Developer wants council to reconsider Weston proposal

BY KIRK STARRATT

The Advertiser

NovaNewsNow.com

A developer who had a controversial proposal for Weston turned down by Kings County council in August is asking that his project be reconsidered and for the Municipal Planning Strategy (MPS) to be changed to allow it.

Gerry Fulton, who made a presentation at the Tuesday, Oct. 16 committee of the whole (COTW) session, said he was there to point out the flaws in the MPS and hopefully show the repercussions of council’s decision to turn down his proposal. He proposed a cluster-style housing development on 43 acres adjacent to and eight acres on the Weston golf course.

He said his family’s group of businesses has 49 people on payroll. Fulton said he wants his grandchildren to have the option of staying in the Valley and having good-paying jobs. For this to happen and for their businesses to grow, he said they have to continuously seek new projects, such as the proposal for Weston.

Fulton said the project was conceived in December 2005 and he has already spent $60,000 to $70,000 preparing for the development. Since council turned it down and he needs viable projects to keep his staff employed year-round, Fulton said the only alternative that could be implemented in a short period of time is to start building houses on some of the agricultural land they own already and are allowed to build on.

Sixty potential lots

They have identified 60 potential lots on over 800 acres of farmland in western Kings County on which they can build over the next few years.

“This is not an idea that is particularly appealing to me, but we will do what we have to do to keep our staff working and our businesses growing,” Fulton said, pointing out that he has turned down dozens of chances to sell building lots in the agricultural district over the years.

In response to a concern expressed by councillor Eric Smith that the county might end up covering operational and maintenance costs of water and sewer systems for the proposed Weston development, Fulton said the irony of the argument is council is trying to push development to growth centres. The county would have to cover capital, operational and maintenance costs there. Fulton said they offered to provide everything as part of their proposal.

Fulton took councillor Madonna Spinazola to task for stating in June that over 98 per cent of the people in attendance for a public hearing on the proposal in Weston in January were against the project. He said there were about 200 people there, so that would mean only four were in favour.

He named about 20 he knew were in favour, including 10 family members. When a show of hands for those against the project was requested, he said less than half the people in attendance raised their hand.

He took Spinazola to task also for stating there is no demand for such a housing project in Weston. He asked what concrete evidence she has indicating that. Fulton said his wife, who is in the real estate business, said there is strong demand for a housing development on a golf course anywhere in the county.

“I have heard some councillors say this is a good project, but it is in the wrong place,” he said. “I believe the reason this is a good project is because of where it’s at.”

Not a fan of petitions, but …

He said only five to 10 people from Weston spoke against the project and about 25 in total from across the county. The supporters of the project let their elected officials speak for them and two councillors representing the general area spoke in favour and voted for the project, although the rest didn’t. He said he isn’t a fan of petitions, but it wouldn’t take much for him to gather a couple hundred names of people in support of his proposal.

Fulton took several individuals who spoke against his project to task over their own use of agricultural land and for taking farmland out of active food production. He accused some of making false statements at public meetings.

He asked, if jobs were not created, who would live here and purchase the food produced by farmers? Lots of jobs relating to agriculture have left the county lately and have to be replaced, even if we have to look outside agriculture.

He said they intend to build houses in Weston one way or the other and a multi-million project would be a great tax revenue and economic development generator for the county.

“Do we want to see more farmland growing up in weeds?” he said.

Fulton said they have brought about 300 acres of non-productive land into agriculture over the last 20 years and they plan to put about 200 acres into active low bush blueberry production in the next five years.

Fulton suggested that councillors should charter a bus and see first-hand what’s happening on the ground with agriculture in western Kings and what will happen in the future if changes to the MPS aren’t made. Councillors are looking into taking such a tour across the entire county Nov. 12.

Councillor Chris Parker said council has to look at all aspects of agricultural land and a lot of people to whom he has talked were against Fulton’s project simply because they see him as an abrasive person.