MOUNT FOREST – Two new retail spaces are officially coming to the No Frills plaza on Main Street.
Approved at a Wellington North council meeting Monday afternoon, developer CP Reit Ontario Properties Limited has been permitted to construct two new retail units on a vacant south portion of 504 Main St. N. in Mount Forest totalling over 2,000 square metres. The existing No Frills, gas bar and parking lot will remain.
The development will provide 311 parking spaces, 15 of those accessible, for most of the year. This will be reduced to 281 from May to August to accommodate a seasonal garden centre.
No additional comments were provided about the application at the meeting.
While concerns about traffic on Sligo Road, light pollution and buffering were raised about the development during a public meeting last October, county planning staff said they agree with a Traffic Impact Study (TIS) for the area that indicates no issues "at this stage."
The TIS will be reviewed again during the site plan approval stage to ensure the proposed Sligo Road access meets municipal standards.
Staff went on to say that enhanced buffering is planned along the property line to minimize any light spillover onto neighbouring properties.
A photometric plan will be required at the site plan approval stage to ensure the development adheres to the township's zoning bylaw and municipal standards that mandate all exterior lighting be dark-sky compliant, focused on the development site and not intruding on surrounding properties.
Isabel Buckmaster is the Local Journalism Initiative reporter for GuelphToday. LJI is a federally-funded program.
