A proposed 446-home subdivision in Centre Wellington is raising concerns about water supply capacity and how it might affect the water table of nearby farms.
Centre Wellington councillor Bronwynne Wilton says the development has reignited a broader debate over how and where Centre Wellington should grow and whether new housing should come at the expense of agricultural land and rural communities.
“So if we have 446 houses with, you know, four people in them, essentially talking about building a new village out in the middle of rural lands, and that would be a huge amount of water that they would be requiring, and so there’s concerns about the impacts on other people’s wells, and particularly some of the farm operations,” she said, adding that the volume of water used by dairy and chicken operations would make any future impact on the water table a significant concern.
Wilton noted that the township currently has zoning for nearly 9,000 homes by 2051 within designated areas in and around the urban boundary.
“So there’s no need to leapfrog out into the countryside to build an urban development that will have these many concerns and impacts,” she said.
Wilton added that many in the community are also concerned about the impact on local agriculture. The property currently abuts a dairy farm, while a chicken farm is nearby. She said there is also a standardbred racing farm across the road from the proposed development.
Additional infrastructure
The proposal by Fergus Land Holdings (Geranium Homes) would transform the former Fergus Golf Course lands on the south side of Wellington Road 19 into a large residential development, requiring the township to construct and manage a wastewater treatment plant dedicated to the subdivision.
The homes would feature a mix of 32-foot, 38-foot, 45-foot, and 52-foot frontage lots.
The proposal represents a significant expansion of a development first approved in 2022. The original plan called for 118 executive homes under a condominium corporation model, with the corporation responsible for water and roads. But after sales fell short of expectations, the developer returned with a larger proposal aimed at family-style living.
Wastewater woes
This change would require construction of a site-specific wastewater treatment plant under the management of the township. Opponents say the move would put nearby waterways, including Belwood Lake and the Grand River, at risk and compromise prime agricultural land.
“It would be a brand new wastewater treatment plant that we would have to maintain and manage over the lifecycle of its existence,” she said.
Wilton noted that if the project is rejected by the township, the developer can appeal to the Ontario Land Tribunal. If approved by the tribunal, the development would likely move forward.
“That would be the big unknown at the moment, but judging by recent decisions by the Ontario Land Tribunal, that would be a pretty big risk,” she said.
Residents rally
This is one of the concerns shared by residents and opposition group leaders, Brian O’Connor and Bob McGinn, who coordinated a public meeting about the development in August. More than 250 residents, councillors and municipal candidates attended the event in Fergus. The duo are behind Fight446 Homes, a grassroots organization that is fighting against the proposed development.
“There are less than 500 houses in Belwood, so it wasn’t keeping with the community as it is,” said McGinn.
“The effluent could damage our water system. So there’s just ample reasons for this to be absolutely shot down immediately. I don’t even know how it got this far.”
O’Connor said the group is continuing to put pressure on municipal and provincial officials to deny approval. He said the organization is also working with groups such as the Wellington Federation of Agriculture and other grassroots organizations to spread their message.
He believes “the pendulum has swung too far” in favour of developers, making it difficult for communities to fight back.
“We’re making our voices heard to bring it back to the centre, so that we can protect the long-term sustainability of agriculture,” he said.
Agricultural land loss
He cautioned other municipalities to use their community as an example of development that goes outside provincial and municipal planning guidelines.
“Our municipality and the planners have developed a plan to meet the provincial requirements for growth and densification, so creating a 446-house subdivision outside of that official plan is urban sprawl around prime agricultural land,” O’Connor said.
McGinn added that it can be difficult to spread the message because of a lack of understanding among residents who are not directly affected by a development.
“They’re nipping away at our agricultural land,” McGinn said. “We need farmland for an abundance of reasons, but this could happen to you.”
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