Headline News

Town waits for developer’s action on road

January 30, 2025   ·   0 Comments

By JAMES MATTHEWS

Some Orangeville residents feel a delayed housing development in the Hansen Boulevard-Veteran’s Way area compromises the response times of emergency services.

Nick Garisto told town council when it met Jan. 27 that some residents are concerned about their safety and they feel a completed road that connects the development would hasten first responders’ emergency response times to their area.

Garisto said people in the area continue to telephone him to express their fears about ambulance and fire response times being hampered by the development’s road remaining closed.

“Maybe the town should build just two lanes,” he said. “One going, one coming. And when the developer is ready to build, then he can build the rest (of the road). But you as the town have the right to charge him for the whole road.”

On Feb. 17, 2021, council granted draft approval to a plan of subdivision known as the Edgewood Valley Phase 2B Plan. The subdivision development is southwest of the Blind Line and Hansen Boulevard intersection, immediately to the west of the Meyer Drive and Mason Street residential area.

The 2B Plan will permit the lands to be subdivided to accommodate 51 single detached dwelling lots, 17 on-street townhouses, and a low-density residential block of about 50 condominium townhouses.

It will have open space conservation lands associated with the Lower Monora Creek South tributary. The development will include a stormwater management pond block at the northwest corner of Hansen Boulevard and Blind Line.

The lands changed hands in July 2022. Its new owner is NG Citrus Ltd.

The town covered the installation of a bridge in the subdivision lands but isn’t in a position to complete the construction of a road to link the Hansen Boulevard-Veteran’s Way corridor.

Mayor Lisa Post said municipal staff remains committed to working with the developer to see that the road is completed as soon as possible. Ultimately, she said, it is land owned by the developer.

“As explained to you the last couple times that you’ve asked the same question, the town will not be pursuing building that road,” she said. “It has to be done by the developer for many different reasons which we’ve outlined in previous meetings when you’ve asked the question.”

She said the cost and the time that it would take for municipal authorities to annex the land and build the road simply rules such a move out as being not feasible.

“So, as explained before, we won’t be pursuing that,” Post said. “We will be moving forward when the developer is ready, which will hopefully be very soon. The market has started to change and it looks like they’re keen on starting building.

“They can’t build those homes until that road is built and they know that’s part of the prequalification for being able to build. As soon as they’re interested in building, they will build the road and all of the services for that development need to go in under the road.”

“I really don’t buy that,” Garisto said.

Area residents will be left waiting should the developer hold off on the build for the next 20 years, he said.

“The road will not be connected for the next 20 years?” he said. “Come on.”

“If we were in a position where we thought that would happen, we would move to a different process,” Post said. “We’ve been working closely with the developer and that’s not the case.”


Readers Comments (0)





Please note: Comment moderation is enabled and may delay your comment. There is no need to resubmit your comment.