Sunday, March 25, 2007

Letter to Residents - December 2006

We have just been passed a letter from the council, which all of you may not have seen, so we are re-publishing it here to inform you of some of the thoughts of the staff at council.

"December 1, 2006

Dear Resident

It was recently brought to our attention that a number of flyers have been posted on trees in the Creek Path Woods located in the Lakeshore Woods community stating that half of Creek Path Woods will be destroyed due to development. This is simply not the case. We would like to take this opportunity to correct the misinformation contained in this flyer.

By way of this letter, we will provide residents in the Lakeshore Woods Community with accurate information regarding the various development projects taking shape in the community and their status.

Due to the posting of the flyer, a number of residents have contacted the Planning Services Department to express their concerns regarding the destruction of the woodlot. Please be assured that the woodlot known as Creek Path Woods is an important part of the Town's open space and trail system network and is owned by the Town of Oakville. *The Town of Oakville will not be developing the Town-owned portion of the woodlot, nor will it be removing any trees.* Regular forestry maintenance will occur on a limited scale to remove hazardous trees that could potentially impact public use of the trail system.

Background:


In February of 2005, New Province Homes applied for an Official Plan Amendment (OPA), Rezoning and Removal of Holding Provision to allow for the development of nine single detached dwellings and two residential estate lots. The OPA sought to redesignate the subject property from Medium Density Residential to Residential Low Density and to change the
wording regarding tree preservation policies applicable to the site. The Rezoning sought a change from the existing R8 zone (Mixed Dwellings - Higher density) to the proposed R11- Mixed Dwellings, Low Density and R2 - Mixed Dwellings, Low Density.

The application was presented to the Planning and Development Council on February 27, 2006. The recommendation by the Planning Services Department was to deny the application as it represented a significant reduction in the approved density for the subject property. Furthermore, the proposed application was considered to undermine the tree preservation policies established for the subject property. The applicant requested that Council defer consideration of the application.


It was the applicant's hope that the application could be revised to staff's satisfaction allowing a positive recommendation to be brought before the Planning and Development Council. The applicant did not however amend the application and later withdrew the application in
August of 2006. The file was officially closed by the Planning Department shortly thereafter.


There are currently no active development applications for the subject property.


Development Parcel fronting onto Duskywing Way


A development parcel exists north of the Town-owned portion of the woodlot. In the original secondary plan for the Bronte Community District, this property was designated as Residential High Density. This designation was changed in 2001, through OPA 191, from Residential High Density to the current Residential Medium Density designation. This property is designated for the development of medium density residential uses. The current Official Plan policies and Zoning regulations applicable to this parcel allow for the development of an apartment
building or a seniors housing facility.


The Official Plan policies have a height limit of 4-storeys and contain tree preservation policies which call for the dedication of the remaining undeveloped portions of the subject property to the Town. The policies do not contemplate dedication of the entire area. The amount of undeveloped area of the property to be dedicated to the Town will depend on future development applications. The intent of the tree preservation policies is to create a compact form of development in order to provide a suitable transitional area between the developed land and the Town-owned portion of the woodlot.


The Planning Department anticipates future development applications for this property but is currently not aware of any proposals. Any development proposal which differs from what the current Official Plan and Zoning regulations allow for will require an application to amend
these policies and regulations. Such development proposals will require notification of area residents and public meetings will be held.


Residents are encouraged to participate in these meetings.



Should you require additional information, please contact David Capper,
Planning Services Department, 905-845-6601 ext. 3042 or email
dcapper@oakville.ca."

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