A public hearing on Villeneuve’s future brought an old dispute to a new hearing last week as issues over just how many people will move to the community and how close they will live to one another were resurrected.
Now in its third iteration, county councillors brought forward a proposed area structure plan (ASP) for the tiny hamlet of Villeneuve for its first public airing on June 28. Much like the last proposal in 2008, the debate came down to how dense the community should be.
After a year of consultation with the community, the draft plan proposes a minimum lot size of 46-feet. It also calls for no more than 600 homes placed on a quarter-section of land.
Resident and former MLA Colleen Soetaert spoke to council, endorsing the vision of an expanded Villeneuve that would continue to reflect the existing hamlet’s sense of community.
“How this new phase is developed in Villeneuve must keep with the way Villeneuve already is,” she said. “No one wants to see a bunch of small little boxes in a row.”
Soetaert said residents love the community they have and believe open spaces are very important.
“What we have here is a community that matters so much so that people will volunteer their time to build a ball diamond, a church, a hall and a seniors’ centre.”
The proposed ASP would re-zone much of the land around the existing hamlet to make way for more residential development. It would also allow for more industrial and commercial development along secondary highway 633.
Jan Butler of Landrex told the hearing that, with those restrictions in place, it would be difficult to develop the area. She said developers spread the cost of bringing in servicing over all of the lots and without being able to put more lots in place, they would become unaffordable.
She said those costs will eventually be passed along to homeowners.
“A developer pays for everything but at the end of the day it is downloaded to you.”
She said if the ASP did not allow developers to spread the cost of development over more lots, there would be no opportunity to spread those costs around.
“The ASP does not put the county into a competitive position relative to its regional counterparts.”
After hearing the debate, councillors moved to recess the hearing until the fall. The county plans to arrange bus tours for residents to nearby communities that do have narrower lots.
Coun. Karen Shaw told residents she understood and applauded their desire to protect the community, but also encouraged them to take a fresh look at other communities.
“Go there with an open mind and see what those lots look like and if it’s something for your community.”
Coun. Ken McGillis, who represents the hamlet, said finding a middle ground on density will mean finding a balance.
“At the end of the day the developer has to decide what type of density is going to make it economical for them to develop and the county will have to decide what type of community we want there.”
McGillis said residents have opened up to the idea of development in the community and have a firm idea of what that might look like. He said market pressures are important, but they can’t be the only factor deciding the community’s long-term plan.
“I don’t think they are prepared to alter those standards because of current market conditions. I mean the land is not going away.”
