Council has denied the latest submission from Hilden Homes for their Fawcett Avenue subdivision.

A motion to approve the development failed at the December 17th Planning and Development meeting, with only Councillor Sam Grosso voting in favour. 

The proposal was to create lots for 27 detached houses, four semi-detached, and 54 townhouses. Eric DenOuden, owner of Hilden Homes, confirmed it was his intention to sell the lots to residential builders. 

Fawcett Avenue was to be extended, and two new public streets created, one of which was to run parallel to the Millennium trail. 

In June 2024, facing strong opposition from local residents, Council voted unanimously to refer the application back to staff, specifying 10 areas of concern to be resolved before approval. 

But the developer did not demonstrate real willingness to meet the conditions before resubmission. 

One of the key issues is that Fawcett Avenue is the sole access route to the property. Council requested that the developer plan to establish a construction route off Fawcett, and a second access route to accommodate the increase in traffic from new residents.

”Your to do and my to do are two different things,” Councillor Phil Prinzen told Mr. DenOuden. “The biggest one was the second access road.”

Fawcett Avenue scores a high 97.92 on the Pavement Condition Index. Wear and tear from heavy construction vehicles is likely to degrade the road prematurely. Staff wanted the developer to have a professional engineer document the pre-construction condition of Fawcett Ave. 

”We need to protect the infrastructure that we have,” said Councillor Brad Nieman. 

But Manager of Planning Angela Buonamici noted that without a policy requiring developers to build a second access road, staff could not deny the application on those grounds. 

She said it could look like the municipality is “holding a lot for ransom” if it requires an owner to buy another property for secondary access.

Mr. DenOuden said conversations with the land owner to the north about creating a new access route were unsuccessful. 

Hilden Homes responded to Council’s request for a sidewalk along Fawcett with a 1.5 metre road widening and a pedestrian walkway marked by painted lines. 

The building lot itself features an old growth forest with 44 butternut trees, an endangered and protected species. An Environmental Impact Study by the Ainley Group concluded that 16 of the butternut trees were healthy and retainable, but would be clear cut for the development. 

Hilden Homes had to obtain an Overall Benefit Permit from the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks to remove the protected trees. 

“When you’re talking about mature endangered trees that are relatively healthy, that’s a serious concern for me,” said Councillor Kate MacNaughton. 

“The butternut plan is an issue,” Councillor John Hirsch agreed, and wondered if that, combined with the absence of a new construction route and lack of real sidewalks, would be enough to make their case for denial should it be brought to the Ontario Land Tribunal.

“They look at the expert documents and everything authored,” said Ms. Buonamici. “They look at the EIS, the transportation impact study, and they’d also look at just the solutions that we had with those motions.”

Seven Fawcettville residents spoke against the plan at the meeting, citing concerns with safety, protected natural heritage, and damage to road infrastructure. 

“Nowhere in the report is there meaningful acknowledgement of the significant social, safety, and quality of life impacts to this community,” said Steven Gunn. 

“The community simply gains nothing.”

Residents noted a safe school bus stop had not been created, nor a left turning lane off Highway 49. 

The lack of secondary access proved to be the biggest sticking point of the evening, despite the lack of policy to fall back on. 

“The single road in is a real problem,” said Mayor Steve Ferguson. 

After mulling over referring the application back for further negotiations, Council voted to deny the application altogether. 

“Sometimes you have to make a decision,” said Councillor Chris Braney, gesturing to the residents in the room. “Good news or bad news, they want it now.”