County of Brant Council received information in regards to a proposed subdivision plan for 71 townhouse units in Paris during its regular Council meeting on Tuesday, July 8, 2025.
The concept plan for the proposed development consists of 71 two-storey townhouse dwellings within a Common Element Condominium, a public park on the northeast side of the lot, and a new private street network.
Each townhouse is planned to have a private rear yard, an attached one-car garage and private driveway. As well, 35 visitor parking spaces and seven barrier-free spaces will be provided on site.
The subject lands are located on the east side of Paris, on the north side of West River Road (to later be renamed as Bendemere Road).
The 5.9 acre lot currently consists of a single detached dwelling, which is to be demolished in the future, as well as a plantation of trees on the northeast side of the lot.
“The lands are currently designated as ‘Community Corridor’ within the County’s Official Plan [OP], as well as ‘Natural Heritage System.’ West River Road is designated in the OP as a residential collector road so it does fit within the context of the Community Corridor designation, which permits a variety of developments, such as low, mid and high rise developments [as well as] mixed uses, institutional and office uses,” said Ryan Cummins, a County Planner. “To note, it is located within the urban settlement area of Paris, and as many are aware, there is a natural heritage feature on site; the intent of that designation is to identify and protect lands identified as environmentally significant, as well as woodlands, watercourses and hazard lands.”
Jennifer Gaudet, an MHBC Planning associate representing the developer, told Council that the developer was looking to have the lands rezoned from Residential Singles – Special Exception (R1-58) to Residential Multiple Low Density (RM1) with site-specific exceptions to allow for increased lot coverage and increased maximum driveway widths. As well, the developer was looking to have the plantation area zoned as Open Space Zone (OS1) for the public park.
“There was a plantation established in the early 1990s in the northeast corner of the site by a previous owner,” she said. “…That is designated Natural Heritage right now and it’s got black walnut, red oak and basswood trees, and it’s a little sparse.”
Gaudet noted that various studies have already been completed including: a planning justification report, noise feasibility study, functional servicing and stormwater management report, stage one and two archaeological assessment, a transportation impact study and parking study, as well as an environmental impact study, arborist report, and tree preservation plan.
The MHBC associate also said that there is a Draft Plan of Subdivision currently proposed, and the applications for the site plan approval, draft plan of condominium (common element) and part lot control, will come at a later date.
Following the presentations, Laura Ruuska-MacKay, who lives nearby the proposed development, asked Council to consider turning down the overall plan.
“This will unnecessarily put a great deal of pressure on the already stressed infrastructure in the town of Paris, especially in the north end, and the development would negatively affect the flow of traffic, noise, safety and character of our neighbourhood.”
Ruuska-MacKay then expressed her concern in regards to the credibility of one of the studies that have been done in preparation for the development.
The resident said that 50 years ago, the previous owner of the property was provided seedlings to cover approximately 1.7 acres of the northeast corner of the subject property with the stipulation that the resulting woodland could never be touched, not even to remove a dead tree or underbrush.
“At the end of March 2023, early in the morning, I was drawn to noise coming from 73 West River Road. …It was a large crew attacking the forest on the subject land with chain saws, tractors, trucks and skid steers. They worked quickly, and by that evening, all that was left was a section of sparse, large trees and a forest floor bereft of anything but black muck,” said Ruuska-MacKay. “…They had annihilated every other species of plant life and at the same time, destroyed the habitat and sanctuary of numerous species of mammals, birds, insects, amphibians and reptiles; it was basically an ecological disaster. …This clearing happened at the end of March 2023 before nesting season, and surprisingly, the environmental impact study began evaluating the area on May 10, 2023.”
“…It became clear to me, once I started reading the justification report and the environmental impact study submitted by the developer, that the developer or somebody connected to it, went into the woodland and cleared the forest prior to the assessment in an attempt to skew that environmental impact study,” she continued. “…This created a misleading baseline that downplays the ecosystem’s significance and supports the narrative that this woodland is, in fact, not significant and can therefore be cleared and turned into a subdivision. Best practice guidelines for the environmental impact study make it clear that baseline conditions must reflect the undisturbed site so that the study can accurately measure the ecological significance of the area. Any pre-study disturbance undermines the credibility of the process.”
Ruuska-MacKay went on to say that while she understands the need for housing, development needs to be done in a way that makes sense.
Throughout the rest of the public meeting, there were other concerns regarding the lack of roads, bridges, traffic infrastructure and schools.
Following various questions from Council to the representatives, the Council later voted to unanimously accept the report and presentations as information.
