News that Ridgetown will be home to a large subdivision development has caught some residents by surprise, raising concerns and questions, and prompting the formation of the Ridgetown Neighborhood Association.
More than 50 people met April 2 at the Ridgetown Golf and Curling Club to discuss the $70-million development, announced in late February. Apollo Property Management and Clarke Developments plan to build 131 homes in the area of Warwick and Cecil streets.
“We’re not here against the subdivision, we are just asking that it be done right,” Ridgetown resident Tim DeActis said at Saturday’s meeting.
He said the project came as a surprise, so the residents’ group is moving quickly in raising their concerns.
Ridgetown resident John MacDonald said it’s important to be proactive because residents must be able to trust the process that involves the planning department, developers and the council.
“All we ask is they make an informed decision that is in the best interest of the entire community,” he said.
Mayor Darrin Canniff, who was not at the meeting, said the public is typically informed of proposed housing developments only after a plan of subdivision is submitted to the municipality.
He said the intent of announcing the planned project ahead of that was to inform Ridgetown residents and the rest of Chatham-Kent that the community is growing and attracting new people.
The developers are also proud of the planned project and wanted to share it with the community, said Canniff.
But residents have questions they want answered about Ridgetown’s existing infrastructure and whether it can handle an additional 131 homes. They also wonder what the development’s impact will be on water pressure as well as the capacity of the sanitary sewer and storm water management systems.
They also wonder about the impact on roads, while heavy vehicles come through the neighborhood during construction of the subdivision, and the additional traffic once the homes are built.
There are also questions about the size of the lots and the new homes and how they will fit in with surrounding homes.
Residents also want answers on potential environmental impacts, citing a bald eagle that inhabits a woodlot near where the homes are planned to be built.
“I want to assure people that all proper planning requirements will be met before this project proceeds,” said Canniff.
The mayor said the Ridgetown development will be no different than the process required for every other subdivision project in Chatham-Kent, which includes public input.
Canniff said he has spoken on the phone with many concerned Ridgetown residents to explain the process as well as to tell them the announcement was meant to share good news with the community.
The mayor said many questions can only be answered after a formal plan is submitted by the developers.
It was noted during the meeting that the developers plan to hold a public information session, but a date is still to be set.
“This is a positive step taken by the developers and we thank them for that,” DeActis said.
East Kent councilors Steve Pinsonneault and John Wright didn’t attend Saturday’s meeting, but Coun. Karen Kirkwood-Whyte did and was applauded by the group for her attendance.
“Communication is key in everything,” she said. “It was important for me to be here just to listen to the comments and concerns.”
Kirkwood-Whyte said she is “pleased to hear there is a lot of civic engagement in Ridgetown.”
She said there are people who really care about the community and “they saw something coming and they took action to try to find the answers to their questions.”