Planning for an Environmentally Friendly Community
Submission on Chelsea Master Plan Review
Action Chelsea for Respect of the Environment (ACRE)
December 6, 2004
ACRE comments on pivotal issues identified in public consultations:
During the public consultations on the Master Plan, several pivotal issues were identified. While we believe that these issues should be addressed within an overall framework, we feel it is important to include some comments on these issues.
Element 1: The protection of groundwater
ACRE is in agreement that this issue is one of the most significant environmental issues facing the community in the next five years. We believe that a combination of regulation, education, incentives and investment will be needed to ensure a sustainable groundwater supply for our community.
The proposal to complete the build-out of the community using 2 acre lots in itself will not meet environmental objectives. There are lots of other solutions for undeveloped lands other than developing them with 2 acre lots. These should be evaluated on a case-by-case basis, using the PAE process and using clear decision-making criteria for sustainability.
Element 2: Housing for senior citizens - and related housing issues
ACRE believes that ensuring appropriate housing for community members at all stages of their lives is an important part of being a sustainable community. This not only applies to seniors, but also to lower income residents who may not be able to afford housing in a community with rapidly increasing housing prices and little diversity in housing supply. Residents should not feel obliged to move out of their home community when they wish to "downsize" their homes. In fact, smaller homes can be more environmentally friendly and should be supported as a viable option for all demographic groups. Subdivisions requiring a minimum home size should not be permitted in the community as they are in direct contradiction to conservation goals.
We support the concept of allowing some multi-unit housing based on a minimum acreage per unit. For example, a ten unit complex built on ten or 20 acres of land enhances conservation of greenspace (wildlife habitat), water, and energy when compared to ten single units each on one or two acre lots. However, we need to make sure that future build-out on the acreage surrounding the clustered units is maintained in a natural state through legal mechanisms such as conservation easements.
Also, water supply and wastewater treatment are significant issues to assess in the design and location of housing. Currently, there is not adequate information available to determine the best location or design for such a project, nor does there appear to be an adequate needs assessment to inform such a decision.
At this stage, it seems premature to be proposing sites for this type of construction in the Master Plan. We would suggest that the Master Plan outline the objective of ensuring housing options for Chelsea residents, and propose an informed and open process, which will assess proposals against environmental and social objectives.
The proposal for inlaw suites seems to be unduly punitive without adequate evidence that this approach will meet the objectives of conserving water. If your objective is to conserve water supply, then the indicators used should be consistent (ie. bedrooms, not kitchens if this has been found to be the most accurate indicator of water use).
Element 3: Public services for Farm Point and Centre Village
We are not opposed to centralization of services in these areas assuming a full environmental assessment of options has been conducted.
[top]
