Heather Wright/The Independent

Tyler Struckett was surprised to learn a developer plans to start working on a subdivision behind his property this summer.

The Egremont Road resident and his wife, Erin, successfully convinced Plympton-Wyoming Council to appeal a decision blocking the developer from placing entrances on Lakeshore Road for the 275 homes to be built between Egremont and Lakeshore Roads. Council asked the Ontario Land Tribunal to review the matter.

Under the new planning rules passed by the Ford government neighbours can’t appeal themselves.

Last week, the developer was in the neighbourhood and told Erin the plan was moving ahead. The appeal had been dropped in February. Struckett talked to town staff who told him “we’re not going to have access to Lakeshore. The only access will be for a temporary construction access.”

Struckett says Councillor Alex Boughen told him “Everyone’s being superseded by the Ontario Land Tribunal because of Ontario’s push for more housing. So they don’t want any issues. They just want to build.”

The Camlachie man expected the subdivision would move ahead but he says with the rules for planning changed, he feels neighbours have very little say in what happens in their own backyards. 

“If they’re gonna keep trying to develop out around us existing homes, they got to be willing to come and talk with us and try to come to a common ground on these things,” he says of the developers. 

“You just don’t have much input at all anymore. They just want to rubber stamp and move along.”

Struckett says there could have been small things which could have been done to ease concerns without the threat of appealing to the OLT.

As it stands, there will be some improvements to the development plan. The Strucketts were concerned an access road would go right by their home. Now, the plan of subdivision shows homes next to his house instead. And he’s hoping the developer will put up a fence to lessen the impact of construction expected to take five to 10 years.