Halton Hills Council has endorsed plans for the second phase of a housing development in Glen Williams.
During its most recent meeting, council supported going ahead with a zoning bylaw change that will make way for 28 single-detached homes on an extension of Bishop Court in Glen Williams, located on the east side of Ninth Line (Confederation Street). The bylaw amendment will need to be ratified at the next council meeting.
Glenn Wellings of Wellings Planning Consultants, representing developer Charleston Homes, said the plan fully conforms to Glen Williams new secondary plan.
He said the project will complete a rehabilitation of a former sand and gravel pit. The first phase was completed in the early 2000s.
Council also heard from two Glen Williams residents about the proposal.
Mike Brown of the Glen Williams Community Association said he was “generally supportive” of the plan but raised some concerns.
The development calls for a 10-metre hamlet buffer to allow for trails. While Brown appreciated the inclusion of the buffer in the plan, he was concerned that it will be fenced, as will a storm water management pond.
“The fencing proposal along the hamlet buffer will unduly restrict the access to these areas for animals such as deer,” he said. “I hope the plans can be modified to maintain this access….and grading reconsidered to design the slopes around the pond so that no fence is required.”
Town staff indicated they could work with the developer on the fencing issue.
Brown said a trail system was proposed in phase one of the project, but was never implemented, despite there being Town-owned land to build it.
“Our request is that this be included in the draft plan of the subdivision as part of the overall trail system,” Brown said. “Failing this, we would expect the Town to include this project in the appropriate budget year.”
Ruth Conard, a planner with the Town, said construction of the trail was not secured when phase one was approved.
“Staff cannot require the applicant to construct the trails in phase one through the approval of phase two,” she said.
She said the Town’s active transportation master plan has identified the desire for trails throughout the subdivision and that trail construction for the area has been budgeted for 2027-28.
Brown said flooding has also been an issue in the development and has become worse since work on the phase two lands began.
“We would like assurances that the issue will be addressed or at least not further compromised by this development,” he said.
Wellings said “all work has been undertaken in accordance with permits from the Town and the Credit Valley Conservation Authority.”
Roger Stopford, who has lived in Halton Hills for 40 years, including the last 10 in Glen Williams, told council he's not opposed to development, saying additional people can help local businesses thrive. However, he is concerned about the impact of traffic.
“Extra cars are potentially a problem for the Glen,” he said. “For Glen Williams, it’s going to be death by 1,000 cuts. Each increment is going to be tiny, but they all accumulate and eventually it kills.”
Wellings said the developer is open to working with the residents to address their concerns.
