The visionary behind the proposed Pointe Estates subdivision stated his case before an Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) hearing in Sault Ste. Marie Wednesday.
"We didn't want this fight," said Jeff Avery, local contractor and developer, in response to those opposed to his 91-lot subdivision proposal in the city's far west end that, if approved, would be known as Pointe Estates.
Opponents to the proposed development have said they are concerned Pointe Estates would have a detrimental effect on the watershed and wildlife in the area, which is south of Pointe Aux Pins Drive, west of Dalgleish Road, north of Alagash Drive and Pointe Louise Drive.
"This development is a vision my wife (Dr. Patricia Avery) and I have had for many years…very unique for the Sault Ste. Marie area," Avery told the OMB hearing, chaired by Toronto-based Blair Taylor.
Luxurious Pointe Estates homes would be built around a canal that would flow to the St. Marys River and Lake Superior, giving boat-owning residents easy access to those waters for recreational use.
The subdivision would have a facility for boat storage, with boat launches and lifts.
Part of Alagash Drive would have to be excavated to allow for a linking waterway between the Pointe Estates canal and the St. Marys River.
Avery lives near the area.
Avery said people could sell their homes and cottages and consolidate by buying a lot and building a home at Pointe Estates, while still living close to the city and near the Sault Airport.
"There are new professionals we're trying to attract to town," Avery said, adding his wife has been actively involved in physician recruitment efforts.
"We're trying to provide a unique lifestyle (for professionals moving to Pointe Estates)," Avery said.
"What we've dreamed about is to do something for the community to leave as a legacy."
It has been estimated Pointe Estates would have a $100 million economic impact on the region, with over $500,000 annually for the Sault's tax base.
"We've done 24 studies (to ensure Pointe Estates would be ecologically safe)…we're passionate, we're concerned, and we're doing this right," Avery told the hearing.
Avery purchased property in the area in stages between 1984 and 2004.
Opposition to the Pointe Estates proposal from some area residents began after Avery first held a public input session in 2006 and has continued since then, with the support of some engineers and planners.
In July 2013, city council, despite a city staff recommendation to approve the Pointe Estates application, turned it down in a 7-4 recorded vote.
Avery then launched his appeal to the OMB.
While over 20 studies have been carried out for Avery by various engineers and other professionals, a group known as the Pointes Protection Association (PPA), consisting of 27 property owners, many of them on Pointe Louise Drive, has done studies of its own.
The PPA has said Pointe Estates would damage the quantity and quality of the watershed in the area, along with causing harm to the area's wildlife.
Avery is being represented at the OMB hearing by lawyer Orlando Rosa, while the PPA and Peter Gagnon, the group's president, is being represented by lawyer Helen Scott.
Also present at the second day of the hearing Wednesday, and opposed to the Pointe Estates proposal, was Klaas Oswald of the St. Marys River Bi-National Public Advisory Council (or, St. Marys River BPAC).
Avery was cross examined by Scott and Oswald about the effect Pointe Estates would have on wetlands and wildlife.
Oswald asked Avery if he was aware of any other areas of the city where such a development could be constructed, in order to preserve wetlands and wildlife in the Pointe Estates area.
Avery replied the quality of life concept he is trying to promote would best be constructed in the Pointe Estates area as planned.
Avery repeated, throughout cross examination, he has relied on the findings of experts in more than 20 reports compiled over the years to ensure the project proceeds without harming the wetlands or wildlife in the area.
Kristan Washburn, a biologist currently employed at Tulloch Engineering, under cross-examination, said the development would not have an adverse effect on the deer population in the area.
The OMB hearing will continue in city council chambers at the Civic Centre.
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