan is likely to get special consideration –the Ontario government encourages municipalities to promote infilling rather than new construction, often on what was previously farmland. “By provincial rules, we have to try as much as possible to have a 60/40 split, greenfield versus infilling,” explained director of engineering and planning Dan Kennaley. “Lunor’s not the only one looking for allocation.” In addition to the orchard site, the township is also eying the potential redevelopment of the former Procast Foundry land at the corner of Church Street and Memorial Avenue. “Lunor is obviously the big one, but there are other sites we’re watching in Elmira,” said Vink.