Two weeks after Mayor Arie Hoogenboom’s veto blocked Rideau Lakes council’s attempt to rezone the remaining Harry Seeley Drive lands as Open Space, council has shifted its focus from deciding the property’s future to asking residents what they want.
On July 6, council voted to hold a public open house before making any long-term decisions about the township-owned lands in Elgin. A date has not yet been made.
The latest discussion follows a special committee of the whole meeting June 22, when council failed to secure the six votes needed to override the mayor’s veto. That veto halted a bylaw that would have rezoned the property from Rural to Open Space after a majority of councillors supported preserving the lands for future recreational use.
Instead, council found itself debating a recommendation from the Elgin Seniors’ Housing Board that the remaining Harry Seeley Drive lands be used for residential development, with an emphasis on affordable housing. The recommendation also called for a soil study to determine whether marketable sand exists on the property, applying proceeds from any future sale toward the housing board’s loan, and acknowledging historical documentation assembled by township staff.
Coun. Linda Carr questioned if council should make that decision before hearing directly from the community.
“I think we should go back to the community and say, ‘What do you suggest that we do with this property?'” Carr said. “We’ve never really gone to the community at all.”
The debate also revisited questions raised during the June meeting about the property’s history.
Carr acknowledged she had previously believed the land had been given to the township for recreation purposes but said the historical documents presented to council did not support that understanding.
The records indicate the former Township of South Crosby purchased the property in 1992 and contain no requirement that it be reserved for parkland. That is consistent with information presented during the June 22 meeting, when township staff told council they found no evidence in the purchase documents restricting the future use of the lands.
Deputy Mayor Jeff Banks questioned why the property’s history had become a focal point after staff had previously advised that the original intent did not determine what council could ultimately do with the land.
The meeting then took an unexpected procedural turn.
Council initially approved the housing board recommendation on a recorded vote before Carr advised she had voted in error. Council agreed to reconsider the matter, defeated the recommendation on a second recorded vote, and immediately turned its attention to a new motion directing the Community Enhancement Committee (CEC) to organize a public open house on the future use of the remaining Harry Seeley Drive lands.
Banks said residents deserve an opportunity to shape the property’s future.
“I think all council needs to understand that a democratic process allows people in the Village of Elgin to speak their mind,” he said.
Coun. Dustin Bullock supported the consultation but suggested it should consider broader recreation and open-space needs throughout the village rather than focusing solely on one parcel of land.
Staff will work on a date for the open house with the CEC.
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