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Residents’ group continuing fight against proposed Hansen development

August 24, 2018   ·   0 Comments

By Mike Pickford

A group of local residents are continuing with their fight to oppose the proposed development of 623 residential units, slated to go up on vacant land behind the Orangeville Mall.

When Dorothy Pedersen first learned of the plan to develop the 44.36-acre property on Hansen Boulevard, she was shocked. The area, she says, is a rare environmental haven within the community. With a public meeting scheduled at Tony Rose arena on Sept. 10, Ms. Pedersen is keen to get the word out about this development and the potential dangers it could bring to Orangeville and adjacent Mono.

“People absolutely need to be aware of the significance of this upcoming meeting. Residents need to educate themselves about what’s going on out on Hansen Boulevard, what the implications are and what the dangers are of the proposed development in the area,” Ms. Pedersen told the Citizen.

“This is an issue that involves absolutely everyone in town, there’s no question about that. This development, if approved, is going to end up costing taxpayers an awful lot of money.”

The Hansen High Density Awareness Group (HHDA), launched by Ms. Pedersen, has been holding bi-weekly meetings for the past two months to discuss a “plan of action” ahead of next month’s public meeting. To date, the group boasts more than 50 members. Approximately six of those members have been working hard compiling all the data, information and opinions offered throughout those meetings to put together a final report for Town Council’s consideration.

The proposed project is a joint venture led by Orangeville Highlands Limited and Brucedale Investments Inc. Back in 2010, the coalition submitted a zoning amendment request and draft plan to town staff, seeking official approval to develop a then 545-unit high-density subdivision at the site, consisting largely of apartments and townhouses. Brandon Ward, the Town’s Manager of Planning & Infrastructure Services confirmed to the Citizen that a new application had been submitted in May of this year.

“The residential part of the property is designated as ‘medium density residential’. The official plan amendment application will consider redesignating the subject lands to ‘medium and high density residential’ designations,” Mr. Ward said. “The latest plan for the subdivision is proposed to create 623 residential dwelling units, including 191 townhouse units and approximately 432 apartment units.”

He added, “The applications are being reviewed to ensure that the proposed new residential development conforms to the policies of the Town’s Official Plan.”

Mr. Ward confirmed the application is currently under appeal to the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal (LPAT), formerly known as the Ontario Municipal Board. A hearing is scheduled for Feb. 26, 2019.

To add even more to the mix, the site is currently home to Orangeville’s off-leash dog park, with municipal staff unsure of what would happen to the park if the development is approved.

Even though a final decision could potentially be taken out of council’s hands if LPAT sides with the developer, Ms. Pedersen says she will continue the fight regardless. She cited several notable concerns, primarily centring on issues involving money, water, wildlife and infrastructure.

“Taxes will go up when this subdivision goes in because it’s going to require such significant changes to infrastructure and that money has to come from somewhere. It won’t come from the developer,” Ms. Pedersen said. “I’m talking about sewage (lines), water (lines), roads, heck, even changes to the police department. If they put in over 600 units, there will be close to 2,000 people dumped into that space. There’s going to need to be a major increase to services.”

Mr. Ward informed the Citizen that all necessary subdivision infrastructure costs would be covered by the developer to meet the Town’s standards.

Ms. Pedersen noted the HHDA has been seeking legal advice from the Canadian Environmental Law Association ahead of the public meeting. A significant portion of their plea to council, it appears, will centre on the impact this development will have on “several” endangered species that Ms. Pedersen says have been identified in the area.

“We have butternut trees and eastern meadow larks populating that site, and we don’t know the full extent of what has not yet been discovered yet on that property,” Ms. Pedersen says. “People who have been in and around the area, conducting environmental studies, claim there aren’t any raptors using that land, but I can assure you they do. I’ve had them come from there into my back yard.”

In a perfect world, Ms. Pedersen says, she’d like to see the municipality buy back that parcel of land and turn it into a nature park. The Citizen has learned the potential value of that property could be in excess of $20 million. Current Mayor Jeremy Williams said he certainly would not be in favour of purchasing the property. He also stated he doesn’t believe the site is the “proper place” for a nature park, noting that particular parcel of land has been slated for development “for a very long time”.

“One big part of this whole thing is that the 44-acre plot is private property, owned by a company who bought it for investment purposes. That whole end of town, at one time, was slated for development, as evidenced by all the building we’ve seen on Hansen Boulevard,” Mayor Williams said. “This is an area that has been picked for development for a very long time. The developer is looking to develop that property and they have that right.”

He added, “The developer is anxious to get going and I’m anxious that whatever is going to go there is appropriate for Orangeville.”

When asked whether he was in favour of the development, Mayor Williams said he needed to “see more” before making a final decision, noting he was looking forward to the Sept. 10 public meeting. He did add that if he had “a wish and a magic wand” he would love to see that land used to extend the Orangeville Mall, a move that would almost certainly bring more business to Orangeville.

Should the plan get the green light from council and LPAT, Mr. Ward said a number of requirements would need to be fulfilled by the developer before construction could begin. He anticipates the absolute earliest time that development could commence would be “sometime in 2020.” For now, town staff plans to go through the public consultation process on Sept. 10 before submitting a recommendation to Orangeville’s next council in the new year. A final decision will be made by LPAT on Feb. 26 next year.

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