In the Greater Toronto Area, developers complain long and loud about how long it takes municipalities to approve their projects so they can start building, selling and making money.
Premier Doug Ford used those complaints to justify his move to restrict local democracy by granting 216 mayors, including ours, strong-mayor powers that can be used in many ways, including to approve developments quickly.
But in Trent Hills, the shoe is on the other foot, with councillors often grumbling about how long it takes developers to follow through on their plans, with little action years and decades after they have been approved.
The most recent example of that came on Tuesday when councillors somewhat reluctantly approved a three-year extension for Haven on the Trent to meet certain conditions. The irony is that this is one of the few projects in the area that continues to move ahead with construction, albeit at a slow pace.
Sifton Properties Ltd. first received draft approval for the subdivision on September 1, 2015. Sales and construction has been slow and the development was granted three-year extensions in 2017, 2020 and 2023. The current one was set to expire on Sept. 30.
So far, 40 homes have been built on the street. (I counted this morning on my bike ride.) Three are on the east side with access to the Trent River, the remainder are on the west side. In 2025, council approved a fourth phase that will see 41 homes built at the end of Riverside Trail. The road has been extended and services are in place, but no homes are under construction.
A fifth phase on the east side across the road from the existing homes is still being discussed and a sixth phase, proposed for the hill west of Riverside Trail “is anticipated to be several years away from any serious discussion,” a staff report said.
Councillor Rick English said he had received phone calls from residents of the neighbourhood last year complaining about water lying in their backyards and a need for regrading.
Chief Planner Jim Peters said the developer had regraded some yards and those complaints had been resolved.
“I understand the request for an extension, certainly in this market,” said Councillor Daniel Giddings. “But this is a decade old subdivision.”
Giddings asked if there is a hard deadline.
Planner Cameron Law said the department can step in if there is no indication of work being done. It did that with a stalled plan behind the chocolate factory last year, ordering the developer to start over if he wants to build.
“Because they have been working, the builder is there, the developer is there right now grading working on the next phase so we believe it makes sense to grant the extension,” Law said.
He said work on the site started in 2013-14.
“They are one of the more active subdivisions,” Peters said, noting it often seeks building permits.
Deputy Mayor Mike Metcalf said he was concerned that early purchasers in the subdivision have already been going through years of construction with many more to come. “At some point there needs to be an end in sight,” he said.
All one has to do is stroll through Hastings Village to witness the vacant promises of developers more attuned at buying land than building houses. The complicity of an over eager municipality reluctant to impose stringent conditions only adds to the sense of abandonment.