RECENT HISTORY OF THE BAGOT STREET PARK VISTA
2009 - The Town of Essex releases it’s 2009 Official Plan with grandiose ideas about improving and expanding the Hamlet of Colchester to include ‘old English Tudor themes in keeping with the historical character of the Hamlet’ with ‘gables and dormers and use materials characteristic of the area, including clapboard siding, stone and old brick, wood and wooden windows’. They also promoted ‘views and vistas that should be preserved, protected and enhanced’. One vista was a lovely little parkette at the end of Bagot Street with a great view of the lake and harbour.
2009 to 2024 – For 15 years, the Town of Essex appears to make no effort to preserve, protect or enhance the Bagot St. Park vista.
OCTOBER 21, ’24 – At the Town of Essex council meeting, the Town directed the Planning Department to stop the approval process for the proposed 2024 Official Plan in order to reconsider the Official Plans fundamentals and ensure that various new comprehensive studies are factored in.
OCTOBER 28 – 30, ’24 – The Town of Essex hires a tree service contractor to clear out most of the trees, bushes and other vegetation growing on the side of the Bagot Street parkette escarpment right down to the lake level. At least 30 trees and 30 bushes are cut down to the ground and hauled away. Almost everything green is destroyed and what’s left are dead roots and loose topsoil with very little left to protect the cliff from certain erosion. This ‘vista’, part of the 2009 Official Plan, is apparently totally forgotten by the Town for 15 years and then suddenly becomes a priority. The lovely view has been returned but the cliff is now at risk. Can we ask ‘Why now?’
TOWN COUNCIL VOTES TO SUSPEND APPROVAL OF OFFICIAL PLAN & ADD PHASE 2
THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR LETTERS & EMAILS TO COUNCIL
OCTOBER 21, 2024 - ESSEX TOWN HALL - Mayor Sherry Bondy, brought forth a Notice of Motion (NOM) to delay the planned implementation of the 2024 version of the Town of Essex Official Plan. This NOM was very clear in it’s intent and included the following items;
1/ That a “Local Comprehensive Review” study be completed in order to gather a complete land inventory prior to the implementation of the Official Plan. This effort would determine exactly what land is available for development as commercial, industrial and residential property and also ensure that any selection of those lands follows the guidelines of the County Official Plan and the Provincial Policy Statement.
2/ That data from various ‘Infrastructure Studies’ that are being completed by the County be used in the Town Official Plan. In particular the data from ‘Specialty Crop ‘ study would be employed to specifically identify the land with the highest level of protection from development .
The Director of Development Services, Lori Chadwick, indicated that the preparation required for the proposed 2024 Official Plan was extensive and required a great deal of effort but welcomed the opportunity to begin Phase Two. She indicated that the Town had received hundreds of emails with comments concerning the 2024 Official Plan and planned to hold a meeting for the community to discuss the feedback received, then hold a further meeting with Council to keep them informed.
Deputy Mayor Shepley then asked the Colchester Matters delegation to step forward and begin their presentation. Nettie Ridley, the first speaker, talked about the Colchester Matters group and indicated how growth and development were supported by Colchester Matters but that any growth needed to be done responsibly. She spoke about the Local Comprehensive Review process and how future growth will impact our lands. Also discussed was climate change and how critical it is to be mindful of exactly how costly development becomes from an environmental perspective. She further elaborated upon the importance of an LCR is to the development of the Official Plan.
Next up to speak was Mike Piche from Colchester Matters who reviewed the need for the Specialty Crop study to be completed in order to identify the land that needs a great degree of protection. Specialty crops provide the greatest revenue per acre of any crops and southern Essex County provides some of the best soil and climatic conditions in Canada to continue to dedicate land for. Also discussed were the requirements of Provincial Bills 23 and 185 (Build Homes Faster). It was noted that the Town of Essex was NOT given a specific quota of homes by the Province to build unlike many other municipalities in Ontario. Any ‘quotas’ were developed with the Town and were of our own making. He also reviewed Chapter 9, the Colchester Secondary Plan, from the proposed 2024 Official Plan document to comment that it needed major revision since it was a copy of the 2009 Plan before all of the wineries, the Grove Motel, Lungovita and the CWATS extension to County Rd 50. He noted that there are already a significant number of daily visitors and even overcrowding on weekends in Colchester. He wrapped up with a plea to approve Mayor Bondy’s NOM by stating '“how can we not'“ approve this?
At that point Deputy Mayor Shepley asked if there were any questions and Councillor Hammond asked if there was a ‘vision’ for Colchester in 25 years or so? Mr Piche answered that there would be developments as well as infill but that the Town of Essex must abide by the Official Plan of the County of Essex which indicates that Secondary Development Areas like Colchester were not to be the focus of major developments. He indicated that the Town must follow the rules of the County Official Plan. Councillor Hammond continued with his statement but was interrupted by Deputy Mayor Shepley who turned the floor back to Ms. Chadwick
Ms Chadwick then proceeded to review various aspects of the Provincial Planning Statement and the County Official Plan and indicated that her group would look into ‘Strategic Growth Areas’.
The Deputy Mayor then polled the Council for their comments and questions and Katie McGuire-Blais indicated a concern for future costs for the hiring of consultants as did Councillor Garon. Councillor Matyi indicated support. When the final vote was taken, there were 7 in support with Councillor Hammond voting nay. The motion passed.
Colchester Wastewater System
Council decides, at least for now, to not pursue another request for a provincial grant but continues with the engineering.
At the Town of Essex Council Meeting, (Oct. 7, ‘24), the Council listened to a presentation by Kate Giurissevich, Director of Corporate Services, where she explained exactly where we are with regard to the Wastewater Treatment upgrades for Colchester. Here a synopsis of the overall situation, from it’s beginnings:
1/ In 2023, the Horizon Group wished to move forward with the Colchester Bay Condo Development of 458 condos at Dunn Rd and Cty Rd 50. In order to build this many units, the Town required Horizon to pay for an Environmental Assessment study by an Engineering firm, skilled in that subject matter. The study was then completed by Stantec Engineering and a report from them was presented to Council on July 4th, 2023 (details are located on this website at “www.colchestermatters.org/sewers-and-drainage”).
2/ The Stantec Environmental Assessment found that the existing sewer system in Colchester (which serves only the old village of Colchester and the homes along Cty Rd 50 west to Cty Rd 14 at the old Meadows Tavern) is at 57% capacity, is still viable, is still approved by the Province and is able to serve the area, with NORMAL growth, for at least another 12 to 16 years. But, with the Colchester Bay development it would need immediate replacement along with significant technical upgrades to meet current requirements. Various costs have been discussed which could easily exceed $50 million. Exactly who would be responsible for these costs remains unknown with Colchester residents indicating that if the developer forces an upgrade, that the developer should be responsible for the entire cost. The town doesn’t view that cost distribution to be that clear, as the residents would benefit as well. That decision, contentious as it is, remains to be discussed, at length.
3/ In April of 2024, our Councillors decided that the design engineering for this system should be completed asap and authorized the expenditure of almost $2.5 million in favour of Stantec Engineering. Furthermore, they determined the Town should apply for various grants being offered by the Province of Ontario which was subsidizing various communities who had plans in place for building more homes, faster, as per Bill 23. Various and sundry funding formulae were kicked about where the Province kicked in X and the Town kicked in Y and everyone would be happy! We’re still a Secondary Settlement Area though and the province prefers to provide grants to municipalities which at least are considered Primary, having the infrastructure necessary for this much growth.
4/ In August, Council was informed that it’s grant application for financial assistance toward the construction of a new sewer system put forth in April ‘24 had been denied.
5/ During this Oct 7 meeting, Council rehashed the Wastewater grant application process and, after a short discussion, it was decided to abandon further requests for funds from the Province but continue with the design engineering until completion. At that point, the Town would be prepared for any long term, future expansion/upgrade of the Colchester Wastewater system by having a complete set of specifications and drawings which could be updated to the latest technology and designs once a decision to proceed was announced in 10 to 15 years.
CONCLUSIONS:
The Colchester Bay Condo development could still proceed should the developer be willing to provide almost all of the funds for the costs of the new sewer system ($40+ million). This is most unlikely as this could add at least $87,000 in costs to each of the 458 units. Future grants are still unlikely to be approved as this development is in a Secondary Development Area where the Province does not support growth. Do the Colchester residents want to keep a close watch on this………absolutely! Do we want to ensure that residents stay informed and are kept current…….100%.
Colchester Heights, the housing development at Ambassador Beach, could still proceed as planned since, the number of units added does not seriously jeopardize the Colchester wastewater system capacity. This project has moved closer to approval than any others and is currently in the hands of the County of Essex to determine the path ahead. We are continuing to apply pressure on the County Planners to have this project re-evaluated due to it’s potential for flooding and it’s negative effect on the existing residents in the area.
Again we will be keeping a very close watch on this development to keep you informed. We’ve handed out flyers to Ambassador Beach and to the other 4 beaches being considered for expansion - warning them of the possible effects of adding hundreds of residences and asking for their interest and support. We plan to distribute flyers to every home from Walnut St to the Meadows Rd, north and south of Cty Rd 50 in the next week or so to ensure they also are aware of the current situation. The village of Colchester proper will be next.