The Blue Mountains council has deferred making any decision on the proposed Blue Meadows development in Thornbury.
At its committee of the whole meeting on June 6, council voted 6-0 (Mayor Andrea Matrosovs was absent) to defer making a decision on the 191-unit development proposed for land immediately adjacent to the Foodland store at the corner of Lansdowne Street and Highway 26.
After two delegations, two public speakers and a lengthy discussion about the development, council chose not to make a decision and instead voted to defer the matter with a list of items it wanted addressed by the developers.
The deferral came despite town planning staff recommending that council approve both the rezoning necessary for the development and a recommendation to Grey County to grant draft approval of the development’s plan of subdivision.
Staff warned council the town was at risk of an appeal of the matter by the proponents. Staff noted that the original application for the development came in April 2022 and the public meeting was held in July 2022, which meant the applicants were already past the 120 period, following which they could appeal to the Ontario Land Tribunal for lack of decision.
The development being proposed includes 191 residential units and two commercial buildings, green and park space, roads and a stormwater management system. Of the 191 units, 98 would be rowhouse units, 75 would be residential units above the commercial components and 18 are live/work freehold units.
The rowhouse units range in size from 1,500 to 3,000 square feet, while the units above the commercial building would be between 560 and 750 square feet.
The development would be a density of 28 units per hectare of land and the proponent is proposing that 21 of the 98 rowhouse units be designated attainable housing, with a further 20 per cent of the units above the commercial buildings being designated as attainable.
At the meeting, three neighbouring property owners spoke to council to raise a number of concerns about the development.
The presentations and discussion about the proposed development lasted more than two hours with members of council repeatedly expressing a multitude of concerns about the proposal and how it would fit in the existing landscape of Thornbury.
Coun. June Porter questioned the density of 28 units per hectare and said that was above the minimum required by planning policies.
“I’m not convinced for the need of the density,” said Porter. “I really don't want to see a Cranberry in Thornbury.”
Coun. Shawn McKinlay said he felt as if the concerns the public had raised at the public meeting the previous summer had been left unaddressed.
“Nothing has really changed from a year ago,” he said.
After considerable discussion, council unanimously passed a resolution requesting more information from the developer on the following areas of concern:
- The proposed density of the development as it relates the existing density in Thornbury and Clarksburg
- Proposed traffic improvements
- How the attainable housing aspect of the proposal will remain attainable after re-sale
- The character of the proposed development
- How the housing being proposed relates to the town’s definitions of housing in its Official Plan
- Buffering around a neighbouring property owner’s home
- The possibility of adding more green space
- Grey Sauble Conservation Authority concerns
