The summer season favours us with the weather and the time to get outside to experience life in the Glen. Even though we enjoy a little quiet and a change of pace, Glen issues and projects continue during the summer months.
Under Construction
The Town of Halton Hills took on two large projects just outside the Glen’s official boundaries this summer.
The first was a very active project to rehabilitate the bridge over the Credit River on the 10th Line at the 22 Sideroad. This $990,000 project is expected to be finished by fall.
By early August, the Town‘s second project had yet to begin. The entrance to Wildwood Road involving Georgetown’s Main St. N./Hwy 7 and Ontario Street has been surveyed, but the project is waiting on the adjustment of utilities and final approvals from the Ministry of Transportation Ontario.
This $100,000 project involves a new northbound right hand turn lane, curb and sidewalk for Main St. N./Hwy 7 at the entrance to Ontario St. The adjoining section of Wildwood Road is to have a hamlet gateway/traffic calming feature constructed to encourage drivers to maintain a safe speed as they enter our hamlet.
Wildwood Road Maintenance
A special design feature of Wildwood Road is the permeable paver sidewalk. Installed to be more sustainable than large concrete slabs, the design allows rainwater to regenerate the ground through the sand filled cracks.
Unfortunately, the weather conditions this summer have been great for weeds and they have invaded the sidewalk and road edge paver strip. The Public Works Dept. staff has agreed to add Wildwood Road to its sidewalk maintenance program.
With the Town no longer using pesticides, this means the use of weedwhackers to try to keep things in check. How about if homeowners worked together with Town? If you have a paver strip or a full sidewalk in front of your Wildwood Road home, you could do your part to help by digging out some of those weeds?
Prince St. / 20 SR Gravel Pit – 2 Future Homes
Ralph Palmisano of Kleinberg, owner of the two lots holding the old gravel pit on the 15619 20 SR / Prince St. property applied this spring to the Town for permission to redraw the boundary between the lots.
On Aug. 3, the Committee of Adjustment heard the submission for lot addition, considered a Town Staff report that voiced no objections and approved the request. Instead of two lots of 14.1 acres and 1.98 acres on the property, the new configuration has two equally sized lots of 8.04 acres each.
Although the Region and Town’s Official Plans and Zoning still classify the land as Mineral Resource Extraction and zone it as Mineral Aggregate Resources (MAR), the gravel extraction has ceased, the lands have been rehabilitated and the Aggregate Resources Act (ARA) Licence #5510 has been surrendered by the property owner.
The owner’s suggested future intent for the property is to use it for two single detached residential lots. Official Plan amendments and re-zoning will be required to allow this new use.
Eden Oak Creditview Heights Development
On July 21, members of the GWCA finally had the opportunity to meet with the lawyer and various technical consultants from Eden Oak Homes of Mississauga to discuss their proposed Creditview Heights subdivision for Glen Williams. The owner Romas Kartavicius did not attend. On June 29, Eden Oak filed a resubmission package of reports with the Town Planning Dept. You can see these June reports posted online at the Town’s website.
The developer has not made any substantial changes to his original plan, which includes the removal of 1200 trees and the construction of retaining walls and stormwater berms on the valley’s edge. In response to the June submission, the GWCA filed comments with the Town by the July 29 deadline.
The Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) Pre-hearing #4 related to this development application is scheduled for Wed. Sept. 7 @ 10:00 a.m. at the Town’s Civic Centre Council Chambers. Interested Glen residents are encouraged to attend in order to stay informed. The formal OMB Hearing is scheduled for Feb. 27, 2017.
Enjoy what’s left of summer!
Drew Leverette, GWCA