Three homes on Old Mill Road will remain standing, for now, after Cambridge councillors voted to reject a staff recommendation to approve two studies that would have paved the way for a controversial mega-warehouse project in Blair.
The surprise decision came following a four-hour discussion Monday night.
What happens next is up to the developer, said Mayor Kathryn McGarry at the end of the meeting, leaving many wondering what the decision means for the Minister’s Zoning Order that allowed the developer to bypass public input for the proposal in the first place.
The 5-4 vote to oppose the developer's heritage impact assessment and traffic impact study, and the demolition and roadwork that were part of the recommendation, was led by councillors Jan Liggett and Nicholas Ermeta, both of whom pitched a failed motion to defer the decision until June.
Ermeta wanted to give residents of Blair another chance to speak on the project and consider some of the mitigation measures proposed by the developer's principal planner Chris Pidgeon.
Broccolini Real Estate Group's proposal to build a 15-metre high, one-million-square-foot warehouse on 75 acres, has drawn the ire of Blair residents for close to a year.
Their outrage reached the ears of Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Steve Clark last fall when he demanded the city and developer provide evidence they held meaningful consultations with residents and members of First Nations.
Pidgeon said Broccolini has been in discussions with representatives of the Indigenous community since last summer, admitting the first meetings were awkward and “did not go well.”
Since then, however, he said they’ve been working collaboratively with First Nations.
Councillors appeared satisfied with Pidgeon’s assurances that the still-unnamed tenant of the “fulfillment centre” had agreed to cap truck trips in and out of the facility at 524 trips a day during peak season.
The traffic study estimates the warehouse will add 191 peak hour morning trips to and from the warehouse and 288 peak time afternoon trips.
Almost all of that traffic will travel through the Fountain Street and Dickie Settlement roundabout heading to and from Highway 401.
After hearing promises of more than 1,000 jobs, Coun. Scott Hamilton wanted assurances the warehouse would not become a “lights out” facility where automation and robotics eventually replace workers.
He got it when Broccolini’s James Beach confirmed the majority of jobs in the facility will require the “manual manipulation of packages” with wages ranging from $18 per hour to $65 per hour, including more than 30 senior positions earning more than $100K.
But Coun. Mike Devine wasn’t convinced. “I have difficulty believing it,” Devine said, adding he thinks most of the jobs will be minimum wage and hard to fill.
"The size of the facility as it relates to the amount of jobs per square foot is going to be pretty tiny. I believe that property can be put to better use," he said.
The developer is proposing to build 22 and 30-metre wide berms, fencing and landscaping on the east and west perimeter of the property to mitigate noise and light pollution toward the village, and said the tenant has also agreed to soften the appearance of the warehouse facing Dickie Settlement Road.
That would be done by installing mesh over the building to allow vines and ivy to grow over it.
That measure addressed part of Coun. Liggett’s concern about the two-to-one ratio for deciduous and coniferous trees, which would reveal the building for half the year.
Pidgeon said Broccolini is proposing to plant 1,750 trees on the property, which is also home to a wetland.
To prevent runoff from the parking lots and building, Broccolini will build several underground storm water collection tanks to hold clean runoff from the roof and dirty water from the parking lot. The parking lot tanks will include a system that separates oil and grit from the water before it is discharged into Blair Creek. The roof tanks will discharge and feed into the wetland. The entire system has approval from the Grand River Conservation Authority and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, he said.
Coun. Ermeta and Coun. Shannon Adshade wanted to know if the Ministry of Transportation had been consulted on the possibility of creating an access to the site from Fountain Street to reduce the number of trucks on Dickie Settlement Road.
Speaking for the developer, Jim Mallett told council the MTO and Region of Waterloo had considered it early on and discarded the idea because of the short distance between a possible truck entrance off Fountain and the roundabout.
Another traffic concern noted by Coun. Mike Mann was the problematic left turn from Dickie Settlement Road to Highgrove Court.
He’s concerned accidents are inevitable with vehicles turning across two lanes of traffic and wants to see solutions presented by staff before traffic increases from not only the warehouse, but the Westwood Village subdivision up the road.
Other councillors want to see traffic calming measures installed to prevent traffic from crossing from Old Mill Road on a short cut through the village.
“This has been an epic production for all of us,” said Coun. Donna Reid, referring not only to a six-hour onslaught of concern and scorn expressed by delegates on March 15, but close to a year of emails, calls and conversations with residents concerned about the project.
Reid said she feels “very comfortable” in voting to approve this motion, knowing how thoroughly all aspects of the development were investigated.
“We’ve known for a very long time it would be industrial,” she said, warning that if the warehouse isn’t approved, what goes on the site could be much worse, making things “very uncomfortable for the residents of Blair.”
“I see this as a compromise that we have here in order to reach the economic development plans for the community,” she said.
"I’m definitely not going to support this," countered Coun. Liggett. "When I look at this area I think of what it was. I have the history of why that came to be, how that came to be," she added, referring to the Blair Heritage Conservation District.
She said that document is in place to prevent developments like the warehouse from erasing the flavour of the village.
"This warehouse is going to do exactly that," she said. "This will takeover and engulf the village."
She wants to see the city look instead to its original vision for the site, as a complement to Conestoga College's trades campus.
"We’ve lost sight of that sort of thing."
She's also concerned about the heritage likely already lost on the site, adding there are "52 known sites in this area of Indigenous heritage."
"I'm not happy with traffic study. I’m not happy with any of it," she said. "I look at the nightmare of that and wonder how the region is going to fix it."
Coun. Ermeta said he's "all for jobs" and efforts to getting "the economy going post COVID."
But what caused him to pause was hearing from people in his own ward who said they moved to Cambridge because they "don’t want to live in another Mississauga, or Milton."
"They’re concerned what could happen in their own neighbourhood if the city gives the green light to projects like this.
"When I hear so many angry people, somewhere down the line I know something is broken," he said.
Coun. Adshade agreed. "I did a lot of research and I think we have to listen to what people have to say," he said, noting the 50 delegations that spoke against the proposal, not to mention an online petition signed by 24,000 people.
"They don’t want this in their community. I can’t support this motion."
Coun. Scott Hamilton admitted it's "difficult to see so many people upset in our city" but worries what could come next if this warehouse isn't approved.
"It could be bigger, it could be taller, it could be more detrimental to the community than what we have here," he said of the M1 industrial zoning for the site coupled with its location "beside the busiest highway in Canada."
He said he has to "look at benefits in terms of the economy and prestige to the city" and believes the amendments the developer has made will mitigate impacts to the village.
Coun. Pam Wolf agreed with Hamilton, saying "14 industrial lots in M1 zoning will be worse than the warehouse facility."
"Having one construction time instead of 14 different buildings is less destructive to neighbours," she added.
"I truly believe that it’s the best decision for our city and the community."
McGarry said she believes there would have been far more people voicing support of the project if circumstances were different.
"No one would delegate in support of this project because of the smear campaign opposed to this," she said, adding she's receive "many emails in support," including the Waterloo Region Economic Development Committee and both local chambers of commerce "because it checks all the boxes for others in this community."
"Other municipalities across Ontario are envious that we have good industrial land next to a 400 series highway."
McGarry said Broccolini has made many concessions to mitigate impacts and appease residents, adding she believes the best decision is to support it.
"We’re here to decide for all of Cambridge. We have a duty to continue to grow economically," she said.
But the mayor couldn't sway the councillor who appeared to be the swing vote.
"This may be the best situation for the village of Blair. It may also be the worst," offered Coun. Mann before voting against the motion. "You really have to be careful what you wish for."
Those opposed to the motion included Coun. Jan Liggett, Coun. Nicholas Ermeta, Coun. Mike Mann, Coun. Mike Devine and Coun. Shannon Adshade.
Those in favour included Mayor Kathryn McGarry, Coun. Donna Reid, Coun. Pam Wolf and Coun. Scott Hamilton.
