Empire to propose over 1K homes on Hagersville quarry site

Empire Communities has plans to build a resident development at the same Hagersville quarry that was an illegal party site - and swimming hole - for many throughout the decades.

Haldimand County staff will bring forward an information report to the council-in-committee session on Sept. 20 about the 77.6-hectare site in southwest Hagersville.

EC (Sandusk) GP Inc. has filed applications to rezone the site and allow the construction of single-detached dwellings, townhouses, back-to-back townhouses and stacked townhouses. According to the public notice for the Sept. 20 meeting, the company plans on putting a stormwater management pond next to the quarry and building a public park, while also keeping some lands for future development.

Currently the land, which is within Hagersville's urban boundary, is zoned general industrial, development and extractive industrial. There is a holding provision in place for one portion of the land; at this time, it is unclear what the details around it are.

Empire's initial plans were for 1,548 units; however, county manager for planning and development Shannon VanDalen said the company is anticipating that the actual number of units will be closer to 1,134.

The maximum build out is based on every lot being registered at the minimum lot size; however, in past experiences, this does not occur, and lots are developed with larger frontages," she said.

VanDalen said that the report being brought to council was only an information report, to advise council of what has been submitted and to get early feedback from the community."

She said that when county staff did their initial reviews of the applications, they "identified high-level areas that required further review and items that will need to be addressed prior to a recommendation report (from county staff) being brought to council."

Some residents are already concerned; more than 30 people gathered privately on Sept. 8 to discuss how best to strategize approaching council.

Dale Vecero, one of the residents who organized the meeting, said, "No one was really against development, it just seems like a lot of houses without the infrastructure to support it. We already don't have roads, and we have issues with our sewage, and there's not a lot kids can do out here. Adding another thousand families is cause for concern."

Coun. Tony Dalimonte said that while he had not been aware of the residents' meeting, he said no decisions would be made at the Sept. 20 committee meeting.

This is an opportunity for the public to come in and voice their opinion, like we do with any other planning application that the municipality receives, and I am all ears," he said. I'm more than welcome to hear any concerns that the surrounding community has with this particular development, and I'll do the best I can to try and address them."

Empire Communities could not be reached for comment.

STORY BEHIND THE STORY: When a Haldimand resident informed us of a community meeting regarding a residential development at the Hagersville quarry, we asked the county for more details.