Impact on Waterford school capacity, water raised at meeting
Waterford County. Kim Huffman says she will need answers to basic questions before she can throw her support behind a proposal for a 51-unit high-density subdivision in downtown Waterford.
The 26 semi-detached dwellings and 25 street townhouses are proposed for a 6.25-acre parcel on the south side of Nichol Street between the Waterford Heritage and Agriculture Museum and the Royal Canadian Legion, Branch 123.
Sponsor of the proposal is Berardi Construction of Brantford. Berardi needs Norfolk council to approve an R2 and R4 zoning for the land in question, which is currently zoned “development.”
At a public hearing on Tuesday, Huffman said she has been “inundated” with questions from the community regarding the potential impact such an addition might have on the community of 3,200.
Questions Huffman has fielded in recent weeks regard the capacity of Waterford’s two elementary schools to accommodate new families, the impact of the development on the county’s ability to provide water via the municipal system, and the impact on traffic flows in this part of town.
“I don’t want to put Ward 7 in a position where we’re short of water and water capacity,” Huffman said.
The developer’s planning consultant has provided a traffic study which says impacts in this area will be negligible. However, Huffman isn’t impressed that the one-day study was conducted on a Tuesday in August. She doesn’t believe this is indicative of Waterford’s experience during peak traffic periods of the year.
County planner Mohammad Alam assured Huffman that proposals like this are circulated to relevant school boards. If there are potential problems in this area, Alam said they will be flagged at the board level. Waterford Public School is managed by the Grand Erie District School Board while St. Bernard’s of Clairvaux is under the auspices of the Brant-Haldimand-Norfolk Catholic District School Board.
A planning justification report prepared by IBI Group on behalf of the developer says the proposal meets a number of provincial objectives outlined in provincial policy statements and reflected in Norfolk’s official plan. These include providing a mix of different housing types and promoting the efficient use of municipal infrastructure and the delivery of municipal services through infilling.
In his report, Alam said Norfolk’s planning department has received no formal correspondence from members of the community regarding the subdivision.
Tuesday’s hearing provided council an opportunity to ask questions and share concerns about the proposal. Norfolk planning staff will take the feedback it received into account when they prepare a final report, with recommendations, which will be presented at an upcoming council meeting.
If the proposal receives the green light, Charlotteville Coun. Chris VanPaassen, chair of Tuesday’s meeting, advised the proponents to be mindful of construction’s potential impact on the urban area of Waterford.
“Welcome to Norfolk County and its sand plain,” VanPaassen said. “I notice you have all the top soil bulldozed off that. When it gets hot and dry on a windy day, you better make sure there is a water tanker on hand because the dust tends to blow.”