Stratford townhouse proposal would be destructive to wetland, nearby residents warn

CBC

a day ago

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Some residents of Stratford are calling on the P.E.I. town's council to postpone a vote on a rezoning application, fearing it will destroy a wetland in their neighbourhood.
The developer, R&D Builders, has applied to the town to rezone an area of the Forest Trails subdivision from medium to high density to allow the general contractor to build 32 stacked townhouses, along with two apartment buildings with a total of 78 units just across the street.
Residents who opposed the project say the development would quadruple the area's housing density, as well as being partially built on protected wetlands.
"There is a… development plan signed by Stratford that protected all of this area and there was to be no disturbance acceptable," said Bonnie Gray, who lives on Dr. John Knox Way, across from the proposed development.
"You couldn't build a birdhouse on this land — and now they want to put 32 townhomes here."
CBC News reached out to R&D Builders, but the company declined to comment on the issue.
Stratford held a public hearing on the rezoning application last October, during which councillors heard significant objections to the proposal.
Given the pushback, the residents who took part thought Stratford's planning committee would recommend against the proposal, but that wasn't the case.
In May, the homeowners were told the committee had supported the developer's rezoning request, and council had already passed the plan at the first reading stage. Council will decide whether to grant final approval of the project at its regular meeting Wednesday night.
According to the minutes of the June 2 planning committee meeting, R&D Builders hired the private company Fundy Engineering to assess the wetland area in November of last year.
I don't believe that developers paying a penalty for destroying protected areas is the solution. — Susan Csatari, Forest Trails resident
The residents say the results of that survey revised the wetland's boundaries. They also took issue with the timing of the company's assessment.
"It was done in the winter when you cannot accurately assess a wetland," Gray said. "Why the Town of Stratford would accept that as a revised boundary — I don't understand why they would even consider it."
In a letter to Fundy Engineering and the developer dated Jan. 31, a land management manager with the provincial Environment Department said two of the four lots on the property could be developed without affecting the wetland.
"Right now, it looks like you would be able to develop Lot 4 and possibly Lot 3 without impacting the wetland identified. There may be more wetland on Lot 2 that would be impacted by development, which may require compensation. However, this cannot be determined until spring," the letter states.
"Either way, we would be willing to work with you on the development of Lots 2-4 so long as wetland impact is minimized and potential compensation for Lot 3 would have to be determined in the spring."
P.E.I.'s wetland policy allows for developers to contribute to a compensation fund in the event of a development on a wetland, as long as the government determines that the loss can't be prevented.
Residents of Forest Trails don't want that to happen. They're calling on Stratford council to delay Wednesday night's vote on the rezoning application until the province can do a new environmental impact assessment at the site.
WATCH | P.E.I. Watershed Alliance says permits to develop wetlands must be 'a last resort, not for resorts':
P.E.I. Watershed Alliance says permits to develop wetlands must be 'a last resort, not for resorts'
21 days ago
Duration 2:24
The P.E.I. Watershed Alliance says it's disappointed that the province granted a permit to fill in a wetland as part of a golf course development in Summerside. The government received $406,500 compensation for the 27.1 acres of wetland involved. A spokesperson for the developer says they will be adding new lakes and enhanced wetland systems. CBC's Nancy Russell has more.
"I think that opens the door for other areas like this to be rezoned and built on, regardless of what current environmental controls are," said Susan Csatari, who lives on Autumn Lane.
"This province is fragile. We need to protect what we can…. I don't believe that developers paying a penalty for destroying protected areas is the solution."
Csatari said the issue isn't that neighbours don't want development in their subdivision. She said they just want to see it done appropriately.
"We bought our homes and moved to the area based on knowing there would be development," she said. "We absolutely do need more housing, but my feeling… is that density housing belongs on a main corridor like the Trans-Canada Highway perhaps, with public transportation, with access to services."
'Hopefully shovels would not go into the ground'
In a statement, P.E.I.'s Environment Department said it has received the residents' request for an environmental impact assessment at the site, but that it's the Town of Stratford's responsibility to deal with such planning concerns.
"Provincial staff have already been working with the developer to minimize their impact on any sensitive environmental features in the area," the statement reads. "[The department] will ensure that environmental impacts are minimal, and this can be accomplished using existing legislation and regulation."
Coun. Jeff MacDonald, chair of Stratford's planning committee, said in a statement to CBC News that the town is following all provisions and guidelines on the proposed rezoning and has been working with the province throughout the process.
The resolution before Stratford Town Council is for a rezoning only. An environmental impact assessment, if required, would not occur at the rezoning stage.
"Currently, the resolution before Stratford Town Council is for a rezoning only," the statement reads. "An environmental impact assessment, if required, would not occur at the rezoning stage."
That answer isn't good enough for residents like Gray. She said if council votes to rezone the area, it's equivalent to destroying the wetland.
"Hopefully shovels would not go into the ground," she said. "We've been lobbying with our representatives at every level, so we're trying everything to bring a halt to this destruction of our wetland."