If patience is said to be a virtue, then the pre-purchasing homeowners of Block 27 in Midland’s Bayport Village must be some of the most virtuous people around.
A 137-page report was presented during a recent special committee of the whole meeting, following a promising series of comments by Midland Mayor Bill Gordon last week that developer Kaitlin Corporation and the town were working alongside one another to approve Bayport Village Phase 2 subdivision conditions.
The development for Phase 2 of Bayport Village comprises 144 freehold townhouse units, a proposed 32 condominium townhouse units, and two proposed 12-storey apartment buildings for roughly 290 units, all of which require site plan removal. Block 27 is a townhouse of four units which homebuyers entered into a purchasing agreement in 2020 with Kaitlin, but who have become frustrated in waiting for the town and developers to cooperate while those entities cast blame upon one another for the stalled project.
Nine staff recommendations were provided at the meeting, as registered planner Tim Cane of SGL Planning and Design gave a brief overview of each to Midland council members.
“The reason for the length is because there are about seven reports in one crafted into this planning report,” explained Cane. “It’s not to overcomplicate things; it’s simply to reflect what’s been quite a long process and one that has many details that staff have been working hard, and the applicant as well, to work through to get this project through to fruition.”
The first recommendation, described by Cane as the most important, was to direct staff to begin the approved draft plan provided conditions have been satisfied.
As of the end of the previous term of council last September, former Mayor Stewart Strathearn expressed dissatisfaction that only three of the 43 conditions had been met over a three year span. Staff also stated that the holding symbol on Block 27 would be able to be lifted “in a matter of days” if requirements were fulfilled by Kaitlin. In response, Kaitlin stated that it was Midland staff who had been obstructing the process.
Some of the other recommendations involved the development being separated into an east side where potential high-density development has been proposed, and a west side where lower density development is underway including the lands related to Block 27.
“The go-ahead tonight, if this is successful, is allowing the whole subdivision to register but not allowing the eastern half to construct; just allowing the western portion to go ahead,” added Cane.
A few recommendations involved smaller matters such as eliminating redundancy and dealing with the naming of streets – Hudson Crescent, Oakley Way, Reynolds Lane, and O’Hare Lane – within Phase 2.
The eighth recommendation noted that none of the resolutions would go into effect until Midland staff are satisfied, actions are taken, documents are finalized and fees paid in full.
The final recommendation was offered as an option and was included nonetheless as a light fail-safe due to the many mechanisms of the complex development, so that if council wasn't comfortable with any one recommendation, everything would be put on pause to be dealt with “to make sure that… we aren’t tripping over ourselves by allowing something to go ahead when other options or other mechanisms are in place,” said Cane.
Gordon had the first question to Cane, “namely because I’m staring at the future owners of one of the many beautiful homes that are going to be built in that development.
“What barriers if any remain, if we were to pass this tonight, to the registration of Block 27 and the residents being able to take title and move into their homes?” asked Gordon.
Cane replied that an occupancy permit which would be required relying on recommendations within the report, with the timeline being up to Kaitlin.
Planner Jamie Robinson, attending the meeting on behalf of Kaitlin, said that for registration of final occupancy: “We’re basically ready to act upon those items as soon as possible.”
“I urge you to approve these resolutions so we can get on with building homes in Midland; that’s what this is about,” Robinson added.
Questions from members of Midland council were led by Coun. Catherine MacDonald with an inquiry of adding a timed deadline stipulation to the recommendation list, which was very quickly addressed by acting CAO Andy Campbell who said that putting in a time frame would only complicate matters.
“We’ve tried to give a path to the developer on at least two other occasions to get registration and get these homeowners moved in,” Campbell shared. “We’ve been working on doing our part and the developer – to date – has chosen not to take the opportunities that we have given them.
“This is everything that we can give them,” he stressed, “so that they can register a drawing – potentially next week – so that the land can be divided.”
Both MacDonald and Coun. Jamie-Lee Ball said they “had faith” that the matter would conclude successfully, with MacDonald calling the entire delay an embarrassment for Kaitlin and for Midland, and Ball begging Kaitlin to work with the town and the Block 27 homeowners.
Gordon added that he eagerly anticipated the day when keys would be handed to the homeowners, and approval of the report and recommendations was carried.
In speaking with MidlandToday, Kaitlin Corp representative and director of business development Devon Daniell at Lanarose Midland Ltd. stated that they were working with the town to complete the requirements.
“We are working with Midland to finalize the documents and development agreement which will allow registration of the plan,” wrote Daniell. He noted that the overarching first recommendation as well as the finalizing eighth recommendation were not in effect as of yet.
Campbell added that on approval of the staff recommendations, Kaitlin and the town were working on the finalization of the legal agreement for the subdivision.
“In general,” wrote Campbell, “after the agreement execution then the developer needs to register the (master plan) with the Land Registry Office so that the individual blocks and lots can be sold/transferred to the owners of Block 27. The town also has to complete the normal occupancy inspection for the Block 27 units as per the Building Code.”
The 137-page Bayport Development Phase 2 development registration report, along with full background and detailed information, can be found in the special committee of the whole agenda on the Town of Midland website.
Council meetings are held every third Wednesday, and can be attended virtually through Zoom by contacting the clerk’s department of Midland town hall 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.
