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HomeMy WebLinkAbout74-39REPORT NO. 5 REPORT ON PROPOSED CHARTER ACRES SUBDIVISION �9. This subdivision, which would have abutted Highway #35 on the West side in Concession III, Clarke has been turned down by the Ministry of Housing due to nonconformity with the policies for estate residential subdivisions contained In the Draft Clarke Official Plano I recommend that this Committee advise Council that no further action is required. Respectfully submitted, George F. Howden, Planning Director. MUNICIPAL PLANNING CONSULTANTS CO. LTD. May 23, 1974 400 Mount Pleasant Road, Toronto, Ont. PNo 4440 -6 PLANNING ADVISORY COMMITTEE Consultants' Report No. 5 AMENDMENT NO. 1 CLARKS TOWNSHIP OFFICIAL PLAN 1. TERMS OF REFERENCE On March 17, 1974, we were requested by the Planning and Advisory Committee to review the proposed Official Plans for the Clarke Planning Area and the Village of Newcastle Planning Area, Amendment No. 8 to the Darlington Official Plan, and Amend- ment No. 1 to the proposed Clarke Official Plan. The first three matters will be dealt with in phase one of the District Plan. The review of Amendment No. 1 to the Township of Clarke Official Plan is contained herein. 2. INTRODUCTION The former Council of the Township of Clarke gave direc- tions for the preparation of an amendment to the proposed Of- ficial Plan modular housing development in two separate loca- tions. The Council did not request background studies or re- ports on the development to be prepared. Two proposals for the development of two separate modular housing retirement parks were submitted to the former Clarke Township Council, prior to approval by the Minister of the Clarke Township Official Plan and prior to the establishment of regional government. One proposal was for the construction of a modular housing retirement community along the shore of Lake Ontario, west of the former Village of Newcastle, by the Rice Construction Com- pany - known as Pine Ridge Retirement Park. The other applica- tion for retirement people was made by Howard Payne, for the de- velopment of his property on the Lake Ontario shoreline, east of Port Granby, near Newtonville Station, to be called Durham Retirement Park. (1) 3. PINE RIDGE RETIREMENT PARK (a) General Description According to information provided by the developer, the park proposal is designed to provide lots for pre- fabricated mobile unit -type structures. They are mobile only in the sense that they are moved as a unit to the site and are then permanently established on foundation pillars and are probably better described as modular units. Each unit is approximately 1000 square feet and is placed on a lot of 4000 square feet minimum. The proposal is to be a development of approximately 1000 units on a 273.5 acre site. At 2 persons per unit, this will generate a population of 2000. This is a gross density of 3.6 units per acre. In comparison, a similar type of development, namely Sandy Cove in Innisfil Town- ship (Simcoe County) has only 400 units on a site of ap- proximately 170 acres, for a density of only 2.3 units per acre. A preliminary plan for the site was created, allowing approximately 8 acres for the Community Centre, 2.4 acres for storage, 58.3 acres of open space, plus an additional 53 acres of open space on Wilmot Creek, and 31.6 acres for roadways, leaving 138.5 acres for modular housing lots. The result is an overall net density of 7.2 units per acre. (b) Location The Pine Ridge development site is situated just south of Highway No. 401 and the C.N.R. tracks, to the west of the Village of Newcastle. Presently, access is available only by a single gravel Town road which runs north from the C.N.R. tracks and joins Highway No. 2 just east of the High- ways No. 35& 115 and No. 2 interchange. This road crosses Highway No. 401 by a 'fly- over', but has a level crossing over 4 railroad tracks. The road continues westerly imme- diately south of the C.N.R. tracks and stops at the edge of the proposed development. The location of the proposed development would back on to the C.N.R. mainline Toronto -to- Montreal tracks which are heavily used. The proximity to the railway and the highway may be disruptive and disturbing - more so to the el- derly than to a group of younger residents. Therefore, traditional buffering would not be adequate. (2) (c) Soils, Topography and Agriculture The proposed Pine Ridge development would be situated on primarily Newcastle Loam soils. These soils are gray - brown loam over light brown loam underlain by weak reddish brown clay and silt loam which are high in lime content. There are some stones prevalent in the soil. This type of soil is lain over undulating or slightly rolling topography gently sloping about 5% with sporadic knolls. On the knolls some sheet erosion occurs. Water may accumulate between these knolls and swells of land after a heavy rain or in the spring. Otherwise there is fair -to -good drainage. The area along the Wilmot Creek in the east portion of our site boundaries is Bottom Land. Bottom land is considered a complex soil condition, containing a variety of soil mate- rials. This soil type is usually poorly drained, subject to flooding and thus stream erosion. The Ganaraska Conservation Authority recommended this land be purchased as an Authority Forest for erosion protection. The topography, being gently sloping, is suitable for farm production. Because the soil is above average in nutrients and naturally fertile as well as being of a loose, friable con- sistency which allows for deeper root penetration and more than adequate drainage, the Newcastle Loam soil is considered a better soil. Orchards and nurseries are how the land is being used now. (d) On -Site Vegetation and Wildlife Features Along the Wilmot Creek in the Pine Ridge development area, the land has been left in its wooded state of scrub willow trees. The rest of the area is open farmer's fields. The willow trees have a shallow root system. Therefore, in the development of sewage and water systems one must consider the possibility of interference and disruption in these underground workings due to their wander roots. The root system spreads quickly and widely through the upper horizons portion of the soil, not downward into the soil. This is an especially es- sential consideration as to the location and construction of the proposed sewage hook -up pipe from the development through the woodlot and creek area to the Ministry of the Environment's Sewage treatment plant. The wander root system could cause damage to the pipe unless laid deep enough. The willow trees themselves should survive construction well, as Long as their water source is not drastically altered. They need and must receive a sufficient amount of water which they get from the nearby Creek and its occasional flood. (3) The water flow in the lower portion of Wilmot Creek,and its mouth are on the proposed development site. This water course is presently suitable for the production of rainbow, brook and brown trout, bass and pike. These fish species may be depleted or alienated from their present environment if the proposed development takes place. Therefore, studies should be made to determine the quality and carrying capacity of the water and its ability as well as the fish's ability to with- stand possible changes resulting from development. Effective stream bank erosion control is essential for the preservation and enhancement of a quality water flow. Proper stream management of the Wilmot Creek would be necessary in relation to any development. (e) Water and Sewerage Systems The proposal has gone to some lengths to describe the means by which a water and a sewerage system is to be pro- vided. The water is to come from Lake Ontario to a pumping sta- tion located near the centre point of the shoreline boundary of the development. Filtration and chlorination will be pro- vided. The retirement park proposes to utilize the sewage treat- ment plant now under construction, approximately .85 miles to the east of their development, within the former Village of Newcastle. It is not clear whether or not the water system is to re- main private or to be taken over by the Region. In the best interest of the proposed residents the water system should be Regional to insure a high quality of service. However, there arises the problem of scattered water systems throughout the area that could become a headache and unjustifiable expense to the Region. There also arises the problem of an unbalanced servicing system in the area. This unbalancing is a result of their proposal to utilize the sewage treatment plant now under con- struction in the former Village of Newcastle. The former Vil- lage has a fairly unique servicing problem. They have pipes in the ground, north of Highway No. 401, capable of servicing 7,700 persons. They have a plant that can handle 5,000 per- sons and is expandable to handle 10,000 persons. They also require piped water from Lake Ontario, but to do so would re- quire a 10,000 population to make their scheme economically feasible. The natural and logical location for growth to occur is adjacent to the built -up portion of the former Village. As they have the pipes available they should logically grow to 5,000 in the first stage and 7,700 in the second stage, when the plant has been expanded. The second logical location for development and utiliza- tion of the remaining capacity of the expanded plant would be south of Highway No. 401 adjacent to the already established development. Should the development utilize the treatment plant on the opposite side of Wilmot Creek, the construction of the force main will have to cut through the 'Environmental Protection Area'. This, in all likelihood, will upset the ecological balance of this environment, changing the drainage pattern and thus the flow of the creek, causing the probable destruc- tion of the fish and wildlife population, opening up an es- tablished forest that is unaccustomed to its exposure pro- bably resulting in the trees destruction, and perhaps even being ruined by damage being done to the trunk line pipe it- self from the wandering root systems of the trees. The great expense sustained for all this development may cause an increase in the monthly fees the occupants must pay, thus negating any low -cost aspects of the development. (f) Access Perhaps the greatest drawback to this site for develop- ment purposes is its poor accessability. In order to some- how alleviate this situation, the Clarke Township Official Plan Amendment No. 1 has allowed for a new road to be built to arterial standards and it would appear that an overpass was proposed over the C.N.R. lines and Highway No. 401. There is no indication in the text of the Amendment nor on the legend of Schedule " " as to an overpass being required. However, this concept is found only in the backup report that does not form a part of the Amendment. The new road was also to connect with Highway No. 35 -115 north of the 401 and south of Highway No. 2, and it was in- tended that the new road be used as the main access to the Retirement Park. The existing access, Cobbledick Road, and its crossing of the C.N.R. tracks was to be upgraded to serve as a secondary or emergency access. (5) It is felt that, although a second access is essential, this particular proposal of the new road and the use of Cobble - dick as an emergency access is not suitable for the following reasons: (i) Access to Highway No. 35 -115 at this location and for this size of a development would not appear to be de- sirable. Highway No. 35 -115 is a high speed arterial and the proposed location lies midpoint between its Highway No. 2 interchange and its Highway No. 401 inter- change which are only a 1/2 -mile apart. Considering the speed and the volume of cars already using Highway No. 35 -115 and the age of the people and volume of cars being proposed to enter and exit the community from such an access point, a serious traffic hazard will be created. (ii) With 1000 units there would be at least 1000 cars. De- spite the fact that this is a retirement park, this does not mean that the people will stop living and, consider- ing the isolation of this community, it would appear to be safe to estimate a minimum of 2,000 cars per day using this new road and the proposed access to Highway No. 35 -115 as they must leave the community when desiring anything more than convenience goods. (iii) It is suggested in the backup report of the Amendment that Cobbledick Road will be used as a secondary or emergency access. As this is the road giving the most direct access to Newcastle, it is felt that it will re- quire improvements to arterial standard, including an overpass over the C.N.R. tracks. This was not indicated in the Amendment. (iv) The two roads to service this development basically come out in the same general area, thus providing a very awkward and limited choice in movement. Should a traffic accident occur at the Highway No. 2 and No. 35- 115 interchange, access to this community could be cut off. 4. DURHAM RETIREMENT PARK (a) General Description The Durham Park development is supposed to provide housing for 1,532 people in 791 units at a density of 3.5 units per acre (2 people per unit) over a 226 -acre site. This applicant (6) has not prepared any detailed site plans and has not considered servicing or the overall implications of his development. There- fore, it is difficult to assess the merits of the proposal other than by examining existing characteristics and restrictions. (b) Location The Durham Park proposal is bisected by Lakeshore Road run- ning east and west and two municipal gravel roads running north from Lakeshore Road. According to the developer, plans to con- struct a hydro facility in Wesleyville may mean the upgrading of Lakeshore Road to a Regional Road or perhaps a Provincial Highway. If so, the construction and maintenance costs will be borne by the Regional or Provincial Government. Granted this may be a beneficial factor in considering the overall net return of tax revenue to the new Regional Municipality, but it will also increase traffic flows and patterns along with the disruptiveness of the noise and inconvenience. This may have significant impact on the viability of the project, especially since it involves retired persons. No provision was made for upgrading the two municipal gravel roads. Maintenance costs per mile for gravel roads is two times greater than those for paved roads, which would have to be borne by the Municipality. Paving must be considered because of the size of the proposal involved. Also, access or connection to other highways (i.e. 401) and roads from both sites must be considered in respect to the cost, financing and maintenance of these externalities. Perhaps fu- ture hook -ups and extraneous roadways unforeseen now may have to be financed by the Municipality. (c) Soil, Topographer and Agriculture The Durham Park site is in an area composed partly of Dar- lington Sandy Loam which is light gray - brown, sandy loam over yellow -brown sandy loam underlain by gray compact stony loam. The topography is moderately undulating (3 -8% slope) with steep slopes and a ravine (usually above 30 %) in the upper section, which tends to interrupt proper drainage flows. The steep area is Otonabee Loam Steep Phase which is a shallow soil over gray calcareous stony loam with variable surface texture. This type includes very steep till soil that, because of excessive runoff and severe erosion when cleared, should be left in permanent pasture or bush. This general area, other than on the steep slopes, with proper (7) management practices, is suitable for general farming or truck farming. Both these areas are classified by the Official Plan and ARDA as having prime (class 1 & 2) capability for agriculture. All these soil types are generally organic silts, being in low - lying areas. Therefore they tends a) to have poor -to -fair stability when loaded or when frozen; b) to be poor as a bearing for foundations or for a road; c) to be unsuitable as a base course for permanent roads or as a material for light roads if stabilized. These silts are well- drained, so they are stable when dry or damp, although they will compress under a load. It is treacherous and unstable when wet. As they swell up and heave badly when frozen, roads must be deep enough to prevent this from happening, or strong and elastic enough to cope with them. The erosion and slumping of silt is likely to be severe. The Durham Park development would be next to, but not in- corporating, a white cedar -sugar maple -beech forest, but it will have a white cedar forest on its east boundary line. The relationships of the trees to their environment should be studied to identify the effects of development. Particular attention must be paid to white cedars and their water source and water - table. Development may change the pattern or quantity of run- off, thus altering the drainage pattern and thus disrupting the existing ecological balances to which cedar trees are especially sensitive. This forest system of white cedars is fragile, as regeneration and rehabilitation attempts usually produce only fair results. The Durham Park site does not have any defined water channel and is primarily open fields. Therefore, there is little vegetation and virtually no wildlife other than small animals such as squirrels and groundhogs. They may not be of too much concern over the proposed development. (d) Water and Sewerage Systems The Durham Park site has not given any consideration as to its source of water or destination of its sewage. It is too far to connect to Newcastle's sewage system to make the connection justifiable. 5. PLANNING IMPLICATIONS (a) General The proposals brought forth were concerned with constructing two modular home communities for retired people. Essentially, (8) the existing communities. A development of the nature proposed in Clarke Township should be well situated within a community, so that there is ease of access to shopping, recreation and other community facilities. One of the CMHC Mobile Home Site Planning Standards states that this type of development should be large enough to be economically viable and able to provide community facilities, yet not too large to affect their integration into the surrounding community. CMHC goes on to state that to achieve the above, they recommend a mini- mum of 25 lots on 3 acres, and a maximum of 150 -200 lots on 20 -25 acres. The scale of both proposals hardly falls within this category. The surrounding communities such as Newcastle, Orono, and Bow - manville would have to provide the higher order shopping facilities, medical facilities, churches, fire and police protection, recrea- tional facilities over and above those provided by the development, and in all probability, some high school facilities. In consider- ing the magnitude of these proposals, it is dificult to see how these communities will be able to meet the new demands in a satis- factory manner, without lowering the level of service to the exist- ing residents. 6. SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS Mobile home or Modular unit parks are a viable alternative in alleviating the ever - increasing demand for low cost housing. A totally developed, properly located and properly scaled park that provides many of the required services: social, commercial and residential, could be an asset to the Town and residents, as the maintenance and responsibility to home and property are minimal and costs to the municipality and home -owner are low. However, the two existing proposals and the existing scale and locations are not an asset to the community. Thus, it is recommended that the Council advise the Ministry of Housing against approval of Amendment No. 1 to the proposed Clarke Official Plan. This recommendation is based on the lack of suitable access to both sites, the isolation of such a large homogeneous community, the lack of commercial and social services, and the quality of the natural environment. Respectfully submitted, MUNICIPAL PLANNING CONSULTANTS CO. LTD. JWM /ia (Ms.) Jean W. Monteith, B.E.S. REPORT NO..4 REPORT ON PITS AND QUARRIES SITE PLANS Eighteen site plans in the Town of Newcastle have been submitted to the Ministry of Natural Resources for approval under the Pits and Quarries Act. These plans were referred by the Ministry to the Town Council. At first it seemed that the Town was being asked to give some kind of appro- val to these plans. Some time ago I wrote to the Minister expressing some concerns and asking for clarification of the role we were being asked to play in the Pits and Quarries Act. I have as yet received no reply. It appears, however, that what is wanted at present is merely information on the conformity of each application with present zoning and possibly Official Plans as well. The Table 1 attached to this report conveys all the information requested by the Ministry and additional data regarding Official Plans and Draft Official Plans as well. I recommend that this report be approved by Council and forwarded to the Ministry of Natural Resources. Notes on Tab e^1 1. E.P.A. means Environmental Protection Area. Any filling or grading operation in these areas should have the approval of the Conservation Authority. 2. The dates of passing of the zoning by-laws of Darlington and Clarke (for determination of legal non - conforming uses) are: Darlington a Feb. 5, 1959 Clarke - Nov. 4, 1969 Respectfully submitted, George F. Howden, Planning Director.