Proposed Beeton subdivision headed to OMB

By Maija Hoggett Simcoe.com November 19 2010
Plans for a new Beeton subdivision will be the focus of a three-day Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) hearing in February.

Tuesday, Nov. 9 an OMB pre-hearing was held for the Alliance Homes subdivision in Beeton. The developer has made two appeals to the OMB. It claims the Town of New Tecumseth didn’t deal with the subdivision application within 180 days required by the Planning Act and that the town didn’t deal with a re-zoning request within the required 120 days.
The pre-hearing set out the process for the actual hearing set for Alliston Feb. 22, 23 and 24. Two residents also stepped up as participants and will be able to make statements at the hearing.
The proposed subdivision in question is in Beeton north of Main Street and south of Lilly Street, west of Beeton’s existing residential area. Alliance Homes wants to develop 164 residential homes on the site.
The town’s solicitor, Jay Feehely, said there have been steps taken to work out a final plan, but a final plan of subdivision hasn’t been submitted to the town by the developer. Town staff needs that final submission to review before sending the request to council for approval.
With a new council taking over at the beginning of December, Feehely noted that a functioning council wouldn’t be meeting until mid-January.
Alliance Homes submitted its subdivision application in May 2009 and said it was “deemed complete by the town on June 3, 2009.”
The zoning bylaw amendment request was submitted at the same time.
As a portion of the property is currently zoned Agricultural (A1) and Environmental Protection (EP), the developer wants to rezone those areas to Urban Residential 2 Exception, Open Space and Environmental Protection. That zoning, according to a letter sent to the OMB by Alliance Homes lawyer Ira Kagan, “provides site specific exceptions respecting lot frontage and coverage and yard setbacks and encroachments.”
Kagan said the developer has already worked out some of the details of the rezoning with the conservation authority.
“Hopefully we are able to work out the technical details with the municipality,” said Kagan.
At the pre-hearing, Alliance Homes committed to submit a revised lot design to the town by this week.

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