The proponent of a South Fairy Lake Road condominium project consisting of a 313-unit development contained in seven mid-rise apartment-style buildings is inviting area residents to attend an information meeting being held at the Active Living Centre on Thursday, May 4 between 6 and 8 p.m.
The project is proposed on an estimated 10.5-acre parcel with 149.5 metres of road frontage on South Fairy Lake Road.
The lands are roughly bounded by Forbes Hill Drive and an unopened road allowance to the north; single detached properties and an unopened road allowance to the south; another unopened road allowance and single detached residential and vacant lands to the east and Conroy Park to the west.
The condominium development would contain open space and amenities such as a clubhouse, swimming pool, and multi-use walking trails.
Several reports including an Environmental Impact Study and a Traffic Impact Study are expected to be presented at the meeting.
The proposal has not gone before Planning Council yet. This is an informal meeting. A formal public meeting required under the Planning Act is expected at a later date.
Those unable to attend the May 4 meeting may contact Wayne Simpson, Senior Planner with Tulloch Engineering at 705-789-7851 or via email at [email protected] or Joseph Puopolo, Co-CEO with Polocorp Inc. at 519-745-3249 or via email at [email protected]
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Hello everyone,
I hope that you have all enjoyed a safe and enjoyable Canada Day weekend.
There is some very good news to share, for those of you who have not yet heard…
218 South Fairy Lake Road is back on the market. Polocorp has pulled out of the deal and will NOT be purchasing this land for development. The details are not clear, but I do presume that our noise to Council, as well as to Polocorp directly, had a lot to do with their decision… and perhaps their request for zoning changes were not looking favourable.
CONGRATS to us all for making a positive impact on what I feel could have been a realdisaster for the neighbourhood. Although this is fabulous news, it could be temporary. THE WORK MUST CONTINUE in order to stop the next developer from trying a similar plan.
Polocorp loves to come in hot and heavy, clearcut and leave Town, many examples on the web.
PoloCorp in Cambridge (this sounds like our Huntsville example)
As the Frankie Drake Mysteries television series is shot in the front yard of Hespeler’s Forbes estate this week, a battle is brewing over what’s going to happen to the park-like setting that is its backyard.
At the planning meeting Tuesday, May 14, councillors spent more than two hours hearing a presentation from Polocorp Inc. president Paul Puopolo about his plans for the historical Guelph Avenue property and the concerns of its neighbours, many of whom don’t want to see a 12-storey apartment building in their backyard.
Polocorp’s plan for the estate is straightforward. It wants to redevelop portions of the estate with 210 residential-housing units, tearing out many of the existing trees and two of the four decaying historical structures to make way for new streets of housing and a large apartment building that would overlook Hespeler’s Mill Pond.
The company is destroying the mature trees in the area with their redevelopment.
There are about 400 Hespeler residents who live close to the estate who aren’t in favour of having the wildlife and trees on the estate replaced with new housing, more people and more traffic on an already-busy Guelph Avenue.
Shaw Avenue resident Susan Fink spoke on behalf of the 491 members of the Forbes Property Preservation Association.
She admitted that “development is going to happen,” but her group is seeking the development of homes that are compatible with the surrounding neighbourhood and retaining the “park-like setting” of the north Hespeler community.
“Re-zoning to an RM3 zoning is not compatible with the existing neighbourhood,” she said. “It will also demolish two of the (property’s) four heritage buildings.”
The town of Huntsville seems interested in bringing in more dissatisfied residents. It focuses on numbers rather than accommodating the needs of those numbers. Simple observation… about 1984 I could get a meal at 9 pm at Cortina, Tasty Cream, the Voyager on highway 11 s., family place in brendale Square, even wings or burger at old Bayview hotel when it was Buddies and Chumleys. Within the past week on two occasions if I even wanted a coffee in this entire town I was limited to A&W drive thru. Not 1 Tim Hortons or sit down open in the entire town. And for a town that talks about a river running through it. Now with that beautiful wall of housing being built on brunel you pretty much have to stand on the bridge to see it. In my opinion the only people who benefit from any recent development in huntsville are the developers.
No multi unit residential permits should be allowed in this town without substantial inclusion of provisions for its lower income needs. Failure to do this has led to a housing crisis. All ongoing planning from this point on should contribute to a solution.
Paul is dead right!
Here is the Town’s 2019 Vision as per the Official Plan:
“Huntsville is a vibrant, caring and welcoming community. We are
stewards of our natural environment, arts, culture and heritage. We
value a strong and resilient economy. Growth will continue and
will be sustainable and balanced with the public interest and the
impact to our quality of life.”
Here is the Town’s existing 2022-2026 Economic Development Strategy:
“Town of Huntsville’s Economic Development Strategy’s Vision:
A strong, diverse, and resilient economy that provides
residents and visitors a community to grow multigenerational
families and embrace healthy activities in beautiful and safe
settings. The Town of Huntsville, together with community
partners, will engage and work together to create a hub for
successful entrepreneurs and businesses offering rewarding jobs.
The Town will shape an economically prosperous environment
which will provide businesses and investors with information,
resources and the support needed to succeed”
It goes on:
“Town of Huntsville’s Economic Development Strategy’s Mission:
To build a strong local economy, which is sustainable,
diverse, and inclusive. The mission is focused on support
mechanisms for year-round economic prosperity and
drives interconnected initiatives between key stakeholder
organizations to enable sustainable growth.”
In any planning context it’s the Vision that shows you “where” you are going; and it’s the Mission that guides you “how” to get there. So, now, having read all those “feel good” platitudes, it’s all crystal clear, right?
There’s an old Latin phrase: Quo Vadis? Meaning: Where are you going? Good question. And there’s an old Chinese proverb: If you don’t know where you are going, any road will take you there. Good point.
Huntsville, we have arrived!
Here are a few random lines pulled from Don Henley’s The Last Resort by the Eagles:
“They heard about a place, people were smiling;
Spoke about the natives ways, how they loved the land;
Some rich men came and raped the land, nobody caught them;
Put up a bunch of ugly boxes, Jesus people bought them!
And they called it paradise, I don’t know why;
You call something paradise, kiss it goodbye.”
Add these to the 400 new units planned for Peninsula Lake at Deerhurst, then ask. about medical support for all these newcomers. Wait list right now has 3000 names looking for a GP. Maybe focus on taking care of what current needs are before increasing population by ,another 2000+ residents.
With You on this Paul …..Unaffordable housing is not needed !
Huntsville Council and Huntsville planning group need to get their act together. This town is being craved up with no understanding of what we want this town to be recognized as. Eventually we will be nothing more than the “Barrie of Muskoka”. The area around the Summit has been totally destroyed on meetin g the visions
– protect and value the natural environment as part of its
preparation for and adaptation to the effects of climate
change;
– recognize and celebrate its strong sense of belonging and
history by retaining Huntsville’s small rural Town feel
It is time we stop destroying what little is left of Huntsville image and vision. Council must address vision and plan for Huntsville and only then ask if this meets those goals.
Previous planning was a disaster so do not let it continue.
This is a good use of land. Unfortunately it has no water access. I do have to wonder if they have a goal of 10% low income housing or greater. If they have not factored in this requirement the plan should be shelved till accommodations are made.