After listening to the July 23 Council meeting and reading the Council Notes in the Packet, I can't help but feel that the future of our town has been firmly placed in the hands of developers. Unelected as they are, these developers certainly have a vision for Clarenville – I’ll give them that. They see a 100 lots here and 50 lots there; trails and hill sides moved and houses erected. It’s a strong and solid vision and one that points to the opportunity that they see in 'our' town for growth potential - and the ability to capture profits from that potential. (Good on them for this! - they are critical to the growth of our town - I am just arguing that their vision needs to be actively managed)
The Town's vistas, the security of our water supply and the capacity of our current road and piping infrastructure (the things that you and I value and pay for) are not as high on the developer's minds. That's our collective concern - through our elected board of governors that we call the Town Council. I wanted to hear that better discussed in Council's discussion and in their decision.
After first appearing in April (See my original blog post on this Monday, April 29, 2013 Amending We Will Go -- Assessing the Cost of Changing the Municipal Plan ), the issue of four significant amendments to the Town's Municipal Plan was brought up for discussion again. Each one of these proposals have the potential to bring serious development and significant change to the face of our town. The graphic below shows the affected areas.
THE AMENDMENTS COMING FOR PUBLIC DISCUSSION
I appreciate that we need development and I appreciate Council does not want to dismiss opportunity. No doubt there is a fine balance. After some discussion, Council decided to entertain three of the four amendments. The only proposal rejected was a proposal to enlarge the quarry at White Hills. The proposed amendment outlined below was rejected.
The remaining three amendment proposals are headed for public consultation. I had not seen anything posted on the Town's website on these amendments so I requested copies of the proposals that we as a community will be expected to comment on. Considering where we are in the election cycle and the nature of the decision, this will almost assuredly not happen until after the Sept 24 municipal election.
HUNTLEY DRIVE
This proposal is to build approximately 100 homes adjacent to Katherine Estates (not reflected in map) on hilly terrain (not reflected on map) at the end of Huntley Drive. The bulk of the proposed build is within a Environmentally Protected (EP) area and a portion of some lots is in a Water Supply Protection Area (Blue). The proposal is to change these zonings to residential.
WISEMANS ROAD
This is a proposal to add a "second level" to the ridge facing Random Sound. This proposal opens up a lot of land at the top of the ridge and the views should be fantastic. However, the left side of the proposal is in an Environmentally Protected area. The proposal is to change the zoning.
BARE MOUNTAIN (FRONTING RANDOM SOUND)
The Town's vistas, the security of our water supply and the capacity of our current road and piping infrastructure (the things that you and I value and pay for) are not as high on the developer's minds. That's our collective concern - through our elected board of governors that we call the Town Council. I wanted to hear that better discussed in Council's discussion and in their decision.
After first appearing in April (See my original blog post on this Monday, April 29, 2013 Amending We Will Go -- Assessing the Cost of Changing the Municipal Plan ), the issue of four significant amendments to the Town's Municipal Plan was brought up for discussion again. Each one of these proposals have the potential to bring serious development and significant change to the face of our town. The graphic below shows the affected areas.
THE AMENDMENTS COMING FOR PUBLIC DISCUSSION
I appreciate that we need development and I appreciate Council does not want to dismiss opportunity. No doubt there is a fine balance. After some discussion, Council decided to entertain three of the four amendments. The only proposal rejected was a proposal to enlarge the quarry at White Hills. The proposed amendment outlined below was rejected.
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| Click the map to go to Google Maps view |
The remaining three amendment proposals are headed for public consultation. I had not seen anything posted on the Town's website on these amendments so I requested copies of the proposals that we as a community will be expected to comment on. Considering where we are in the election cycle and the nature of the decision, this will almost assuredly not happen until after the Sept 24 municipal election.
HUNTLEY DRIVE
This proposal is to build approximately 100 homes adjacent to Katherine Estates (not reflected in map) on hilly terrain (not reflected on map) at the end of Huntley Drive. The bulk of the proposed build is within a Environmentally Protected (EP) area and a portion of some lots is in a Water Supply Protection Area (Blue). The proposal is to change these zonings to residential.
 |
| Click the map to go to Google Maps view |
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| Katherine Estates is literally carved out of a hillside. (I sat on Council in 2007 and regrettably approved this development based on a plot plan I saw - like you see here. It was a learning moment for me - I now take a very critical view of 2 dimensional plans - they just don't tell a full story. ) |
WISEMANS ROAD
This is a proposal to add a "second level" to the ridge facing Random Sound. This proposal opens up a lot of land at the top of the ridge and the views should be fantastic. However, the left side of the proposal is in an Environmentally Protected area. The proposal is to change the zoning.
BARE MOUNTAIN (FRONTING RANDOM SOUND)
This proposal calls for a geographically small change, but a change that has the potential to change the face of Bare Mountain. The map does not show it, but the RED area is steep terrain. The proposal is to flatten the area so that more house lots could be installed.
THE MUNICIPAL PLAN - MANAGED DEVELOPMENT
There is no debating that Clarenville’s Municipal plan is quite a comprehensive document . You paid for a professional planning consultant to develop this plan and with your input, he did a good job adhering to the planning rules. After last week's Council meeting I am concerned that Council simply "Bought" the plan but have little buy-in or commitment to it - willing to entertain major changes to the plan on a seemingly frequent basis.
I can see small changes that make sense but these proposed changes alone help serve to nullify the plan and beg me to ask: What is the point of planning if we don't follow the plan?
 |
| Click the map to go to Google Maps view |
THE MUNICIPAL PLAN - MANAGED DEVELOPMENT
There is no debating that Clarenville’s Municipal plan is quite a comprehensive document . You paid for a professional planning consultant to develop this plan and with your input, he did a good job adhering to the planning rules. After last week's Council meeting I am concerned that Council simply "Bought" the plan but have little buy-in or commitment to it - willing to entertain major changes to the plan on a seemingly frequent basis.
I can see small changes that make sense but these proposed changes alone help serve to nullify the plan and beg me to ask: What is the point of planning if we don't follow the plan?
Make sure you make it an issue in the upcoming Municipal Election and then look for the date of the Public Hearings.
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