A plan to build a new elementary school has led city councillors to designate the property at 29 Meadowvale Rd. as a site plan control area on Feb. 9.
The land near Meadowvale Road and Lawrence Avenue was originally designated to become a subdivision consisting of 16 family homes under a separate developer, but has since been purchased by the Conseil Scolaire de District Catholique Centre-Sud for the purpose of building a school.
“The property has just been purchased and they still have to submit an application to the city,” said Calum MacMillan, assistant to Ward 44 councillor Ron Moeser. “Residents won’t see construction begin for another six months to a year, depending on how fast the application is processed.”
The site plan review and the approval process the construction application must undergo “to ensure that the urban environment is developed in a convenient, safe, efficient, and aesthetically pleasing manner,” according to a letter to a community association from Moeser’s office.
The site plan will deal with the positioning of the new school, as well as the buffers between the building and the homes there now, said MacMillan. Other factors taken into consideration are building design, storm water management, servicing of the property and transportation operations, including bus drop-off and pickup areas.
In a letter from his office, Moeser said he is particularly concerned with the footprint of the building and wants to save as many of the trees in the area as possible.
He said he will request a public consultation meeting once the application is made.