• An already contentious development in the Musselman’s Lake area is raising new concerns as the community becomes increasingly uneasy about a mixed-use proposal at Ninth Line and Lakeshore.
  • Eco Lake Homes’ project at 14622 Ninth Line, referred to as Legacy 1.0, aims to divide the property into multiple parcels allowing for 11 homes, a fenced-off, private waterfront park, and a mixed-use community hub (The Hub).
  • According to Eco Lake Homes, the three-storey Hub would include a combination restaurant and bakery, lower level community hall, apartment units, and upwards of 45 parking spaces.
  • The Hub concept, proposed for Block 13 at the southeast corner of the Draft Plan of Subdivision, replaces an original plan to donate the parcel to Habitat for Humanity.
  • Related ecological and noise concerns, traffic and pedestrian safety impacts, and worries over possible long-term construction of retaining walls to facilitate the proposal have been raised by local residents.
  • “A commercial development with close to 50 parking spaces is completely and utterly out of sync with the area, especially if we want to encourage a walkable community rather than more driving and out-of-area traffic,” local resident Steve Bull said of the proposal.
  • “I encourage you to spend a full day…[at] the top of the hill where this ridiculous plaza is proposed to go and try to tell me that there is honestly a safe way to execute this,” Rachael Marsland suggested in a letter to Stouffville planners. “I would also challenge you to consider the major construction and several years of development that would have to go into creating a retaining wall large enough to support the proposal.”
  • Council approval is still needed to move forward with the subdivision plan, however, that would not include approval of The Hub.
  • “Any proposed uses on Block 13 will require a separate application for consideration,” Kathryn Jones, Stouffville’s planner managing the file, told Bullet Point News.
  • “Any application to consider a use on Block 13 would need to be accompanied by its own justification and all relevant engineering studies that would demonstrate the functionality of a specified use on the site,” she added.
  • Residents can express their own concerns and inquire further about the plan and process by emailing their Councillor at developmenthelp@townofws.ca.