A local landowner looking to build an “attainable and sustainable” housing development is asking for build custom homes in Prince Edward County.
Steve Van Dusen, President of Tri-Canadian Energy, owns 120 acres of land on Rosseau Road east of Picton and is planning on building an affordable and environmentally friendly housing development on it. Van Dusen’s proposal is for a development of 64 lots with frontage on Rosseau Road. The lots would be sold at one third of market value, around $45,000, and pre-approved building designs would be provided to owners.
The lots would all be powered by a one megawatt solar field and would use recycled water, among other environmentally friendly practices. Van Dusen said that this would help address the housing crisis facing residents and the employment issues facing employers.
“There are reasons to make this work and there are good solutions out there and they’re already being done all around the world. Tri-Canadian Energy – we’re committed to do this. We’re committed to go all the way and try and help people out. We’ve done our engineering studies, we’ve done all the things that we need to do in order to make sure that we can satisfy some questions that you guys are going to have. Do we have all the answers? No way. Don’t look at me and don’t look at my company to have all the answers. All I know is that doing something is better than doing nothing.”
The road is listed as seasonal and Tuesday Van Dusen asked for council to approve an upgrade of 1.5 kilometres of road up to the land to all-season. Councillors raised questions due to the newly minted official plan which is against rurally based housing developments in an effort to direct them to settlement areas such as Picton. Van Dusen appealed strongly to council citing the housing crisis and the affordability of his proposal. The matter was an information item so there was no decision.
Prince Edward County has a way of capturing hearts and imaginations with its combination of rural calmness and authentic sophistication. The County has always been a hub for creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship, in this extraordinary backdrop offering an unmatched quality of life. Entrepreneurship is a mindset, an attitude and a life adopted by people not satisfied with the status quo. The County provides unique opportunities to fulfill your passion and establish your own lifestyle. Prince Edward County, a friendly and real place to visit, live, work and do business.
The new Prince Edward County official plan has been approved by the Ontario Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing. The new official plan was finished and adopted by council in February after a long process of review and consultation. The Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, Steve Clark, approved the new plan and it took effect July 8.
The decision is not open for appeal.
Clark made 11 modifications to the document including changes to the policies on accessory dwelling units, aggregate resources, employment lands, and “other areas of provincial interest.”The official plan is a provincially mandated document used to guide municipalities in development that dictates what lands can be used for what purposes, among other things. The approval means that, moving forward, any planning matters in Prince Edward County will be subject to the rules and regulations of the new official plan