Nottawa shows up for developer’s info session
Nottawa residents are not opposed to responsible development, according to Louise West, co-owner of D&L Variety. They just want to be certain that new development does not threaten the water supply of existing homes in the village.
A well-attended community drop- in session last week at the Nottawa Hall was billed as an opportunity to pose questions to developer Georgian Communities. Georgian Communities is proposing to develop the Delzotto lands immediately south of the McKean subdivision on Highway 124.
West was stationed near the door, collecting signatures on a petition calling on Clearview Township to hold an official town hall meeting.
“The initial concern is water and sewage, but even once that is addressed, we have questions about traffic, schools and fire protection. The 500 homes that are being proposed will basically double the size of the village,” says West.
Jeff Shearer, one of the authors of the petition, says a proper town hall meeting would be an opportunity to hear from the developer and township engineers and ask tough questions. “Let them convince us that our water supply is not in jeopardy.”
A plan recently presented to the township calls for 118 single family homes in Phase 1, with occupancy as early as 2026. Initially, it was thought that water and sewage would have to be supplied from Collingwood. However, test drilling at the site has apparentlyfound sufficient water to supply not just the new homes but existing homes in Nottawa.
Brittany Robertson, a senior manager at Crozier Engineering, says results of those tests are currently under review by township engineers, and the next step would be advanced modelling to submit to the province. She says the 2026 target is ambitious, but could be met if all approvals happen quickly.
Area resident Barry Manchester is skeptical about assurances from the developer. “A project with 500 homes and potential for a commercial component will over tax the local aquifer. I could not get a confirmed response from the developer group this evening about what the contingency plans are, if there are quantity and quality issues on private wells as this project goes online.” Manchester noted that when wells were drilled to service the McKean subdivision, other wells which had previously provided ample supply were suddenly strained.
Just as the Creemore Area Residents Association (CARA) has been dealing with concerns around proposed developments for the past 30 years, Manchester is one of a group calling for formation of a Nottawa Area Ratepayers Association (NARA) to deal directly with Georgian Communities.
