
June 1, 2023 · 0 Comments
By JAMES MATTHEWS, LOCAL JOURNALISM INITIATIVE REPORTER
Mono council is weighing a developer’s proposal to build as many as 220 townhouse units.
Town council and staff hosted the statutory public meeting May 25. It was an opportunity for residents to learn about the Aragon Development Corp. proposal.
David Trotman, the town’s planning director, walked council through the proponent’s applications.
Council closed the meeting to allow the proponents time to provide more information, particularly regarding the condo declaration. A declaration is a legal document that creates a condo corporation.
Aragon has submitted a pair of applications to build on vacant land at Highway 10 to the east, Kingfisher Drive to the west, County Road 16 to the north, and Monora Park Drive to the south.
Their proposal is to develop a residential condominium community with 220 three-storey townhouse units with garages and paved driveways and 52 visitor parking spaces and landscaped areas.
The proposal has shared common areas such as open spaces, linear connections, community mailboxes, a pavilion, a multi-purpose court and playground area, and a wastewater treatment area.
The land parcel abutting the north side of Monora Park Drive is to be maintained for future commercial development.
Not everybody in Mono has looked upon the development with an approving eye.
“Please reconsider the number of houses and the height of them,” resident Alice van Dyken wrote in her objection to the build. “More people will make [the] quiet community much busier.”
Eamonn and Celine Doyle expressed concern about how the development might affect existing property values.
“We oppose the proposal to build three storey townhouse units. This style of units will deface and undervalue the existing surrounding homes. We propose only bungalows, or two-storey homes be allowed, respecting the existing neighbourhoods.”
Colette Maurice is “strongly opposed” to the developer’s plans. Increased traffic will mean more noise pollution, increased road mishaps, and more people disrespecting speed limits.
“This is placing our community members at risk and especially with the students walking to Mono Amaranth School and members of the public trying to cross Hockley Road to enter into the Island Lake walking trails across from the school,” Maurice wrote. “Adding 220 townhouses/multi-family housing will significantly impact this traffic congestion and safety concerns.”
Others object because they fear the development will affect groundwater resources and wellhead protection in the area.
In writing his report to council, Trotman said he’s tried to digest all the various perspectives relating to the proposal.
“What I’ve said in the recommendation to council is that there are no other options, first and foremost,” Trotman said. “That was the one thing that struck me. There ought to have been other alternatives, diagrammatic alternatives, other than just the 220-unit layout that was proposed.
“The recommendation reflects that.”
He said the possibility of a mixed-use development should have been more closely explored.
In his recommendation to council, Trotman wrote in his report that council, through town staff, should request Aragon “provide alternative residential development options including affordable and/or supportive housing measures and also alternative commercial-residential mixed-use development options.”
Trotman said there should be more evidence that thought has been given to the development’s final look.
“What is the overall style and urban elements of the development to ensure that it enhances the local community?” he asked.
David Page, general manager of Aragon Properties in Ontario, said one of the repeated questions has been what Aragon has done to try to make the Mono commercial project viable.
He said he first made a presentation about the project to Mono staff and council of the day in February 2013. That’s when they presented commercial concept plans.
There was a question as to whether vacancies at the Mono Plaza and the Orangeville Mall, as it was then, would affect the ability to develop their proposed commercial endeavour.
“It’s now 10 years later and Mono Plaza continues to have substantial vacancies and we have not been able to get our project off the ground,” Page said.
Aragon bought the parcels of land formerly known as Brett Farm Lands in 2008. The original intent was to build a large-scale commercial development, but demand didn’t support a project of that scale.
Page said an anchor retail store couldn’t be found for the location.
“In late-2016, it became obvious to us that we were going to have to make a change to our plans for this property,” he said.
Then the COVID-19 pandemic shut the world down, and online shopping gained popularity. Brick-and-mortar stores became less popular.
“The world is much different today, particularly for retail space,” he said.
But a housing shortage in Ontario became obvious, he said. So they started looking for the best housing designs for the environment and water reservoir.
Page said building housing at the site would be more environmentally friendly and draw less traffic than a commercial development. And Mono would benefit from the collection of upfront development charges and then taxes on the homes, he said.
As condos will be constructed, snow clearing, roads, sidewalks, and sewers will be maintained by the homeowners.
“Based on the 2023 budget, these homes would generate a six per cent increase in tax revenue for the town,” Page said.
Dana Anderson, a partner at the urban planning firm MHBC, said there’s been significant changes in policy at the provincial level. Legislation has become fundamentally focused on building more homes faster.
“There is a focus on that because of the housing crisis that we face in this province,” she said.
Anderson spoke about the process of commissioning the various reports and having them peer-reviewed as part of obtaining amendments to zoning bylaws and municipal and county official plans.
“The proposed townhouse development will help the town diversify their housing stock through a more compact form of development while maintaining a very high quality of design … that complements the community,” she said.
Robert Turner, an architect at Fryett Turner Architects Inc., said the 220 townhouse units will be in four-to six-unit blocks. The estimated population in the subdivision will be 542 people or 2.5 people per unit.
It will feature communal landscaped space between the housing blocks and rear yards.
“We wanted to provide a space for interaction, but also privacy,” Turner said. “Families, which is the target market here, need privacy but children also need to interact.”