A St. Davids townhouse plan that hit a wall over stormwater concerns earlier this month is moving ahead after all.
Niagara-on-the-Lake council approved a zoning bylaw amendment and draft plan of subdivision Friday for a part of the Tawny Ridge Estates residential development, clearing the way for 18 on-street townhouse units south of Warner Road and west of Tanbark Road.
The decision came less than two weeks after the proposal failed June 16, when councillors split 4-4 on whether to support staff’s recommendation to approve this part of the development.
The application was approved at the June 26 meeting without discussion. Coun. Sandra O’Connor was the only councillor to vote against it.
Coun. Gary Burroughs was not present after sending regrets, but the rest of council was in attendance.
In an email, O’Connor said she has “consistently voted against Tawny Ridge phase two and three” because of her concerns about the pressure this part of the development would put on the stormwater system.
“I could not approve infrastructure that currently exceeds capacity during extreme rainfall.”
O’Connor said she could not support the application before proposed upgrades are completed because, according to her reading of the functional servicing report, wet weather flows at St. Davids Sewage Pumping Station #1 already exceed capacity during extreme rain events.
The owner, St. Davids Riverview Estates Inc., had permission for either 20 block townhouses or 30 stacked townhouses on this plot of land. The new plan allows 18 on-street townhouses across five blocks instead.
Town staff recommended approval, saying the proposal fits planning rules, adds housing in a built-up area and is less dense than what had already been approved for the site.
But at the heart of the June 16 debate was St. Davids’ already strained stormwater system.
Burroughs warned the townhouse block would add another challenge to the village’s stormwater problems, while Upper Canada Consultants planner William Heikoop said the revised plan drops two units, avoids condo fees for buyers and includes oversized pipes to slow stormwater during storms.
Staff’s report says the applicant submitted a functional servicing report and stormwater management addendum and that public works and infrastructure staff accepted the findings and recommendations. More detailed design work will be reviewed through draft plan conditions.
The owner must submit detailed drawings and calculations for the watermain, sanitary sewer and stormwater drainage systems to the town’s public works department for review and approval before final approval.
Public comments attached to the report also argued the project should wait until flooding and infrastructure concerns in the Warner and Tanbark roads area are dealt with.
One resident wrote that “any and all decisions regarding Tawny Ridge Estates be deferred” until the town has a stormwater plan prepared by an independent engineering firm.
Another submission said this next phase of the development should not be approved “until the flooding issues in the Warner Road and Tanbark Road area is corrected.”
Staff said public concerns about stormwater, density and infrastructure were reviewed and addressed through the application process.
