Residents in Tecumseh will have another chance to weigh in on a proposed commercial development. A second public meeting will be held on Tuesday regarding the development at the corner of Manning Road and County Road 42. The proposed 6.47-acre development includes a hotel, retail and commercial space, and two drive-thru restaurants. The proposal first went to council last August, which saw residents raise a number of concerns about traffic, privacy, noise, lighting, and height of the hotel. The developer has since revised the plans to address the concerns, including reducing the hotel height from five storeys to four and moving it closer to County Road 42 - away from the established neighbourhood. Four proposed drive-thru’s have been reduced to two drive-thru’s and moved closer to Manning Road. The commercial building will now be in an L-shaped formation to act as a buffer between the homes and the rest of the development. Deputy mayor Joe Bachetti says it’s important to hear from the residents again following the changes made. “I’m looking forward to hearing from the residents at this upcoming second public meeting on the revised application and to see if their concerns were adequately addressed. So this is a second public meeting. The original application came to council last August. And so there have been some changes that administration and the applicant have done, so they’re going to be presenting this to council at our upcoming meeting.” He says a number of changes were made by the developer to address the concerns raised. “It was a five-storey hotel initially, and now they’re reducing it, bringing forward that it’s going to be four-storeys. The commercial buildings, those have been moved around, some of the drive-thru restaurants have been moved closer to Manning Road, the hotel is closer to County Road 42. And the commercial building abutting the properties is more like an L-shape.” Bachetti says residents who still have concerns about the development are encouraged to attend the meeting. “Since the province removed third-party appeal rights, these planning decisions rest on municipal council. So I feel it’s important that we listen and be the voices for the residents. But at the same time, we need to respect the application in front of us to make that informed decision. So I encourage those affected by this rezoning to come out and voice their concerns.” While the land is already designated for commercial use, a zoning amendment is still required before the project can move forward. The meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, July 28, at 5 p.m. Council will then receive a final report and make a decision on the rezoning application at the August 11 meeting.
