A subdivision proposal to be located on the top of the Niagara Escarpment near the Beaver Valley Ski Club in the Municipality of Grey Highlands was given a rough ride at a public meeting held Monday evening in Rocklyn.

The development would consist of a 45-unit subdivision on 73.5 acres of land located at the corner of Grey Road 30 and the 7th Line. Each unit would be serviced by its own well and septic system.

The municipality held a public meeting at the Rocklyn Community Centre Monday evening to hear comments about the proposal. A large audience turned out for the meeting and the overwhelming concern in the room was the impact such a development would have on existing wells in the area.

Speaker after speaker objected to the proposal arguing that water quality and quantity in the area is extremely sensitive and the addition of 45 more homes would adversely affect existing homes.

The proponents of the development were represented at the meeting by a group of planners, engineers ad hydro geologists.

The property in question is currently zoned Escarpment Recreation. That zone allows a wide range of development to happen on the subject lands.

Grey Highlands council has not set a definitive time frame for a decision to be made on the application. Monday night's meeting was held to gather information and hear from the public.

Local residents at the meeting were virtually united in their opposition to the proposal. In addition agencies such as the Grey Sauble Conservation Authority, the Niagara Escarpment Commission and the Grey County Transportation and Public Safety Department indicated several concerns with the proposal and requested that a number of studies be completed to determine the impact of the development of the property on local animal life, bird nesting areas and drainage.

With hazard and karst designations on the property the Conservation Authority requested an Environmental Impact Study for the proposal.

Several neighbouring property owners wrote letters to the municipality opposing the development based on well water quantity and quality concerns.

Planner Andrew Pascuzzo explained to the audience that the proposed development would concentrate the homes to one area of the property in order to provide a large buffer area for environmentally sensitive areas. In addition, the developers would like to create open space for parkland and a trails system that at some point would be turned over to municipal ownership to remain in public hands.

"The land is designated for development. From the beginning in the original agency documents this land was to be developed in some nature," said Pascuzzo. "We have a design we feel works with the natural environment in the area," he said.

The development proposal faced an extremely skeptical audience Monday night. Speaker after speaker questioned the wisdom of the location of the development and dozens of speakers indicated serious concerns about well water issues and the threat 45 individual septic systems on the property would pose to the groundwater supply in the area.

"It's going to adversely affect us. That's for sure," said Bowles Bluff Road resident Lou Saunders.
Beaver Valley Ratepayers Association representative Tom Armstrong said the proposal should be fully serviced.

"This area is more sensitive then we think. Putting a development on this property when there's no municipal services is irresponsible," said Armstrong.

Area resident Catherine Little called for a more comprehensive planning process on the areas in the Official Plan designated Escarpment Recreation.

"Long range planning for this entire area of Escarpment Recreation is need to avoid the piecemeal development of this area," said Little.

Geoff Rether, a hydro geologist hired by the developers explained that his studies of the property indicated that the water supply could accommodate the 45-unit subdivision.

Rether explained that the poor water quality and quantity experienced by some area homeowners were caused by the locations of their wells. He said the Bowles Bluff area is located at the edge of the local aquifer. He said areas very close to the Bluff naturally experience water issues.

"As you move back from the Bluff water conditions improve dramatically," said Rether. "What is being proposed is in a lower risk area of the aquifer," he added.

Rether said a test well dug on the site pumped seven gallons a minute for six hours to simulate water usage of a number of homes. From that data he was able to calculate that the water supply was adequate at the site.

A number of speakers in the audience pointed out that pumping one well for six hours is vastly different from 45 new wells being added to the area. Grey Highlands Deputy Mayor Dave Fawcett questioned the six-hour test.

"Why not do a two-day test? Six hours is pretty minimal," said Fawcett.

Armstrong asked members of council if the municipality had studied the possibility of bringing full municipal services to that area. Armstrong also asked what the estimated cost per home would be for full services. Mayor Brian Mullin said Grey Highlands has looked at the issue, but didn't want to get into speculating about the cost per home of such a project.

Mullin clearly stated that if municipal services were extended to the area that everybody would be required to connect to the system and pay the capital charges.

"If we were to bring services to that area we would be looking at servicing every property in the areas, not just a new subdivision," said the Mayor. "It's always an option," he said.

No decision about the application was made at Monday night's meeting. Mayor Mullin said a lot of work is still required for the process to go forward. A municipal engineer and a planner from Grey County both attended the meeting and assured the public that all engineering and environmental studies completed by the proponent would be subject to peer review before a decision is made.