The long talked-about Silver Hills Subdivision has yet to materialize, but still appears to have legs, with city council approving a new cost-share agreement with the developer last week.
“In order for Sudbury to grow its population, we need people like this to develop and grow the housing,” Ward 11 Coun. Bill Leduc told Sudbury.com this week.
“I think it’s going to be a win-win for all residents of Sudbury, especially if we’re going through a soft recession as they call it, this is an opportunity to keep our economy going … That’s going to spur a lot of new development.”
City council greenlit the new cost-share agreement during last week’s finance and administration committee meeting, updating a 2016 plan with fresh numbers and guidelines.
The development consists of a proposed 700-unit subdivision south of the Silver Hills Development on The Kingsway. Leduc noted a parcel of land south of Best Buy has also been rezoned to accommodate a grocery store.
The development, which received its initial planning committee approval in 2012, will require the extension of Silver Hills Drive southward to Bancroft Road to serve as a collector road.
At the Bancroft/Bellevue Avenue and proposed Silver Hills Drive intersection at the southeast corner of Minnow Lake, a new roundabout has been proposed at what is currently a signalled intersection.
The total cost for road work related to the project increased from $6.7 million in 2016 to $10.5 million, which includes a city share of $2.5 million, a development charge portion of $5.3 million and a developer share of $2.8 million. In the event actual costs exceed the current estimate, the developer and development charges will pay the balance.
“The intent is that growth would pay for growth,” city director of planning services Kris Longston explained to the committee last week, adding this is “so that existing residents aren’t tasked with having to pay for the infrastructure as the result of a growing community.”
In the event the entire 700-unit development is realized, approximately $15.5 million in development charges will have been collected by the city, according to city administration, with some funds pulled from reserves in the interim to be later replenished.
There’s still no indication of when the project will move forward. The developer, ARG DEVCO, a division of Interpaving, has not returned Sudbury.com’s request for information. While the city placed a three-year limit on the latest cost-sharing agreement via a sunset clause, the company will be able to apply for an extension.
“Based on the developer’s proposed schedule, the internal phase of the road would be completed in 2023 and the external road and intersection phase in 2024,” according to the city’s latest report to city council.
The project, meanwhile, is receiving opposition from John Lindsay, whose emailed correspondence with city council identifies himself as a former Minnow Lake Community Action Network chair.
Lindsay also serves as president of the Minnow Lake Restoration Group, which led a legal challenge in relation to the Kingsway Entertainment District.
As with the KED, Lindsay told Sudbury.com his chief concern with the Silver Hills Drive extension is with the application of road salt, which, as a collector route, the road would receive treatment of during the winter. He also questions the use of a roundabout.
Area resident Dot Klein shares in this concern, in that a signalled intersection ensures vehicle flow is staggered, which allows people pockets of time to back out of their driveways.
A roundabout would result in a more consistent flow of traffic, which she said would not suit the predominantly residential neighbourhood well.
Leduc said the roundabout is still being investigated as an option and, as with the balance of city operations, they would limit the use of road salt as much as possible and follow any applicable regulations.
Tyler Clarke covers city hall and political affairs for Sudbury.com.
