Belleville Director of Engineering Rod Bovay (File photo: Mary Thomas/Quinte News)
A move to allow a local developer to change commercial land to residential in a Belleville subdivision could eventually lead to changes in the city’s Official Plan.
Three years ago, the city had zoned an area in the Settlers Ridge subdivision as commercial in a bid to bring a store into the area.
A staff report to the city’s Planning Advisory Committee this week indicated the developer had been unable to sell it for commercial use and wanted to turn it into four residential lots.
Mayor Taso Christopher said it had been proposed as a pilot project and this was “premature.”
Director of Engineering Rod Bovay told the committee the “location was not the best.”
Bovay suggested that the next review of the Official Plan could deal with the issue of commercial access in residential developments.
Councillor Egerton Boyce said he would “want to see that policy go forward.”
Boyce also commented that he would like to see the policy “tell the developer where the commercial site would go” within the residential project.
The committee is recommending that city council approve the Settlers Ridge change.
