City council has approved the revised Westheath development concept plan, but many steps are still needed before construction starts on the new joint-use school on South Hill.
Council unanimously approved a recommendation during its Nov. 8 executive committee meeting to adopt the updated plan. The document included comments, concerns, and suggestions from public feedback and traffic mitigation strategies from an impact assessment.
This recommendation will only become official when council approves it at a future regular meeting.
The next steps with this project include subdividing and rezoning the property, with the latter requiring additional public notice. Construction will then likely start next spring.
Concept plan highlights
Highlights of the concept plan include building the school and park on a 10.69-acre site; constructing 105 single-family lots on 22 acres and 25 townhouses on one acre; having four roads to access the school; south-facing off-street staff and visitor parking; and south-facing off-street car-drop zone to reduce street congestion.
Other highlights include multiple corner bulbs and mid-block crosswalks to enhance safety and calm traffic; two pedestrian-activated lights on Wellington Drive; and a relocated Rotary Trail.
City hall expects to net $6.7 million after phases 5 and 6 are developed. This includes $750,000 from land sales, off-site development levies and planning fees.
The municipality also expects to add future traffic calming measures after the school opens; address issues with the storm sewer system during the design stage; install an outdoor hockey rink and basketball pad; and negotiate an agreement with the school divisions to operate and maintain the park.
Project update
Mike Sazynski, vice-president of Colliers International, spoke about the project’s progress and related activities since September 2019. He also summarized some of the plan’s highlights.
Wellington Drive will serve as the main roadway for the new school, which the traffic impact assessment (TIA) concluded had enough capacity to accommodate the extra vehicle trips that the school would generate, he said.
To lessen traffic problems, Colliers decided that the school should face south, while the school grounds and park would face north since this would create natural mitigation strategies and reduce congestion on Wellington, he continued.
Two other strategies include installing a bus corral to reduce bus queuing on the road and a vehicle layby on the east side to allow cars to deposit and pick up students safely without impeding traffic.
Colliers and city hall conducted a public engagement process from April 15 to May 6 and issued 500 notices to area residences asking for responses to a questionnaire.
“In the end, we had 160 responses, which may not feel like a big number, but something that exceeded everyone’s expectations,” Sazynski said.
Colliers discovered that most people who responded favoured the project and welcomed the new school, which helped the contractor make better design choices, he continued. The consulting team also thought that it struck the right balance in accommodating the wants of the community, the school divisions and the Ministry of Education.
Sazynski added that Colliers is still working with city hall and is developing a joint-use agreement specific to the school to ensure clear roles and expectations as partners.
Council concerns
Coun. Heather Eby was concerned about the potential storm sewer problems, pointing out the South Hill reservoir has enough storage but needs additional pumps for pressure.
There is enough water volume, but water pressure problems will arise eventually, said Bevan Harlton, director of engineering. Upgrades to pumps and motor engines are needed in that pumphouse, which city administration will propose during 2022 budget discussions.
Those pumps need to be upgraded regardless of whether the school is there or more people move to that area, Harlton told Coun. Jamey Logan. Meanwhile, as for the water main running at capacity in that area, he and the public works director would have to investigate that further.
The next executive committee meeting is Monday, Nov. 22.
