HAGERSVILLE—Haldimand Council got its first look at a significant new development proposal that, if approved, would see three new apartment buildings and six townhouse units built on two sites between Tuscarora St. and Main St. N. in Hagersville.
The first site, located on four-acres closer to Tuscarora St., would house two six-storey apartment buildings with up to 191 residential units. The second site, adjacent to Main St., would house one five-storey building with first-floor commercial space and up to 58 units above. This site would also house the six townhouses.
County staff reviewed the proposal and found it conforms to the Provincial Growth Plan and Haldimand’s Official Plan, noting its efficient use of existing space and close proximity to existing services, infrastructure, and amenities.
Planning and Development Manager Shannon VanDalen briefed Council on the proposal, which required a handful of zoning bylaw amendments to facilitate, including one to address the height of the buildings.
County staff have placed a holding provision on the development ahead of approval to address some concerns related to traffic requirements, servicing allocation, and noise and vibration abatement related to the nearby railway line and functioning grain elevator.
“A number of these items can be and will be addressed through the required site plan application that has yet to be submitted, but will be required before any development takes place,” said VanDalen.
She added, “Some of the site plan elements that will be looked at include the emergency access … and overall access to the site, both vehicular and pedestrian,” noting that the noise concerns could be abated by putting warning clauses on the title to make potential purchasers aware.
Councillor Marie Trainer said the feedback she’s received from the community has largely been positive, especially seniors in the community looking to downsize: “I think we have a lot of people who want to purchase.”
Trainer did raise concerns such as stormwater runoff, fire and emergency service access, and increased traffic impacting an already congested area.
On the matter of stormwater, VanDalen replied, “A lot of those technical aspects – the grading, the storage, and the stormwater management – will be reviewed.”
On fire control and emergency access, VanDalen noted that while there won’t be direct access to the second site through the first, an emergency gate would be placed to allow emergency crews quick access. Haldimand Fire conducted a site review and have confidence in their ability to manage emergencies given the gate access and the Main St. N. proximity.
On traffic, the proponent-supplied traffic study had already been reviewed by an outside consultant.
“The proposed development at this time is considered to be appropriate in terms of the neighbourhood and the road network that is there,” said VanDalen. “There is no trigger at this point in terms of need for any road upgrades; however, it is noted that as Hagersville continues to grow … some upgrades will be required.”
She added, “Possibly the phasing or the signalization of the intersection of Main St. and King St. would have to be changed. There’s also the couple recommendations in terms of new or longer turning lanes to be incorporated in the neighbourhood to accommodate this growth and future growth over the next 6-10 years.”
VanDalen also touched on parking, noting the initial application requested a reduction in the parking required, but through subsequent discussions the proponent altered their plans “so that the proposed development does comply with the minimum parking requirements.”
Councillor Dan Lawrence brought up the long-discussed notion of a Hagersville bypass, asking if now is the time to make a serious push in light of the town’s anticipated growth over the next decade.
“We don’t want to get caught with our pants down in Hagersville,” said Lawrence. “At least in Caledonia we’ve got a bypass.”
Mayor Shelley Ann Bentley said the project looks “really nice,” but added, “Main St. is plugged on a good day, every day, and I know that Hagersville is going to be one of the fastest growing communities in Haldimand.… We’ve been talking about a bypass around Hagersville for decades. The Province wants us to build, but we need to have traffic moving and safety is upmost.”
Following the discussion, Council voted unanimously in favour of adopting the bylaw amendments necessary to begin the site planning process.
Stay tuned to The Press for more details on this development as they become available.
