Latest news with #IsabelBuckmaster
Hamilton Spectator
09-05-2025
- Business
- Hamilton Spectator
866-unit subdivision being proposed for the outskirts of Arthur
ARTHUR – A proposed housing development could bring almost 900 new residential lots to Arthur in the coming years. Developer Tribute/Sorbara Arthur Holdings Inc. has applied for an official plan bylaw amendment to construct 866 housing units on 55.34 hectares at 665 Eliza St. and a vacant lot west of Eliza Street, a rural spot just northeast of the town proper. The applicant is seeking an Official Plan amendment and zoning changes to permit the development to redesignate the subject lands from 'future development' to 'residential'. Currently occupied by a farmstead and cropland with frontage on Eliza Street, the development is proposed to comprise 504 single detached residential units, 114 semi-detached residential lots, 249 street townhouse units, parks, a stormwater management pond, a well and a sanitary pumping station. 'The proposed development will transform agricultural and low-density residential land into a community with housing, parks, and essential infrastructure,' said the planning justification report. According to the report, the development will not include affordable housing units and is instead proposing a range of housing types to ensure 'broader housing options for people in different life stages.' A noise compatibility assessment found existing and future industrial uses to the south and northeast of the development may exceed the MECP noise limits, but is feasible with 'appropriate noise mitigation measures' like forced air ventilation, noise barriers of up to six metres, redesignating the area, and/or warning clauses in property agreements. Proposed to have access to Eliza Street and Macaulay Street, which remains unopened, the report says the existing and future road connections and future internal road network will accommodate the daily anticipated traffic levels of 478 and 646 vehicle trips. A future signal installation at Eliza and Tucker may be considered. Given Arthur's servicing constraints, the development will require a new sewage pumping station and an upgrade to the existing wastewater treatment plant, which the report proposes should be included in the township's final municipal strategy. A new well is proposed at the intersection of Macaulay and Wells Street. While a buffer zone with parks is proposed between the residential units and nearby dust emission sources at Clark Brothers Contracting and Teeswater Concrete Ltd. to alleviate future air quality issues, the proposed development is considered adequately distanced from nearby industrial and agricultural cities to avoid negative impacts on air quality and unpleasant smells. Since Farley Creek crosses the site, 2.62 hectares is proposed to be preserved as a protected natural environmental area. With two elementary schools, a private school and no high school located near the site, local school boards have been asked to identify the existing school capacity. The full report is available here . Isabel Buckmaster is the Local Journalism Initiative reporter for GuelphToday. LJI is a federally-funded program.
Hamilton Spectator
01-05-2025
- Climate
- Hamilton Spectator
County-owned greenhouse takes on significant winter damage
DAMASCUS — This year's winter weather has wreaked havoc on one of the county's tree nurseries in Wellington North. A new staff report has identified 'significant structural damage' in one of the County of Wellington's Green Legacy Program nurseries, which is located on Grand River Conservation Area (GRCA) land near the Luther Marsh in Damascus. Operating since 2012, staff said the damage was caused by snow accumulation along the building's west side this February, causing it to collapse. Green Legacy member Rob Johnson said the greenhouse's interior contents, like tables, water lines and tree stock, weren't severely damaged and can be salvaged. The original greenhouse installer, DeCloet Greenhouse Manufacturing Limited, said installing a new greenhouse and removing the existing greenhouse will cost approximately $48,776. A Disaster Recovery Program Rebate will reduce that by 10 per cent to $43,808. Since the cost for the greenhouse replacement is below the county's insurance deductible, staff said $50,000 will be added to the capital budget from the Contingency and Stabilization Reserve to fund the project. This was recently approved by county council. Any rebates or salvage value from the old greenhouse will be credited back to offset the reserve funding requirements. Isabel Buckmaster is the Local Journalism Initiative reporter for GuelphToday. LJI is a federally-funded program.
