Large development will put stress on existing Whitchurch-Stouffville infrastructure, councillor says
By Steve Pecar, Local Journalism Initiative reporter
A development that calls for 1,162 residential units in Whitchurch-Stouffville has taken the next step towards becoming a reality.
Town councillors have approved, in principle, aspects of the subdivision that will be located west of Tenth Line just south of Bethesda Side Road.
The plan calls for a mix of housing styles:
· 562 apartments in buildings ranging from six to 12 storeys
· 548 stacked back-to-back townhouse units
· 52 back-to-back townhouse units
There will be 1,796 parking spaces, with most going underground.
Other highlights of the project include commercial space on the ground floor of one of the apartments, the creation of new roads within the development, proximity to the Lincolnville GO station, a small park, and recreational trails.
At a recent town meeting, Ward 6 Councillor Sue Sherban said the development is one of the biggest currently planned for Whitchurch-Stouffville and that the scope of the project may take residents by surprise.
She said members of the public have been speaking out about smaller projects, but this one is going unnoticed by most.
Sherban said she is also concerned about the impact it will have on existing services and infrastructure.
“I feel we really need to make residents aware of what is happening in this particular area, 1,162 residential units is significant and what this is going to mean to the future of traffic in Stouffville and (the impact on) our services concerns me because we just don’t have the infrastructure in place,” Sherban said.
She said the town has to make sure it has amenities such as community centres, pools and parks to accommodate the new growth. She suggested that a more detailed presentation about the development should be brought back before council.
“It’s not that I am against this plan or application,” she continued. “But for something of this nature a presentation (is needed) so that impact on the community would become more common knowledge.”
Ward 2 Councillor Maurice Smith said the public has been aware of the project and that council has talked extensively about it in the past.
He believes the development will attract many people to Whitchurch-Stouffville.
“There are many pluses for this type of project….there are people who are going to move to Stouffville who don’t know anything about this yet but when the sales and advertising get out there, they will be saying ‘hey this is great, let’s move up to that area.’”