Steer proposal the wrong direction
Editor:
I am writing to alert the community to the application by Steer Enterprises Ltd. of a development application at Cashtown Corners. A proposal has been made for a 9 acre transport truck and diesel repair facility on the south east corner, immediately south of the Huron Tractor development, currently under construction.
The application has been made as an agriculturally-related business within an agricultural land zoning. While Steer provides a mobile farm machine repair offering repair services to local farmers, their current yard in Glen Huron is primarily populated with transport trucks, and if approved, would essentially be doubled in size at Cashtown Corners.
Fundamentally, the transport truck and diesel repair business is an industrial land use. The purpose of an Official Plan is to organize land uses and development in such a way that businesses and communities are arranged in a manner that minimizes conflicts between adjacent uses. In this case, the business intends to operate extended business hours creating noise, odours, and additional traffic. The proponent acknowledges these negative impacts at their current location in the planning application and claims no other suitable sites are available.
Cashtown Corners is going through a significant change, not all of it fully appreciated before it got underway. It was never identified as a retail or industrial growth area except for redevelopment of the former gas station. Incrementally, development began a few years ago with the indoor Medical Marijuana Facility and more recently the relocation of Huron Tractor from further north on Airport Road. It was expected and reasonable that the gas station would be upgraded. Huron Tractor is first and foremost a retail and farm equipment repair facility serving the agricultural community. Marijuana grows, albeit indoors, so it’s hard to argue that it’s not an agricultural use.
On the other hand, Steer Enterprises is proposing an extended hours, 10 working bay freightliner repair garage with a 30+truck parking yard and additional gravel paved area for approximately 20 more. No visual screening is proposed for the parking yard and Airport Road is elevated and overlooks this parking yard. One cannot imagine that it will not be an eyesore and an unsightly addition to this location and the broader community.
While also a depot for a mobile agricultural repair business, if the existing yard is any evidence, the bulk of the business that actually occurs at the facility is transport truck and large vehicle diesel repair. The development application refers to their strong relationship with the agricultural business community and identifies farms within the surrounding area. Might this be related to the need to convince Clearview Council that Steer is a bonifide agricultural business in order to qualify for the use rezoning application?
You may be interested to know that there are no similar businesses of this scale located on Airport Road between Caledon and Wasaga Beach. This road is effectively a scenic route between the GTA and Georgian Bay, and in the case of Creemore, a key “Gateway” to a village which relies on weekend tourism as a core business attraction. Airport Road is certainly a route that doesn’t need more transport trucks encouraging anxious drivers to pass on blind hills, of which there are many.
My husband and I live in close proximity to the proposed development. So do a number of other families, including those who live on the surrounding farms. It goes without saying that we would be affected more than others. That said, this development will forever change the character and impression both visitors and residents will have of this community.
Official Plans and Zoning Bylaws are established to guide and protect for compatibility between neighbouring uses, access, safety and environmental impact. Steer Enterprises is a beneficial and needed service for the region and admittedly needs to be somewhere. However, the impact of its daily activities, traffic, noise and appearance, are the characteristics of an industrial land use and best located where the Official Plan has zoned for uses like this. When comparing the available industrial business park zoned lands, there are clearly large acreages of undeveloped industrial lands in both Stayner and Collingwood that could be pursued further by Steer prior to Clearview considering a zoning amendment allowing further incremental development of agricultural lands, particularly in a site as highly visible as Cashtown Corners.
If you have an opinion or views on the proposed development, there will be a public presentation and an opportunity to express your views, Monday, Aug. 22, 6:30 p.m., at Clearview Municipal offices.
Marnie Hillier,
Creemore.
