On Council agenda on March 2 there is the statutory public meeting for an application to develop a property on station Rd. Across from the go train station.  The proposal is to construct 29 townhouse units all measuring 3 stories with single car garages. As its the statory public meeting there is no decision; the recommendation from staff is for Council to refer the report back to staff to further review the application with the benefit of the input from the various Agencies and other Township staff and the comments received at this meeting. To see all the appendices including the site plan and they architectural renderings go to Council agenda and scroll to 6.1

Given it’s proximity to the GO train station this is definitely an area for intensification. Having said that I question who is the target market i.e. for whom is the developer designing and constructing these town houses.   At the developer hosted open house a couple weeks ago it’s my recollection that they said each unit will have two or three bedrooms. In the case of the three bedroom scenario this suggests to me that families with children are part of the target market. I wonder where those children will find some open space to play. And do first time buyers, who will commute to Toronto via the GO, typically have children?

I am very concerned about the proposed dramatic reduction in the environmental buffers. There is an extreme reduction for the woodlands as it is proposed to eliminate.  For the wetlands it  is proposed to reduce it from 30 meters to 10 meters. For the watercourse is proposed to reduce it from 30 meters to 12 meters. This is totally contrary to what is in our official plan where we talk about enhancing, improving the natural heritage as we approve developments. In addition to the impact of such on these specific natural features this sets a dangerous precedent for future applications.

As always deputations can be made. To do so please register at clerks@king.ca by noon on March 2 or If you prefer you can e-mail your comments to clerks@king.ca and they will be distributed to Council members and appropriate staff.