Carleton Place council report for June 20

Carleton Place council reviews next major subdivision

At Carleton Place council’s committee of the whole meeting on June 20^th, town director of development services Niki Dwyer presented an overview of the latest housing project application. The McNeely Landing subdivision will be comprised of 431 residences, made up of singles, townhomes and apartments located just south of the business area at Hwy 7 and Hwy 15 (on the east side of Hwy 15). Dwyer noted that this was the first large subdivision plan application to come before this council (current builds were approved by previous councils) and that the town was only a reviewing body as the County of Lanark is the approval authority. Town council and staff can make suggestions or amendments, but the County has the final say. When asked by Mayor Toby Randell, how much weight any recommendations from his council would carry at the County, Dwyer responded that if any terms the town might suggest were agreed to by the developer, then the County would likely approve them unless they were in direct contravention to provincial planning policies. The plans call for reserving large blocks of land for a future school, a large park and storm-water retention pond.

As only 4 of 7 councilors were in attendance at the meeting, Randell moved to defer any further discussion until after the summer break, when all councilors could have opportunity to provide their own input.

Bridge and Bridge Street celebrated

On Saturday, June 24, Bridge Street was closed to traffic for the day to permit a major celebration of its redesign and the new central bridge’s completion. People of all ages strolled the boulevard enjoying live entertainment, vendors’ wares, and family activities. Fortunately, inclement weather held off until late in the afternoon, so there was no damper on the party. Final touches on a few incomplete concrete planters are expected to be finished soon.

Article by Brian Turner