Latest news with #housingdevelopment
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Marshall Mitchell: Mitchell City Council to consider a resolution expressing interest in state prison coming to Davison County
Jun. 1—MITCHELL — In addition to the second reading of an ordinance and considering a motion to adopt term limits for council members and the mayor, and a second reading of an ordinance and considering a motion to adopt rental inspections, the Mitchell City Council, during its regular meeting on June 2, will also consider a resolution to express interest in the construction of a state correctional facility in Davison County. Local developer and landlord Justin Thiesse believes that stable jobs backed by the state will bring in the kind of income that supports homeownership and fuels local business patronage in Mitchell. "I believe Mitchell needs the prison. Adding 400 well-paid, state-employed correctional officers—and their families—is exactly the kind of growth we should be welcoming," Thiesse said. Thiesse says that the millions invested into new housing in Mitchell has not been backed up with quality jobs that justify those developments. State correctional officers are scrutinized with background checks by the state and have gun licenses, which is just the type of person locals want living down the street, according to Thiesse. A concern among residents about prisoners near Mitchell may mean locals lose out on the benefits that the prison workforce could bring to the local economy, according to Thiesse. "Everyone says they want more restaurants, shopping, and activities for our kids — well, this is how it starts — by saying yes to jobs," Thiesse said. According to a Mitchell Area Development Corporation state prison proposal, a $2.88 million 160 acre potential prison site is located near the Mitchell Regional Landfill, and is owned by James River Farms. The location is outside of Mitchell city limits in Davison County. In April, the city of Mitchell approved a $3.48 million 10-year purchase agreement for a different 160 acre plat owned by James River Farms to increase the capacity of the landfill. A new state penitentiary has been a matter of discussion across the state for quite some time, with opposition for a previous Lincoln County site drawing negative feedback from locals and resulted in a lack of support in the state legislature, which led to the prison task force looking for a new site. The council will also consider a change order for the $39.2 million South Wastewater Treatment Facility, with $31.32 million budgeted to John T. Jones Construction. The change order is an increase of $366,000 for piping, connections, excavation, and concrete projects, among other items. The council will also consider a change order for the jetty project at Lake Mitchell, an increase of $31,094 to bring the total new contract amount to $2.72 million. And the council will consider paying estimates for various construction projects in the amount of $2 million. The City Council will also sit as the Board of Adjustment for a variance permit for LifeQuest's mini home village in the 1000 block of East Eighth Avenue. The variance calls for a front yard set back of 10 feet instead of 25 feet, rear yard set back of 20 feet instead of 25 feet and side yard setback of three feet instead of five feet. The council will also consider two types of liquor licenses applications for Adamo's Kitchen at 223 N. Main St. One license is for a retail malt beverage and the other for a retail wine and cider license, the latter of which allows for the consumption and sales of wine outside of establishments on the sidewalk as long as food sale income makes up at least half of total sales. Video lottery is not included. The wine on sidewalks ordinance was introduced in 2014. At this time, there are 28 total retail wine and cider licenses active in Mitchell, according to the Mitchell Finance Office. A full agenda can be read on the city's website. The council meeting starts at 6 p.m. on Monday, June 2 at 612 N. Main St.
Yahoo
11 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Wright Farm housing development advances in Lower Makefield. Here's final plan
After more than 18 months of discussion and planning, Lower Makefield Township officials have approved a 47-home development on the former Wright Farm. Local homebuilder DeLuca Homes bought the 49-acre parcel in 2024. Construction is expected to take between two and three years. Approximately 12.67 acres of preserved open space around the homes was originally intended to remain active farmland, but after discussion with township officials, more than 1,000 trees are to be planted instead. The new neighborhood is to sit west of I-295, just north of Yardley-Newtown Road. It's to be built directly south of more than 100 existing homes from Bridle Estates. The developers are also to add more of a natural buffer on the property's northern edge between the two neighborhoods. An arborist evaluated the health of the existing trees on the property, the developers told township officials. Any unhealthy trees are to be replaced. A main point of contention for the development's neighbors in Bridle Estates is that the sole access point to the new homes will be through their neighborhood on Surrey Lane, which is currently a dead-end road. Looping around the southeastern edge of the property, Patterson Lane is to remain open for farm equipment and emergency vehicles only. All construction-related access is to be exclusively through Patterson Lane. The developers have said throughout the process that they've reached out the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation about possible traffic lights or other access points to the development, but all these ideas were rejected. Most recently, the developers proposed looking into adding a right-turn-only exit onto the bypass west of the traffic signal at Stony Hill Road. Township officials, however, said they weren't interested. As a result, the developers said, Surrey Lane is their only real option. The most recent traffic studies that the developers have completed have indicated that the addition of 47 homes will have an "insignificant" impact on the level of service to the Bridle Estates community, according to project engineer Justin Geonnotti. Lacey Latch is the development reporter for the Bucks County Courier Times and The Intelligencer. She can be reached at LLatch@ This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Wright Farm housing development: 47 homes approved in Lower Makefield
Yahoo
12 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Developer must pay to improve roads in village
A housing developer has been told to pay towards the cost of improving roads and other facilities in a village where permission has been granted for 288 new homes. There were 67 objections to the Barratt Homes and David Wilson Homes scheme on land next to Wade House Road in Shelf, near Halifax, before it was approved by Calderdale Council. Concerns raised included increased congestion, pollution, flooding and the impact on school capacity. Councillors voted for the development to go ahead on condition that the builders made a £700,000 contribution to mitigate its effects on local infrastructure. Council planners had already recommended that the proposal for the site was acceptable. A mix of housing is proposed from one-bedroom to five-bedroom homes, with 60 properties classed as affordable. They would include 22 one-bedroom bungalows managed by social housing group Together Housing. The affordable homes, as well as a number of other measures, will be secured by a legal agreement the developer must sign with the council before the scheme can move forward. The developers will pay towards improvements for the Stone Chair roundabout, upgrades for a footpath between the site and Shelf Village Hall to become a bridleway, and new open space. Funds will also go towards a Travel Plan to encourage sustainable transport. The applicants' representative, Paul Butler, said more than 700 households had been consulted during the planning process. "It is a high-quality development which includes large areas of open space," he said. Objector Catherine Spivey said she was most concerned about loss of green spaces and places to walk around – these were limited already without extra people and less space, she told councillors. According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, she said she hoped measures including improvements at Shelf Hall Park would be made in consultation with community groups. Green councillor Martin Hay said residents wanted a development to benefit the whole community and the scheme did not offer that. Residents' concerns included adequate sewerage, flooding alleviation, noise issues during construction and pressure on services. As it was, "the GP practice is not half sufficient for the community" and more numbers would come from the new homes, he said. Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North. Calderdale Council
CTV News
13 hours ago
- Business
- CTV News
‘Crazy idea': Ontario councillors push back as strong mayor powers reach small towns
Ontario Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Rob Flack attends Question Period at Queen's Park in Toronto, Tuesday, May 13, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Cole Burston A month after Ontario's government extended strong mayor powers to a swath of new municipalities, some leaders are promising never to use the measures — but a chorus of small-town councillors warn that local democracy is under threat. As of May 1, another 169 mayors in the province can now veto bylaws, pass new ones with just one-third of council in favour and hire or fire municipal department heads unilaterally. Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister and MPP for Elgin-Middlesex-London Rob Flack said last month that the province decided to more than triple the number of mayors who can access the powers in an effort to build housing faster and streamline local governance. The measures were first introduced in 2022 and initially only applied to the mayors of Toronto and Ottawa, Ontario's two most populous cities. Several municipalities are taking active steps to reject the powers now that they have been granted more widely. Mark Hunter, one of 10 city councillors in Stratford, recently got unanimous support for his motion to reject the new powers. Hunter said it was symbolic and designed to show that municipal democracy shouldn't be 'subject to provincial whim.' Stratford City Hall downtown Stratford City Hall seen here on Feb. 4, 2021. (Dan Lauckner / CTV Kitchener) 'What it effectively does is get rid of majority rule in our council,' he said. 'It's the expectation of the residents in our community that their representatives are able to fully represent them and this change puts some level of diminishment on that.' Hunter said his fellow councillors can have strong disagreements at council, but lively discussions result in better decisions for the community. Anything that diminishes that discussion is worse for residents, he said. Councillors aren't concerned about Stratford's current mayor abusing his power, said Hunter, but they are worried about what could happen in the future. 'It's another example of concentrating power in fewer hands. Unfortunately in human history, that doesn't always work out so well,' he said. David O'Neil, a councillor in Quinte West, said he is also concerned about strong mayor powers, adding they represent 'a real misdirection' by the province. 'I think this decision is on par with the crazy idea of building a tunnel under the 401,' O'Neil said, referring to Premier Doug Ford's promise to add a tunnel under the major Ontario highway. He added he is skeptical that strong mayor powers would lead to new housing being built in his community, and thinks the province should waive development fees if it wants to see more housing built. Zack Card, another councillor for Quinte West, said he believes the expansion of the strong mayor powers will 'erode the democratic traditions of municipal councils in Ontario.' 'I believe effective councils work collaboratively and with an understanding that all voices carry equal weight. Tipping that balance could potentially hinder governance and make solving issues within our communities more difficult,' Card wrote in an email. Neither O'Neil nor Card would speak to the recent dismissal of the municipality's chief administration officer, which was described on the municipality's website as a 'mayoral decision' pursuant to the legislation, made on the first day the powers were available. Quinte West Mayor Jim Harrison said in an email to The Canadian Press that 'the decision was made in close collaboration and consensus with council, utilizing strong mayor powers to move forward.' Less than a week after the decision, he told a council meeting that he wasn't planning to make use of the strong mayor powers. O'Neil suggested his concern is more future-oriented: it's unclear what could a different sort of mayor do with these powers five, 10 or 20 years down the road. David Arbuckle, executive director of the Association of Municipal Managers, Clerks and Treasurers of Ontario, said unilateral power threatens a local government's administrative authority and staffers' ability to give non-partisan, evidence-based advice. 'It's changed the dynamic where (a city staffer) now has to be mindful of the fact that they could be hired or fired by the mayor at any point in time,' Arbuckle said in a recent interview. 'The advice they're bringing forward may not be as neutral as possible because ultimately they are now responding to one individual.' Corey Engelsdorfer, a councillor from Prince Edward County, said he's worried the powers will exacerbate existing divisions on his council and, should they be used, could 'sideline' constituents even as the community experiences a boom in development. The traditional model of majority rule is already divisive, Engelsdorfer said — especially when it comes to housing decisions — so decisions being made with even less support could lead to even more public cynicism. Queens Park Queens Park in Toronto is seen in this undated file photo 'The way we build homes is by working together as a council and not by one person or a third of council pushing through what they want to push through,' he said. 'I always hear Premier Ford say that these changes cut red tape, but democracy to me is not red tape. I don't think it's something that needs to be in place at all.' Mayor Steve Ferguson said in an interview that he was working to defer several of the strong mayor powers, including personnel decisions, back to council. The council also unanimously passed a resolution asking the province to rescind strong mayor legislation, Engelsdorfer said. Despite the concerns, Matti Siemiatycki, director of the University of Toronto's Infrastructure Institute and a professor of geography and planning, said the uptake of the powers has been 'fairly underwhelming.' Before last month, there were only 46 so-called strong mayors in Ontario. Only a few made use of their powers. High-profile examples include Hamilton Mayor Andrea Horwath advancing affordable housing development on two municipal parking lots in April 2024, and Mississauga's former mayor Bonnie Crombie passing bylaws to build fourplexes in October 2023. But Siemiatycki said he fears there's greater risk for strong mayor powers to go unchecked in smaller municipalities, where there is less oversight and, often, less journalistic scrutiny. 'We've seen an erosion and a decline of the local presses across Canada, and it's no more visible than in small communities,' he said. 'If you're concentrating powers, what's really needed is external oversight bodies. And the media is one of those, so smaller communities might struggle to have that accountability and people being aware of what's happening.' Siemiatycki said while he sympathizes with the province's desire to tackle a housing and infrastructure crisis, he agrees with the councillors who have raised concerns. 'It doesn't necessarily mean you'll go further just because you're aiming to go faster,' he said. 'The thing that's more sustainable over the long term is acceleration through processes that have very clear accountabilities and timelines to them.' This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 1, 2025.
BBC News
13 hours ago
- Business
- BBC News
Cricket ball strike fears over Queensbury housing scheme
Future residents of a new housing estate would be at risk of being struck by cricket balls from a nearby club if the development goes ahead, a council has been England has objected to plans for 295 homes on Green Belt land off Fleet Lane in the village of Queensbury, near from neighbouring Queensbury Cricket Club regularly hit two to three balls a match on to the site of the proposed housing, the sports body Barratt Homes and David Wilson Homes said in a planning statement that the scheme would provide "much needed new homes in a sustainable location". Highlighting concerns raised by the English Cricket Board, Sport England said that the club's square was about 35 metres (115ft) from the boundary of the development site."Balls are likely to leave the playing field and land on the application site when matches are being played," a statement said."This could lead to damage and injury to both people and property in the proposed development."The developers would need to carry out a "ball strike risk assessment and any associated ball stop mitigation" for it to withdraw its objections, the organisation March, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer criticised a "cottage industry of checkers and blockers" when referring to a development in Bingley that has been delayed due to its proximity to a cricket club, due to fears future residents could be hit by flying cricket balls. Sport England also called on the developers in Queensbury to create more parking than 840 people have written to Bradford Council to object to the Queensbury Cricket Club were "supportive of the development and see it as an opportunity to increase membership," the Sport England statement said the scheme would "deliver new homes within a defined growth area"."It will provide homes of a size, mix and tenure that will meet identified local housing needs, enabling local people to live in a house of their choice in an area where they want to live," they said in the planning application."It will also make an important contribution to delivering Bradford's housing land supply needs over the next five years." Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
