After twice deferring a decision on the planned West Ridge Trailside neighbourhood, city council has approved the required zoning bylaw and Official Plan amendments to permit the 1,300-home development slated for Line 15 North in west Orillia.
The Trailside development includes plans for single detached and semi-detached dwellings, townhouses, and apartment buildings in the area, with space set aside for a school and a commercial block.
A stormwater management facility, neighbourhood parkette, and new trail systems are also planned in the area. Forty-one hectares of land will remain protected, including a woodlot and the Bass Lake wetland area.
When complete, the neighbourhood will extend from Bass Lake Sideroad, across the length of Line 15, and end near the Lakehead University campus.
At Monday’s council meeting, two members of the public expressed concern about the environmental impacts of the development — concerns that, along with many others, have been expressed throughout the approval process.
In particular, residents at Monday’s meeting expressed concern about the development having appropriate setbacks from the wetland in the area.
“The provincial government, through Bill 23, wants Orillia council to approve the construction of 1,300 housing units on top of Bass Lake’s eastern wetland watershed," said said Randy Hoover of the Bass Lake Ratepayers Association.
"This Trailside neighbourhood is projected to house a total of 3,200 residents,” said Hoover. “Please do not approve the requested 10-metre buffer zone around the wetland — (the) established minimum in most jurisdictions is 30.”
During the meeting, Coun. Janet-Lynne Durnford questioned whether it was “premature” to address the appropriate setbacks from the wetland.
“My understanding is that … it is premature to address setbacks because this proposal does not call for any development of any lands that are adjacent to the wetland,” she said.
City staff clarified that section of land is, indeed, not being proposed for development at this time.
“That area is not subject to draft plan approval,” said Ali Chapple, the city's intermediate planner. “I think where the confusion does come from is the EIS work that was conducted … (does) discuss setbacks and setback options.
“We have not visited those topics because that section of development is not being proposed at this time.”
Coun. David Campbell questioned whether decisions made Monday would impact their ability to discuss wetland setbacks in the future, but Chapple said — with the land’s current zoning — the developers will need to do an environment impact study and detailed phasing work.
“That will be approved at a subsequent time in the future, and needing to have its own study,” Chapple said.
In their discussion, council members and city staff noted the project is still subject to detailed design and draft plan of subdivision approvals in the future.
City staff also clarified that, given the schedule proposed for the development, the city is unlikely to lose out on significant amounts of development charges.
“Bill 23 introduced a number of discounts off development charges that are applicable within a time period after a development is submitted for approvals,” said Ian Sugden, the city's general manager of development services and engineering.
“By the time he gets his first building permits, it's quite likely that those discounts would be gone and the full development charge, whatever is in place at that time, would be applicable.”
