Essentially, the town has laid it out, the developer is calling foul, and the homeowners are still in wait.
Homeowners of Block 27 in the Bayport Village development of Midland’s harbourfront still haven’t been able to move into their purchased homes, as the developer and town staff struggle to reconcile Phase 2 of a draft plan of subdivision.
A report was brought to a recent special meeting of Midland council by staff, providing information on a three-month extension of conditions of the draft plan of subdivision approval, as granted by Midland planning staff in early August.
Kaitlin Corporation — the developer of Bayport Village at 640 Bayport Blvd. — first sought a three-year extension for Phase 2 in 2019 and a second, shorter extension earlier this year as homebuyers who pre-purchased the homes of Block 27 were left waiting in the cold for the developer and town to “stop bickering” and come to a resolution.
Bayport Village is in two complex states currently: Phase 2 of the draft plan of subdivision covers the entire project, and Block 27 is a set of four townhouses within the project, which have been sold under the pretense development would occur smoothly so titles could pass to the legal owners.
When homeowners couldn’t move in, accusations flared. Devon Daniell, of Kaitlin, informed homeowners and the public Adam Farr, Midland’s executive director of planning, building and bylaw, was the one obstructing progress; it was an accusation the town strongly denied.
The town provided residents with numerous discussions through council meetings and document transparencies to go on the record about Kaitlin’s inability to satisfy the required conditions to clear the project. Kaitlin countered the town was moving the goal posts, and the town countered by stating Kaitlin was providing misinformation to homebuyers and the public.
In May, staff provided Kaitlin with a transparent, simple and straightforward “pathway to approval” that would expedite getting the Block 27 homeowners into their homes. Additionally, the town agreed with Kaitlin’s request to use a third-party legal solicitor who would gauge what would be deemed acceptable for compliance.
Daniell also repeatedly tried to provide a deputation to town council, but did not attend when he was finally on the June agenda to do so; following that meeting, Kaitlin contacted two outside planners — Weston Consulting and Macaulay Shiomi Howson Ltd. — to peer review the matter. Their Aug. 5 correspondence noted Weston considered the application submission by MHBC Planning — the contractors of Kaitlin — to be “adequate and would meet acceptable levels of quality and completeness” to advance the plan to registration. Macaulay Shiomi Howson concluded similarly.
At the recent special meeting of council, Farr provided staff and the audience with an update on the Phase 2 extension.
“Council’s given staff a wide range of delegated authority for many of the matters that are required to be approved, except for the holding removal, which is more of an administrative exercise, but council has the approval to lift the hold,” Farr explained.
“We’re basically taking steps through the lawyer to gain the required information that we need to advance this to a conclusion, and we’re preparing ourselves as though we have those documents in our possession.”
As for the pathway to approval, Farr noted: “It has yielded some response from Kaitlin, which was not the case previously. And I am hopeful, and we are moving with the expectation, that this will be coming forward at the nearest possible council date … to Kaitlin agreeing to provide the necessary information through our lawyer and gaining council’s approval.”
Despite the discussion being about Phase 2 as a whole, Coun. Bill Gordon brought up Block 27 to press staff about what it would take to solve the homeowners’ crisis.
“How many conditions remain unmet — presumably by Kaitlin because it sounds like the ball is in their court right now — for this Block 27 to be approved?” asked Gordon.
“There are very few conditions that have been cleared,” replied Farr. “The original conditions that were approved were 43 conditions. Since I’ve been at the town, which is a year and a bit ... no further conditions than the conditions that were fulfilled at the time I joined the town have been cleared.”
Farr expanded on the remarks to Gordon.
“Block 27 is a relatively straightforward matter, which, frankly, given the time it’s taken for Kaitlin to get to the point where it is right now — the willingness to advance the materials, to register that block — it doesn’t correspond to the simplicity of what’s required to get Block 27 registered. It’s just a matter of getting Kaitlin to come to the table and register it.”
Those words prompted a member of the audience to shout, “When can we move in?” That led Mayor Stewart Strathearn to remind the audience the meeting did not include an opportunity for public input.
Said Strathearn as a closing remark: “I think it’s worth noting that it’s very difficult to build a subdivision or approve a subdivision when you don’t even have a master servicing agreement with respect to utilities. I’ll make that comment; it was in the report. I just don’t know how anybody could possibly approve Phase 2 without that.
“It also seems somewhat incongruous to me that while Kaitlin says they’ve fulfilled all the conditions, that they would ask for a three-year extension given that they feel they’re that close.”
In correspondence with MidlandToday, Daniell reaffirmed the two outside planners’ conclusions that block registration could occur almost immediately.
“We submitted everything the town’s solicitor identified as required for this process to proceed almost seven weeks ago (on July 4). We are hopeful the town can bring forward the necessary items expeditiously,” stated Daniell.
Midland CAO David Denault responded on behalf of the town, reiterating the project remained a high priority and staff was working actively with the developer and its counsel to resolve outstanding matters.
“Council has clearly articulated that the registration of the units for the owners in Block 27 must be resolved as quickly as possible and we are working with the developer to clear the requirements that have been communicated to make this happen,” wrote Denault.
As for the homeowners, Kenneth and Brenda Hicks remain in a holding pattern as the town and developers settle their differences.
“All along we have had conflicting information,” responded the pair. “At this point it is not a matter of why but when we can begin settling into our homes and get on with life. Not knowing when we can count on getting settled has been very upsetting.”
Alexander Riabokris, who contacted MidlandToday in the initial story for this development, also expressed frustration as his family’s move-in date to Block 27 was extended to June 2023.
“For us, it is still the same situation and feeling of uncertainty as before. Every few months our purchasing agreement expires/becomes void and we are at the mercy of the builder to have it replaced by a new one, with any terms potentially changed and dates reset again,” Riabokris replied.
The staff report for the three-month extension of conditions of the draft plan of subdivision for Bayport Village Phase 2 is available in the council agenda on the Town of Midland website.
Council meetings are held every third Wednesday, and can be attended in person, or virtually through Zoom by contacting the clerk’s department for a link to the meeting.
Council meetings can also be viewed on Rogers TV cable channel 53, or through the livestream on the Rogers TV website. Archives of council meetings are available through Rogers TV and on the Town of Midland’s YouTube channel.
