Nottawa residents form association
Nottawa residents concerned about the impact of a large development on their little village have formed an association to liaise with the developer and the municipality.
The fledgling Nottawa Area Residents Association (NARA) will host a meeting at the end of the month to share information and grow its membership.
Georgian Communities held an information session about the 500-unit development in August.
“The real issue didn’t even come out, which is that they have no sewage solution and the water issue,” said Jeff Shearer, a McKean Subdivision resident who is a founding member of NARA. “So the two biggest issues for a new community are unresolved.”
The Nottawa development received draft plan approval in 2011 for 192 single detached dwellings, 278 condos and 30 mixed use units. When the project was purchased by Georgian Communities, a plan was presented to advance 118 single family detached units under the current draft plan and go through an official plan amendment to rework the plan for the rest of the units. In early 2024, the hope was to see occupancy by 2026.
“Remember, every home in Nottawa gets water from a well,” said Shearer. “Therefore, whether it’s the McKean [subdivision] or the rest of Nottawa, we’re all on wells and there is a great concern that even without a new 500-home community, water levels have been declining just because of the impact of development on these artesian wells and the aquifers.”
NARA has 30 families already on the membership list and are now going out to the wider community. Membership will cost $20 to cover basic administrative costs and meeting space rentals. Once the membership has grown, NARA plans to form a board of directors.
In the meantime, Shearer is one of seven people who have formed an advisory committee and have funded the start-up process. They have just printed a pamphlet outlining what they see as five key issues facing the neighbourhood, which they will be distributing door-to-door. In addition to the impact on water and sewer servicing, the five key issues include the impact on local schools, trafficand safety, and potential threats to the character of the village.
Shearer said NARA is trying to gather planning data including engineering studies and water tests so they can assess for themselves what impact the development may have on their water supply.
“From there, we’ll probably be making a deputation to council of what we’ve learned, what our concerns are and see if we can get some answers,” said Shearer.
The meeting will be held on Friday, Feb. 28 at Nottawa Memorial Community Centre, located at 4129 County Road 124, beginning at 7 p.m.
For more information, email nara@thenottawaarearesidentsassociation.com.
File photo: Following a community meeting about proposed improvements to McKean Memorial Park, resident Jeff Shearer issued an open letter to the mayor and council outlining the concerns of residents opposed to the addition of new amenities, precipitated by a township staff recommendation to expand the McKean Water System to supply the first phase of the neighbouring Georgian Communities development.
