Cambridge council holds special meeting on controversial Blair warehouse project

Cambridge council held a special meeting Tuesday night to discuss the controversial one million-square-foot warehouse project in the village of Blair.

The public weighed in on a pair of reports that council needed to sign off on before construction on the MZO-driven project could begin.

Residents from Blair, meanwhile, were also sounding the alarm about the timing of Tuesday's meeting.

They said they only found out about it last week, and discussions around a Heritage Impact Assessment and Transportation Study weren't expected until June.

"As late as yesterday, the developer posted new information which resulted in our community having limited time to review and research," said delegate Tim Armstrong.

Despite the short notice, more than 60 delegates signed up to address council.

"A concrete monstrosity, an utter disappointment in my view," said delegate Ryan Tremblay. "It is huge. It is literally going to engulf our village and it is going to be the sole focus point for our great village."

Recommendations in front of council include multiple traffic calming measures and road changes to handle the large number of trucs expected each day.

"The amount of truck bays and overall size of this building is honestly terrifying," said delegate Julie Hacking.

The changes announced by the developers include modifying some plans for roads, parking spaces, landscaping, and noise walls that are promise to submit in a revised site plan.

"Number one, there is no roundabout or signals now proposed at Dickie Settlement and Old Mill Road," said Chris Pidgeon, the principal planner of GSP Group. "We'll be making a third submission to the City of Cambridge next week."

A city consultant says they're satisfied with the heritage impact of demolishing structures and altering the properties on the site to make way for the warehouse.

"In my estmation, they addressed the issues that I raised and satisfied them," said Leah Wallace of the Heritage and Land Use Planning Services.

The Blair area's status as a heritage conservation district is still proving a point of contention.

"We are very concerned for the terrible precedent this would set, putting every heritage property in Cambridge in jeopardy," said Karen Scott Booth of Cambridge's Architectural Conservancy of Ontario. 

Residents have been outspoken in their opposition to the development.

Last week Cambridge MPP Belinda Karahalios brought up the issue during question period at Queen's Park.

But Steve Clark, the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, said if residents had a problem they could bring it up at the council meeting.

"This is what I'm going to see as I enter into my formerly great community," said Tremblay. "This giant concrete, metal and glass eyesore every time I enter our heritage district."

The meeting ended without any debate on a vote. A future meeting to vote on the reports has yet to be scheduled.