Plans for a potential new subdivision in the northwest end of Cambridge have hit the brakes after councillors and delegates alike pushed back against the listed development.
Cambridge council heard from local delegates and a consultant for the developer, Northwest Hespeler Community Builders Inc., to speak on the possible project that would look to turn around 500 acres of rural land into a major subdivision in the area of Hespeler Road and Chilligo Road.
The development would have the capacity of holding as many as 11,000 new residents.
While the project would create a large number of housing units for the city, many delegates spoke out against the subdivision, saying it would create too much traffic in an already busy area, while also further creating problems when it comes to the city’s water capacity.
“With a development of this size, how bad is the traffic burden?” asked Cambridge resident Rupinder Sahsi.
“Their transport impact study looked at what was going to happen at Hespeler Road, and estimated over 16,000 additional daily trips on an already congested road, which would represent just from this development alone, a 47 per cent increase in traffic.”
Sahsi said those similar traffic congestion issues would further spread to Kossuth Road, Chilligo, Beaverdale, and other key intersections in the city.
He said this would emanate further into transit issues, lost farmland, and overall safety concerns stemming from the larger development.
A report from city staff stated that they recommended against the large subdivision due to a variety of reasons. Those include a lack of required studies, communications from the Region of Waterloo that oppose the project, a lack of consultations with the Grand River Conservation Authority (GRCA) or Six Nations of the Grand River, and more.
Among those who spoke at the Tuesday meeting was consultant Matthew Cory, who spoke on behalf of the developer, Northwest Hespeler Community Builders Inc.
He stated that the project was right in line with the city’s strategic plan and stated that much of the pushback around density and its repercussions was unfounded.
“Your official plan requires that these lands develop at a minimum density of 59 people and jobs per hectare,” Cory said.
“No matter what process is undertaken, whether it’s ours or a city process, that means at least 8,900 people and jobs are going to have to be planned in this area regardless.”
Cory went on to claim that city staff were not cooperative throughout the planning process up to this point, saying he had been told that staff would simply refuse the subdivision.
“We were just told they were going to refuse it, and they didn’t have time to properly go through everything with us prior to the deadline,” Cory said.
City staff pushed back against those comments from Cory, with the statement also catching the attention of various councillors and Cambridge Mayor Jan Liggett.
“I’m also really troubled by the accusations that were made against our staff,” Liggett stated.
“I’m troubled when a councillor says they don’t know who to believe, who said what? I believe our staff because we have worked with them. We know they don’t lie.”
Liggett stressed that Cory, who represents the developer, hurt their reputation amongst councillors and those delegates with the remarks he made about city staff and the proposed project, saying, “You didn’t make any friends around here tonight, sir, you did not do good for your clients.”
Additional tension was created around the potential for the developer turning to a potential appeal through the Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT) should council reject the proposal.
"These developers don’t care, they clearly don’t care, and they’re telling you they don’t care here tonight." - Cambridge Mayor Jan Liggett
While Cory stated that the developer was in no rush to appeal, so long as there was still an opportunity to work further with staff and the local community, councillors, including Mike Devine, took issue with the developer’s pushback against deferring the decision, so that those further discussions could even take place.
“This is what we have, look at it logically. Do you want to put a bunch of buildings on good farmland? Do you want to do that?” asked Devine.
“Or do we want to say ‘No,’ and ask the developer to withdraw their application so that they can work with residents. What I see right now is nothing more than a shotgun wedding. There’s no winner here.”
The consultant indicated to Devine in a quick exchange from his seat that the developer was unwilling to withdraw the application, leading Devine to say, “Okay, that’s fine, screw it, I’ll turn it down.”
The developer’s push towards the OLT led Liggett to state that they were unwilling to work with the city and the community properly, saying, “These developers don’t care, they clearly don’t care, and they’re telling you they don’t care here tonight.”
The rest of council ultimately agreed, deciding to reject the motion in a 7-2 vote. The two that voted for the motion included Councillors Scott Hamilton and Helen Shwery, who voted to continue discussions with the developer.
With the rejection in hand, Northwest Hespeler Community Builders Inc. can now turn to the OLT, where they can push to appeal the decision of Cambridge council.
Lmao, lets block housing during a housing crisis because it might cause traffic. What a bunch of spoiled snowflakes, trying to block essential housing because it could potentially inconvenience them. I hope they get overruled by the Ontario Land Tribunal.