Some residents living in and near the new Riverstone subdivision east of Farnham Road and north of Wims Way in Thurlow
aren’t impressed with a proposal to nearly double the number of townhouses on vacant land in the development.
Geertsma Homes is asking Belleville’s Planning Advisory Committee for rezoning on the property to allow back-to-back and stacked townhouse units increasing the number of units to 92 from the already approved 48.
Four residents spoke against the plan saying parking in the neighbourhood is already a major problem.
Realtor Edie Bonisteel, who lives in the area, says she was surprised by the change of plans. “The traffic is horrible there. They’re parking overnight. Parking on the grass on the townhouses. It’s turning into a nightmare. It’s going to turn into a fight.”
Residents also predicted a drop in property values because of the extra townhouses.
Planning committee Vice Chair Councillor Kathryn Brown said the rezoning would be a tough issue to decide on because of the housing crisis on one hand and the already existing parking problems. Chair Councillor Paul Carr said he’d had a number of complaints regarding parking in the area and warned that increasing housing density could pose
serious issues in the neighbourhood with snow clearing and emergency service access. Public member David Joyce thought staff should negotiate with Geertsma Homes again, regarding lessening the number of additional units.
The committee made no decision and staff will come back with a recommendation report at a future date.
