BARRHEAD – A developer will have to wait a little longer to learn if he can proceed with the second phase of a Lac La Nonne subdivision.
On March 1, the County of Barrhead hosted a public hearing at the Charles Godberson Rotary Room to give the public a chance to voice their opinions on Bylaw 1-2022 (Lake View Estates Area Structure Plan or ASP). Seven people attended in person, with another eight viewing via the Internet.
Council gave first reading to the bylaw Feb. 1. An ASP provides details on the growth and development of a specific area, which in this case, is a 45-acre piece of land adjacent to Lac La Nonne near the Moonlight Bay subdivision. The ASP, if passed, would directly impact 36 acres of the property. The property is currently in a Residential Recreation (RR) District, which allows for multi-lot recreational residential development.
The project, if allowed, will be completed in stages, the first stage of which is already complete. Stage 1 created six-residential lots. When complete, Lake View Estates will have 37 lots, adding more than 100 residents, mostly seasonal, to the area.
Municipal Planning Services (MPS) senior planner Jane Dauphinee noted the structure plan was first submitted by the applicant, Denis St. Andre of RTD Property Development Inc., in July 2018. However, the county pressed pause on the process, allowing St. Andre to complete the necessary supporting documents. He resubmitted the ASP in June 2021, and in December, he completed a second public engagement session. The county also recirculated the application to impacted residents.
The developer then modified the ASP, incorporating input from the public engagement sessions and resubmitted it in January. Dauphinee noted that the subject property is heavily treed. It also features several riparian areas adjacent to the shore, wetland areas and historical resource areas. To protect those areas, she said, the developer will use a combination of environmental and municipal reserve lands.
She added the proposed subdivision is consistent with the requirements of Intermuncipal Development Plans (IDP) the county has with Lac Ste. Anne and neighbouring summer villages, and with the county's municipal development plan (MDP) as well as surrounding subdivisions.
Access to the subdivision will be through the existing local road and provincial highway network.
"Public works has indicated that the proposed development will not trigger any improvements to the one access road (Duncan Road) into the area," she said.
Dauphinee added that because there is insufficient groundwater, drilling wells is prohibited.
Coun. Walter Preugschas asked what options there were to build a secondary access road.
Development officer Jenny Bruns replied that the county does have secured access to an undeveloped road that would need to be upgraded.
"There are two roads that are on private lands, but they also need to be developed," she said, noting one of the roads is on rural conservation property, and as such, the chances of it being improved are slim.
Chase Henituik, an area resident on the Lac Ste.Anne side of the lake, said the setback requirement from the lake was inadequate.
"The area structure plan says (the development) will be developed using industry's best practices, but I don't see that happening when it comes to setbacks," he said. "The County of Barrhead has a 30-metre minimum setback, and Lac Ste Anne has a 60-metre setback (from the lake). Both counties share the lake, so I don't see why there is a difference."
Henituik added the ASP also states that they would be following the province's "best recommendations," which he does not believe the ASP addresses.
"In their document Stepping Back from the Water, it states that if the groundwater is high enough, it has to be setback even further to protect vegetation and water quality of the lake ... 30 metres is not enough," he said.
He and other members also brought up concerns about potential contamination of the groundwater and lake due to septic tank leakage.
"They don't last forever," Henituik said. "What happens if they are setting inside low groundwater?"
Lac Ste. Anne County planning and development manager Matthew Ferris said the municipality wasn't opposed to the development. However, he stated they feel several areas in the ASP still need to be addressed before proceeding.
One of the main ones is that there does not seem to be a concrete final buildout number.
"(A paragraph in Section 4 states) it is anticipated there will be a range of 37 lots developed over five years. The technical report suggests that it will be 30 to 35, but what will that final number be? It could be 20, 37, 67 or 100," Ferris said. "The subjectivity of it is of great concern, especially when you factor in (County of Barrhead's) Land-Use Bylaw could potentially allow the use of duplexes in this development. While it might not be this developer's intention, there is a possibility it could double in size."
Ferris added before approving the ASB, Lac Ste. Anne County would like to see a formal traffic study completed, saying it is their right to request one under the IDP. He said not doing so could force Lac Ste Anne. County to appeal the decision to the Property Rights Tribunal.
Ferris said Lac Ste. believes the development could put a strain on their roads and wastewater lagoons as the majority of the residents will use wastewater sewer haulers which use their lagoons.
"In the last few years, Lac Ste. Anne County has spent over $200,000 improving that infrastructure," Ferris said. "We believe this potential increase of traffic caused by the buildout of 20, 30, 70 units will cause us to reopen our existing lagoon use agreement we have with the County of Barrhead, which will more than likely increase the service costs."
Additional speakers added to their concerns about the subdivision ranging from the potential traffic and parking congestions issues to “a decrease in the lake's water quality."
