Development may welcome Ukrainian refugees
A proposal to convert the former tobacco research station west of Delhi into transitional housing for immigrant and refugee families received a generally positive reception at Norfolk’s public hearing committee on Tuesday.
“There’s no disruption to agricultural land, as has been stated by some that there would be,” Delhi Coun. Mike Columbus said.
“It makes use of a high-end building that was used for institutional purposes. It fulfills the need for housing in our area and addresses a labor shortage, which is quite important. We hear about that every week.
“The question has come up that this is ‘non-traditional’ and unique. But that’s why we’re elected. When something doesn’t fit the mould, that’s why we’re put here as a council – to deal with these abnormalities.”
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada retired the 160-acre research station on Schafer Side Road in 2013. Mike and Sandy Kloepfer, owners of Titan Trailers near Courtland, bought the property in 2015, a report prepared by a planning consultant on behalf of the family , said.
The report by LandPro Planning Solutions of Simcoe says the focus of the Kloepfers’ proposal is the main building on the property, which was built in 2000 at a cost of $8 million. Their immediate plan is to divide the building into six “suites,” each large enough to accommodate a refugee family. The Kloepfers have applied for a temporary-use bylaw lasting three years for this purpose.
Mike Kloepfer told Norfolk council he intends to spend nearly $300,000 on improvements. Maximum occupancy, council heard, will be between 40 and 45 people.
In a presentation, LandPro representative Mike Sullivan said the primary purpose of the facility is to house potential employees of Titan Trailers. Sullivan said Titan Trailers cannot recruit enough workers to keep up with orders due to a lack of housing for new employees.
The Kloepfers said the development will not be a profit centre. There comes a time, Sandy Kloepfer said, when people who have done well need to give back to the less fortunate.
“It’s not meant to make a profit,” she said. “It doesn’t really matter what it costs to run the building. We’ve been very blessed to live in this country, to live in this county. We’ve done very well and it’s time to give back.
“There’s a lot of need in the county but there’s also a lot of need world-wide. It breaks your heart when you see what’s happening. If you can do something, you try to do it.”
The Kloepfers have secured letters of support from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, Community Employment Services of Woodstock, and the London Cross-Cultural Learner Centre.
Initial plans were to house Afghan refugees. At Tuesday’s meeting, Mike Kloepfer mentioned that accommodations could be made as well for Ukrainian refugees, depending on how Ukraine’s war with Russia goes in the days and weeks ahead.
Port Dover County. Amy Martin sounded a note of caution at the end of Tuesday’s discussion. The application is unique, she said, but council has to ensure it is being fair to other employers who are also experiencing worker shortages and who may also wish to provide in-house solutions to their problem.
Planning staff will review Tuesday’s proceeding before drafting a final report with recommendations. That report will come to council for a final vote at a later date.