Chamberlains residents say no thanks to multi units

By Mark Squibb

About a dozen residents aired their concerns Wednesday about a proposed ten-unit development proposed for Chamberlains Road, CBS.

The concerns raised included increases in traffic, pedestrian safety, the density of the development, the impact on property values, the greater risk of flood damage, and the possibility of undesirable neighbours.

The application is for three two-storey buildings, one of which would be a four-unit building. The other two buildings would comprise two units, for a total of ten units. The development will be serviced by a private driveway leading onto a private parking area, and the applicant says he intends to rent the properties to senior citizens. The development would occupy the land that once housed the former Bungalow Lounge near Meagher Place and the intersection with Worsley Drive.

Town staff received 11 written submissions in response to a published discretionary use notice, and about a dozen residents, plus staff and a handful of council members, attended a public information session at the Town Hall, chaired by planning committee chairman councillor Gerard Tilley and Director of Planning Corrie Davis, who noted the town already boasts a number of similar developments.

One resident, Paula King, said the roads in the area are dangerous enough as it is.

“I walk Worsley Drive and I almost get run down on a regular basis,” said King. “And on Chamberlains Road, there are no sidewalks. I drive that road to go to work every morning, and there are kids walking on that road on a regular basis… people drive up and down that road like it’s a freeway, and if you add 15 more cars, or more, to that road, which is already narrow enough, a disaster is going to happen on that road with a child. I don’t have young children, I have an adult child, but there are kids around that I’m terrified for. It’s nothing for me to clock someone going 70 on Worsley.”

King said she is also worried about the impact the rental properties will have on nearby property values, and wondered whether the developers would stay true to their word and rent exclusively to seniors.

“It starts off with seniors, and if they can’t get seniors in, they say, ‘I’m going to put someone else in there,’ and it turns into a ghetto,” said King.
Lindy Hussey concurred with King on a number of points.

“The speedbump is by Brown’s Lane, and once they get past that speedbump, they’re zooming down,” said Hussey. “I’ve been out walking the dog and almost got run down… I don’t think that road right now was built to accommodate that number of homes.”

Hussey asked what guarantee residents would have that the properties will be rented exclusively to seniors.

“What happens down the road if the developer sells it, or can’t rent it to seniors, or it gets taken over by the Newfoundland government and becomes Newfoundland Housing?” asked Hussey. “And as she said, the property values then will just go right down. I back right onto that, my home was built just five years ago, and I’m concerned my backyard could potentially be, down the road, a ghetto of renters.”

The guarantee as to who will rent the units, Tilley later said, is none.

“Council, or nobody, has that authority,” said Tilley. “We can’t discriminate, from a financial perspective, who can or cannot rent these properties.”
Tilley added the need for 55+ housing is the highest he has ever seen it in his years on council.

Lloyd Johnson, himself a senior, said he could see the issue from both sides.

“We’ve been living in the area for 50 years, and we’ve seen people speeding and running through stop signs, and kids walking to school with no sidewalks and hardly any shoulders on the road,” said Johnson. “So, I appreciate all the concerns. But now I’m on the other end of the spectrum. I’m a senior, and I’m looking for a place. And I don’t want to own any more. I built my house 50 years ago, but I’m at the stage now where I do not want to own anymore… So I’m in betwixt. I appreciate the concerns, but I’m also interested in where I am.”

Warrick Butler of Butler’s Quality Contracting and applicant Peter Bugden were present to speak with residents.

“I totally understand your concerns, but we need housing,” said Butler. “Whether it’s seniors, or whether it’s affordable.”

Butler, who said he lived on Chamberlains Road for twenty-odd years, said he hopes the development will actually decrease the risk of flooding in the area.
He added that Bugden would see to it that the property is cared for and maintained, from cultivation of green space to snow clearing.

“I don’t think it will be an eyesore, and I don’t think it will decrease any values there,” said Butler.

Bugden said he owns other rental property in town, including one stacked rental unit that he rents to two single senior citizens, and added he mows the grass himself at that property.

Questions about speeding, road width, and pedestrian safety meanwhile are beyond the purview of the applicants.

The meeting ran for about an hour, with a handful of residents sticking around afterwards to speak with the developers and members of council one-on-one.
Information gathered during Thursday’s information session will be brought back to council, to vote on the application later this summer.