Re: Article “Lo-Ellen residents square off against Dalron,” which appeared in the April 17 edition of Northern Life.

I am writing to express concern about a number of issues that were the subject of discussion on April 12 at R.L. Beattie Public School.

The meeting was called by Dalron Construction to obtain community input for an application for a zoning change to a small parcel of property in Lo-Ellen Park owned by Dalron.

Dalron wishes to develop 15 lots for single family dwellings off the cul de sac at the north end of Virginia Ave. On the face of it, that doesn’t seem like a big deal.

However, several of the lots will extend beyond the fragile and ecologically sensitive Bennett Lake watershed. This development, if it is approved, will cut off some of the access to the trails and to the part of Bennett Lake where, when winter conditions are right, children make skating rinks.

Since the proposed development will be located on one of the highest points in the area, there will probably be runoff problems that will affect adjacent properties.

In addition, if the development is approved, more traffic will be dumped onto neighbourhood streets that are grossly inadequate to deal with existing vehicular traffic.

With some exceptions, they are hilly and narrow and have no sidewalks, curbs or gutters.

Regrettably, a very small number of residents in the neighbourhood were apprised of the April 12 meeting. Fortunately, one resident who was notified made it her business to print off copies of the notice and distribute them to a number of other residences, including ours.

This application for a change in zoning has implications far beyond the immediate neighbourhood.

People from all over the city use the trail system to hike, trail-bike, berry pick and jog in the summer and cross-country-ski in the winter.

For that reason alone, the notice of the April 12 meeting should have been widely distributed and placed in both community newspapers.

I have always felt that criticism is much better if accompanied by a suggestion of a reasonable alternative. For that reason, I proposed to Dalron’s Ron Arnold that he consider building a subdivision a bit further south and constructing an access road out to Regent Street. He gave me a one-word answer: “No.”

There is an uneasy feeling in the neighbourhood that this request is just the proverbial “thin edge of the wedge” and more requests are in the offing for bigger developments in the same land parcel.

William E. McLeod
Greater Sudbury

Posted by Heather Green-Oliver