Some Owen Sound residents are not too happy about what will be built on a section of a closed road.
The City is proposing to stop up and close a portion of 5th Avenue West between 29th Street West and 28th Street West.
The City would then declare it surplus and sell the closed road allowance for the purpose of facilitating a residential development.
A recent Ontario Municipal Board decision allowed for the developer — Barry’s Construction — to build a semi-detached home near that section of land.
But several residents living along that block feel that the developer may buy the land and put up more homes.
Sarah Londerville was one of eight who came to last night’s meeting.
She is worried that if the stop up and close order was to go through that may allow the developer to build more semi-detached homes on undersized lots.
She says the homes would be out of character with the other houses and the mature trees.
Another resident was worried about how any new housing on that land would affect drainage in the neighbourhood.
Council was to have made a decision on a by-law but decided to defer it to their next meeting.
Mayor Ruth Lovell Stanners says they have directed staff to see whether the City can put a holding provision or other conditions on the sale of the land.
She says since there has been no formal offer to buy the land they don’t know who would be buying it and what they would be using it for.
Lovell Stanners says the residents that came to the Council meeting have asked that the City look at the integrity of their neighbourhood and take steps to ensure that it is preserved.
Londerville says Council’s decision to defer the passage of the by-law bodes well in their effort to do what is in the best interests of the residents living in that neighbourhood.