GORE BAY—While it may be a little early in the process with the Manitoulin Planning Board just passing a motion to allow for the severance of a lot that, until recently, was owned by the Manitoulin-Sudbury District Services Board (DSB) and sold to Ontario Aboriginal Housing Services (OAHS), a local resident has made it known that while he is not opposed to the development of housing units in town, he does have concerns with this being a multi-unit building.
“I am not opposed to the development of housing, we do need housing in Gore Bay,” Mike Addison told the Recorder. “It’s the multi-residential aspect that I’m opposed to in that location. If it is an apartment unit building it could be like Bayside Apartments, two story, and would block the view of the bay for us. There could be disruption of the Bickell’s Creek drainage which could mean flooding, and there would be a loss of privacy and more traffic in the area.”
“He (Mike Addison) is a little ahead of schedule,” Gore Bay Mayor Dan Osborne told the Recorder on Monday of this week. “What the board was to decide on at our meeting (last week) was an application for a severance for the property (which the board approved). It is for property that is located right beside the Bayside Apartments.”
“The letter (from Mr. Addison) will come into play when the zoning application for the property takes place,” said Mayor Osborne. “When the rezoning application comes then everyone within a certain amount of distance from the proposed property development will be able to comment. And the planning board will deal with this when that time comes.” He pointed out part of the property in question is zoned under a flood plain (zoned Conservation area) and can’t be developed upon, while the other portion of the property can be developed on.
“The (MPB) board dealt with the consent to severe application,” said Theresa Carlisle of the MPB. “Way back there were two parcels of land and one had been conveyed to the town, so it became one parcel.” The property (Part Park Lots 15 and 16, North Side Hall Street and Part of Park Lot 16, South side East Street) was re-conveyed back to DSB in 2018. Now that the DSB has sold the property to OAHS, the severance application is to turn it into two lots again.
“I felt it was only fair to make it known at this point, that at the next stage for rezoning I will be opposing the development of a multiple unit building,” said Mr. Addison. In his letter to the MPB he wrote, “in October 1988, my wife and I purchased a home on Hall Street in Gore Bay. Our property backs on to the proposed severed property and in fact was part of the same property at one time before we purchased our home. What appealed to my wife and I at the time was the quiet residential neighbourhood, the view of the bay, the proximity to downtown and the quiet, safe street with single family residential housing. For the last 30 plus years we have raised our family, supported our community and contributed to the town in many ways.”
“The building of a multiple residential building on the proposed severed property would create some serious concerns for my wife and I: obstruction of our view of Gore Bay; additional noise and loss of privacy in our back yard; additional traffic flow in what is now a quiet residential area; potential interference with the Bickell’s Creek drainage area; potential damage to the Bickell’s Creek ecosystem which currently supports salmon spawning ground in the spring and rainbow trout spawning grounds in the spring. We have a returning family of ducks every year, we have a heron nesting near the creek, and countless other species including frogs, snakes, turtles would potentially be put at risk.”
“While it doesn’t happen often, at least twice in the last 30 years the creek has significantly flooded its banks and covered part of that area with water,” Mr. Addison’s letter continued. “My house sits up high on the south side of the creek and in the spring the water levels can get high enough that it floods my basement. Every spring the creek overflows its banks to some degree. Additional fill added to the north side of Bickell’s Creek to allow for building construction could potentially cause more flooding on my side of the creek.”
“I want to be clear that I do not oppose construction of a single-family residence on the property as per the existing residential designation, as I understand the need for quality building lots in the Town of Gore Bay,” continued Mr. Addison. “My concern is with the construction of multiple residential (RM) housing on the proposed severed lot.”
Mr. Addison noted, “I have spoken to a number of my neighbours and while I am not sure they will submit anything in writing at this stage, they are strongly opposed to the future rezoning of the proposed severed property from residential to multiple residential and you will hear from them at that time.”
Connie Morphet, agent for the application, was in attendance during consideration of the application. She said the DSB is proposing to construct a 30-unit apartment type structure on the northerly part of the proposed new lot and that DSB has a pending amendment application to rezone from R1 to RM. They do not propose any structures within the O2 zone.
Further to the correspondence received and discussion of the application, the general consensus of the board was that Mr. Addison’s concerns could be addressed during consideration of an amendment application to the Town of Gore Bay to rezone the severed land. The board gave its consent to the severance application.
