The following statement has been issued by Mayor Robert Campbell on behalf of Salisbury Town Council:
“During the Regular Council Meeting Monday evening (September 9, 2024), Town Council unanimously passed third reading of amendments to municipal by-laws to redesignate a parcel of land, being parcel bearing PID 00816140 (off of Dundee Drive), from Residential to Village Centre. The intent of this re-zoning was to permit up to 34 units (rental apartments) in five (5) multi-unit buildings, subject to conditions.
Any Zoning and/or Municipal Plan By-law amendments are subject to a rigorous public process. Throughout the process, the proposed amendments passed unanimously at the Southeast Planning Review and Adjustment Committee on July 24, by Council for first and second reading on August 12, and Monday night for third reading. This public process garnered both support and opposition to the proposed change(s). Council appreciates the input from all residents who weighed into the process, an indication of the engagement of our residents and of the importance of the democratic process.
On Monday night, Council also discussed a petition from 80+ residents in the immediate vicinity of the area opposing the re-zoning that was received by the Town on August 19. The petition was addressed in detail during our discussion, and the Town will be mailing a letter to each signatory with additional information to re-assure them of the process undertaken. However, we felt it important to highlight additional information publicly as it relates to this decision as well, mainly related to concerns surrounding private water supplies, questioning the development, and raising concerns around items such as traffic.
As residents know, Salisbury is reliant on private water systems (wells). Multi-unit development of this nature is not permitted without a water study from a licensed engineer. In this case, a comprehensive water study was undertaken consisting of two drilled wells (one for pumping and one for monitoring) and a third monitoring well of an existing home in the vicinity, pursuant to the provincial water supply assessment guidelines. This study is undertaken by a licensed hydrologist, and throughout the latest process was confirmed to be entirely satisfactory to the provincial Department of Environment and Local Government. The Town relies on information such as water studies, staff reports, and Plan360 reports to make informed decisions based on facts. In the absence of information from comparable qualified hydrologists contradicting the findings of this study, it would be inappropriate for the Town, without being licensed engineers, to argue the findings of the report. The findings concluded that the well drilled for the proposed building has sufficient quality and quantity of water, without aggravating and/or creating water issues for nearby property owners. The Town takes our obligation to ensure due diligence in protecting private water supplies very seriously, hence why these steps are required before even processing re-zoning requests of this nature.
This process was exclusively to amend the zoning and amending lot size requirements to match provincial building regulations. Each building will be subject to discussion and decision(s) at the Planning Review and Adjustment Committee where the multi-units will now be a permitted use. It is also important to note that this water study is for the first building (eight (8) units) only. Each subsequent building, should they proceed, will be required to provide a water study to once again confirm sufficient quality and quantity for each subsequent building. Prior to PRAC meetings, neighbours within a 60-metre radius of the property are notified of the meeting for an opportunity to provide public input into the imposition of reasonable terms and conditions imposed on the proposed development.
Thirdly, the proposed overall project will enable a second access for Dundee Drive, meeting an important identified Future Street connection between an existing street, facilitating traffic flow and access for emergency vehicles, as an example. In the end, traffic flow will be improved with the secondary access. While the street is currently a dead-end, it has been designated as a Future Street in our Future Land Use mapping, meaning this was already identified as a priority street connection for the Municipality.
Lastly, this proposed parcel is immediately adjacent to Salisbury Regional School (already zoned as Village Centre (VC)) and, therefore, is in immediate proximity to businesses, services, and amenities. It is also near existing rental units, including some zoned Village Centre on MacDonald Road.
The Town, like every community across Canada, is in desperate need of housing. In fact, a presentation at the exact meeting of first and second reading of the proposed by-law amendments (August 12, 2024) highlighted that the Town is in need of an additional 1,241 housing units between now and 2041. This means that as a Council, we need to ensure we remain committed to our Strategic Plan that includes making Salisbury an environment attractive to developers and where affordable housing is accessible.
Council is committed to working with stakeholders to ensure we maintain our identity as a rural community while ensuring we facilitate much-needed housing supply for both current and future residents. Council will continue to, as much as possible and within our means, ensure that we play a role in increasing housing inventory, availability, and affordability.
As Councillors, we owe it to current AND future residents to consider objective information in addition to neighbourhood concerns when making decisions that benefit the entirety of our community. Once again, we appreciate the input of residents, both in favour and opposed, throughout this process.”