A development proposed for the former Saw-Whet Golf Course may now feature considerable more residential units following a settlement between the developer and the Town of Oakville.

The developer, Bronte Green, had proposed the building of 875 residences on a 55-hectare property previously occupied by the Saw-Whet Golf Course at 1401 Bronte Rd.

The matter was appealed to the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) in October 2014 and now, following a negotiated settlement with the Town, the developer is poised to build 1,181 residences on that property.

The OMB must still approve the agreement.

Details concerning the settlement were released to the public this week.

A revised draft plan for the proposed subdivision shows 164 townhouses, 443 detached homes and 574 condominium units.

The condominium units will be housed within low-rise apartment buildings between four-to-six storeys in height located on Bronte Road.

The plan also notes this development will take up 54.79 hectares, virtually the entire property.

Besides the residential units 5.85 hectares of green space has been set aside and will become part of the Natural Heritage System; 2.50 hectares will be used for parks and urban squares; 4.24 hectares will be used as a woodlands enhancement area and there will be a .72 hectare of open space.

Ward 4 Town Councillor Allan Elgar said the initial development proposal for the former golf course lands prompted a loud public outcry with hundreds of residents writing letters and attending public meetings to voice their concerns about the potential loss of green space.

Elgar told the Oakville Beaver he is not happy with the results of the settlement.

“In my opinion, it is a sad day for Oakville residents,” stated Elgar in an email.

“Based on the feedback I have received from more than 600 residents about the concept of developing Saw-Whet, this development plan does not seem to be in the public’s best interests. Furthermore, Oakville’s Official Plan, ‘Livable Oakville,’ which was approved by the Region and the Province, had designated enough land to meet the residential and employment forecasts to 2031 without the development of Saw-Whet.”

In a press release issued Tuesday (Nov. 15) Oakville Mayor Rob Burton called the settlement a victory, noting it includes significant concessions from Bronte Green with more than 10 hectares of green space at the site protected.

Burton said this is 4.25 hectares more than the original plan.

Town staff said as part of the agreement Bronte Green would:

• Dedicate a significant parcel of land to enhance the woodlands

• Create a high value habitat for species including snapping turtles

• Increase the size of their buffer around natural features from 10 metres to 30 metres in order to better protect the natural heritage system from the impacts of development and to reduce flood and erosion impacts

• Construct storm water management systems, which insure that there will be no additional risk of downstream flooding

• Remove the vehicular bridge concept previously proposed over the Fourteen Mile Creek, which staff said posed a threat to endangered fish species

• Secure a permanent natural heritage linkage to Bronte Creek Provincial Park

• Reserve an elementary school site adjacent to a centrally located neighbourhood.

“They gave in on every one of our issues that we registered at the OMB including the really important Natural Heritage System, the 30 metre buffers, protection of the wetland and prevention of a road through the wetland, the wildlife pond they are going to build and the parkland,” said Burton.

“All of that is going to make for a very nice place to live.”

Burton also pointed out that many of the additional units in the revised plan would never be built as they would only be constructed if the school board passed up on the opportunity to locate a school on a nearly two hectare area within the site

The board will reserve the rights to that area for the next seven years.

In the event the school is not build Burton said the developer would be restricted to building housing consistent with the surrounding neighbourhoods.

Burton said the residential unit count also changed to accommodate affordability.

“What that number reflects is moving the developer away from a plan that had too many single family homes and not enough affordability mix,” he said.

“There is a slight increase in the number, but that represents increasing the count of smaller, more affordable units along with the single-family homes that are still in there.”

Jane Clohecy, the Town’s Commissioner of Community Development, also weighed in on the increase.

“Given the direct access to the Bronte GO, it made sense to encourage a transit-friendly approach for the site and this type of housing (more townhouses and low-rise apartment units) will be very attractive to young adults, new families and seniors who want to remain in Oakville,” she said.

“Overall we have reduced the footprint of the development to be more environmentally sensitive by protecting natural habitat, and providing more open space to address groundwater concerns. Lower density housing has been located adjacent to the valley lands and set back with a 30-metre buffer to also support the natural heritage system.”

Burton noted aspects of the development would be gradual with holding provisions in place on the apartment buildings to slow their construction.

Others are still seeing settlement as a massive loss for Oakville.

“We are angry and disheartened that environmentally sensitive greenspace and nature will once again lose out to developmental pressures,” said Karen Brock, President of Oakvillegreen Conservation Association in a prepared statement.

“The question we are now asking is why did the Town of Oakville settle when the Saw-Whet area was not identified in the Official Plan as an area targeted for growth?”

Brock called the Saw-Whet lands an integral part of the Fourteen Mile Creek Valley and catchment area, which is home to numerous endangered species.

“It is unclear and frustrating to us why the Town settled,” said Brock.

“It is hard to imagine a worse outcome at the OMB than the recent settlement reached by all parties.”

Fourteen Mile Creek Residents’ Association representative Doug McCarten said he is also unhappy with the settlement.

“I’m terribly disappointed,” he said.

“My big problem with this is that it all took place behind closed doors with apparently no weight given to the residents’ wishes, which was that nothing happen over there…This is the type of thing that really makes the public feel like they wasted their time because apparently it was all for nothing.”

The Region of Halton, Conservation Authority and the Halton District School Board have endorsed the settlement.

The OMB will continue to hear evidence from witnesses next week on Wednesday and Thursday at Town Hall starting at10 a.m.

The meetings are open to the public, however, only those previously designated will be permitted to speak.