Infrastructure standards manual delayed until late April

Amherstburg Municipal Building.

Amherstburg town council has delayed the adoption of its updated infrastructure standards manual for a month so more consultation can be had with the development community.

The manual, formerly known as the development manual, appeared before town council at its most recent regular meeting. 

Also appearing before council was local builder Drew Coulson, who expressed concerns with the document.

Coulson noted he is involved with two new developments in the works, one subdivision being off Texas Road with the other one being planned off Fort St.

Coulson said his developments have been in the works for several years, with the one planned to run off Fort St., not far from the rear of the Sobeys plaza, geared towards attainable housing.

“Basically, these policies would kill that,” he said of that development.

Coulson believed there was a lack of communication and there are people who have invested money into having the town grow “in a positive manner.”

“I don’t think it was ideal. I think there’s improvements to be made,” said Coulson.

Coulson suggested the town should be meeting with engineers, builders, developers and others in the process to “see what really works, work as a team and make this opportunity grow.”

The hope by Coulson was to have policies grandfathered for developments already in the works. He said archeological studies are well underway for the Fort St. development.

“Having to go through the process and backtrack doesn’t make it worth it,” he said.

Implementing the policies proposed would “really hurt the industry,” Coulson added.

Coulson also believed new development charges are not good for the economy and that builders should have had a greater voice in that as well. 

“Development charges hurt, this (manual) hurts and when’s it going to stop?” he said. 

Meeting with administration to find the best solution was suggested by Coulson to find a happy medium.

Councillor Diane Pouget said council members heard other complaints similar to what Coulson brought up. Coulson said policies should have been brought up to developers and said “thousands and thousands of dollars” could be wasted.

“These things didn’t start last week. They took years to make,” he said of development plans. “If we were given this information about designing this and changing this throughout the process, that might work. But not at the 12th hour.”

Councillor Peter Courtney noted the previous manual dated back to 2009 and wanted to know what is pressing that it must take effect. Sydnee Botham, the town’s development engineering co-ordinator, said the 2009 manual “doesn’t discuss multiple development standards that we actually implement in developments we have right now.”Provincial and ERCA legislation and documents aren’t incorporated into the current manual with the 2009 document also offers a different “cross-section we don’t even follow” due to changes in priorities and development practices.

“This manual update is long overdue,” said Botham. “We took the opportunity to implement not only provincial and local regulations, but some updates that need to happen that have already been happening in the background and now have been put on paper.”

Courtney said development processes have already started with the 2009 manual and called for “a blended approach.”

“Legislation supersedes all. Our policy from provincial legislation we have to follow, but we’ve been able to pull this off since 2009 and still have had infrastructure projects going into town,” said Courtney, who asked if developers and builders can contribute into the process.

Botham said developers can request deviations from what is in the new manual, noting the developments in the works and the uniqueness of developments in Amherstburg.

Requests for deviation were not included as part of the 2009 manual, she noted. 

Administration stated a willingness exists to work with developers and there is no expectation to have developers start from scratch.

Deputy CAO/director of development services Melissa Osborne estimated there were ten developments in the queue that would be impacted.

Botham’s written report to council stated: “Council adopted the Town’s current Development Manual on May 25, 2009 to provide transparency and clarity to Amherstburg’s development community by consolidating development requirements (Planning and Engineering) into a single document. Since 2009, design criteria and materials for multiple components of municipal infrastructure have been updated by the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation, and Parks (MECP), Essex Region Conservation Authority (ERCA) and the Town of Amherstburg’s Infrastructure Services Department. The issuance of the Town’s Consolidated Linear Infrastructure approval requires all new municipal stormwater and sanitary infrastructure (new development and capital projects) to adhere to the design criteria and requirements issued by the MECP in order for the systems to remain compliant. While undertaking reviews of current development proposals, it was also noted that the 2009 Development Manual lacks clarity on a number of items that impact the overall aesthetic and construction practises used in new development within the Town.”

Councillor Linden Crain referenced numerous e-mails from builders and developers, stating “I think it would be best if we have that consultation piece in place, perhaps to avoid the number of deviations from going back-and-forth.”

Crain suggested deferring the matter to a later meeting, which later was agreed to be the April 29 meeting. While the public works department cautioned there may not be a lot that can be changed, Crain said that is fair but everyone would be on the same page with less confusion going forward.

Courtney agreed to the consultation to clarify the wording, citing the exact definition of deviation and what that entails. 

Pouget supported the deferral but wanted to know how the developers would be notified so all can attend and put their concerns forward. Developers would be offered a chance to meet with staff and then the town could try and resolve the issues put forth.

The April 29 meeting date is a Tuesday, due to the original meeting date being April 28. The meeting was pushed back one day due to the federal election.

Infrastructure standards manual delayed until late April

By Ron Giofu