Foxboro residents at Belleville’s Planning committee, May 7, 2018 (Photo: Mary Thomas/Quinte News)
Foxboro residents packed Belleville’s council chambers Monday night and won their fight against a proposed commercial development in their neighbourhood.
Developers came before the city’s Planning Committee with plans to put self-storage units on a site on Ashley Street in Foxboro.
They were asking that the site be rezoned to highway commercial to allow 120 units and indicated there would be a buffer zone between it and the residential area.
Nine residents of the area came to the podium with concerns, including about water drainage issues, and the increased amount of traffic it would create.
Maura Mulvihill who runs a day care expressed concern about the coming and going of people from outside the neighbourhood.
Eric Todd at Belleville’s Planning committee, May 7, 2018 (Photo: Mary Thomas/Quinte News)
Eric Todd said he would like to see it remain an agricultural area and he was concerned about the increase in traffic.
Judy Todd questioned how the water drainage would affect wells. Janet Hart had safety concerns and pointed out there is a school nearby.
Councillor Paul Carr and Mayor Taso Christopher spoke against the rezoning.
Councillor Carr argued that it is a rural area and there are lots of areas in the city where storage could occur, such as on industrial land
Christopher said, “It just isn’t the right development for the hamlet of Foxboro” and it would create a large amount of traffic.
The Planning Committee voted against recommending the rezoning.
