Still Early Days For Verona Housing Project, Open House Told

Apr 26, 2023

At a community open house that was held last week at the Verona Lions Hall, a building project slated for Verona Street was discussed.

South Frontenac Mayor Ron Vandewal made it clear that questions about water supply and septic services need to be answered before anything can happen.

“If we can’t secure a water supply and sewage for more than 5 units, the project will never go anywhere,” he said to a crowd of about 30 interested Verona residents at the meeting.

A presentation, which was spread out on large boards around the Verona Lions Hall, where the meeting was held, had details about the location of the project, including a map of the property that has been purchased by the township, some of the potential housing types that it may include, and the provincial hurdles that it must overcome.

An oral presentation, led by South Frontenac Manager of Engineering and Capital Projects Troy Dunlop, was interrupted, a couple of times, by questions from some audience members about the intentions of the township to build social housing, without enough public input.

Dunlop explained that his initial role was to determine what kinds of density will be possible on the site, using site specific communal servicing, (for water and sewer services) without putting a municipal water and sewer system for all of Verona, which is so costly as to be non-viable. This position was echoed by Mayor Vandewal.

“You did it in Sydenham, and I was living there at the time and it cost me $13,000 to hook up,” said one attendee.

“I was on council at the time,” said Vandewal, “and we were given a directive by the province to do that in order to deal with contaminated water. And we did not put in a sewage system. None of that will happen in Verona.”

Others were concerned about the mix of housing being proposed, expressing concern about the implications of a social housing project at the site.

The plan that the township has been working on includes a mix of housing that will be available for seniors only, with and without rent subsidy, as well as full market rental units for family and senior use, and subsidised units as well. The proposal is at an early stage, with a wide target range for the total number of units, between 58 and 134 units.

The next step is to do the technical work to find out about water supply and sewage possibilities and determine what the provincial regulatory framework will look like.

At that point, if all proceeds well, the township intends to come back to the public for further input.

All of the material about the project is available at Engagefrontenac.ca, under the South Frontenac Projects banner – Verona Master Plan.