Pleasant Valley Group Concerned Over Proposed Hartington Subdivision

Feb 05, 2014

Just over a year ago, Hartington and area residents and other concerned citizens banded together under the name of the Pleasant Valley group after receiving requests by a company wanting to test their residential water.

They did some research and found out that plans were being made to develop a 45-acre parcel of land located between Petworth and Boyce roads near Hartington.

The proposal, which was formally submitted to Frontenac County last fall, is for 49 residential lots that range in size from 0.82 to 1.02 hectares. Malroz Engineering Inc. was hired by Frontenac County planner to peer review the proposed application, which was submitted by Terry Grant Construction along with a hydro-geological and servicing study, and a terrain analysis. These were prepared for the proponent by ASC Environmental Inc. and completed in October 2013. To date trees have been cut on the site and eight wells have been drilled and tested.

Harrowsmith resident Dan Bell, a member of the Pleasant Valley Group, called for a public meeting, which took place at the S&A Hall in Harrowsmith on Saturday, (February 1). The purpose of the meeting was to update concerned citizens about where the proposal now stands and to share some of the information in the reports. Close to 40 people attended, including South Frontenac councilors John McDougall, Allan McPhail, Pat Barr and Bill Robinson. Councilor Ron Vandewal was on vacation and sent his regrets.

Numerous concerns were raised by the public at the meeting.

Michelle Foxton, a lawyer and member of the Pleasant Valley Group, said that she has received reports back from some of the commenting agencies that have been consulted by the county.

At the meeting she handed out copies of some of the reports

She said there is a “a disconnect” between the council of South Frontenac and county council … "What is not clear is exactly how we go about proceeding to make sure that our concerns are met. The question needs to be asked - how is it that certain members of the public know more about this than the councilors of the township? I think that that is how a lot of these developments are able to go through so easily in the first place.”

Hartington resident Linda Stewart, whose home backs on to the proposed site asked, “Given the lack of communication between council and the county, I want to know how much influence this council has on the county.”

Councilor Allan McPhail granted there is a ‘disconnect’ but said that in the past the township has been able to make changes to other proposed subdivisions.

He also said that so far no information has been brought forward to SF council by the county and added that, “Information does not tend to come to us until all of the other commenting agencies have done their work first and that is when we are supposed to put our wisdom to it.”

“What we are being told over and over is that there will be a public meeting,” Foxton responded. “The problem is that the public meeting will happen at the point when the township's official plan gets changed and then what ability do we have at that point to comment and to get the information that we think is critical to those agencies? The commenting agencies need to know about the public's concerns before they write their reports so they can investigate our concerns.”

Foxton, who sat on the committee that developed the township's Official Plan, wondered how plans of subdivision are able to bring in lots that are so much smaller than the minimum lot size in the Official Plan.

“This subdivision is being proposed at 150 feet of frontage, which is almost half of what is recommended in the OP. What possible justification does the planner Lindsey Mills have for saying that that is acceptable?”

Foxton referred to a report from the Quinte Conservation Authority, who have numerous concerns, specifically with storm water management, potential well contamination, and densely placed septic systems

“What I want to achieve today is to have council members ask for all of these reports, get them, look at them and focus on what it is they are saying.” Foxton said that two of the drilled wells on the site are “so bad that the Quinte Conservation Authority is ordering that they be immediately decommissioned”. She cited a third well that requires immediate remedial measures. She said that judging by the sheer number of items that the commenting agencies want clarification on, “You have to question the reports that the proponent has submitted.”

Councilor John McDougall, who sits on county council, said he has seen none of the reports though he knows about the application.

“My understanding is that all of this information first goes through the necessary check points of the planners at the county before it comes to County council. The professional planners look at it first and if it becomes apparent that the reports are lacking, the planners would identify that before it comes to council.”

He commended Foxton and her team on their work in raising the red flags and making council aware of the issues