FALL RIVER: The spokesperson for the developer of the Carr Farm Development confirmed there will be no treated effluent pipe going into Lake Thomas.
In an interview with The Laker News on Nov. 5, Ron Pachal, spokesperson for Vision 7 Developments, confirmed there will be no treated effluent pipe going into Lake Thomas as some community members had been fearing.
In August, officials with the province said with the development change due to density there would be on site septic for the development as well as separate on-site septic for the Northwood Long Term Care home.
Vicki Elliott-Lopez, chair of the executive panel, said at the August press conference the developer took the initiative to go back to the drawing board on the development.
“The developer themselves determined that,” she said. “There were some community concerns about the effluent going into the into the lake, despite the fact that it was going to be treated.
“In order to address those community concerns, he’s gone back and there will be on site septic instead.
“But the larger density wouldn’t allow for that, so the developers gone back to redesign according to that.”
However, some remained skeptical at what the province said, but Pachal wanted the community to hear it from the developer themselves.
Pachal said developer Glenn Clark felt it was necessary to provide some facts after reading numerous inaccurate social media comments.
“We can state categorically that treated effluent will not be going into Lake Thomas,” said Pachal. “Wastewater will be treated on-site with no pipe going to the lake.”
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He answered concerns heard regarding why the development received a Special Planning Area designation.
“The reason for getting designation was to permit two of the multi unit apartment buildings to be replaced with townhouses,” he said. “The HRM bylaw did not permit townhouses to be built on the site.
“This change will provide a wider range of housing options for those 55+. This change will also result in a reduction of approximately 160 units for the project.”
Despite the density change, it does not change the vision of the project, Pachal said.
“It is to create a warm and welcoming community for those 55+,” he said.
“It will allow our seniors who have contributed to this area throughout their lives to stay in the community and in many cases move back.”
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The Municipal Planning Strategy for the Fall River area uses words such as “a senior citizen housing complex,” “urgent need to allow for alternative housing forms,” “urgent needs of seniors who wish to remain in the community” and numerous other similar phrases.
Pachal said those words were written over 10 years ago when the MPS was adopted. In late 2024 there is still no purpose-built seniors housing in the area.
“We have been working on bringing older residents to our site since 2016,” he said. “It has not been easy, and we understand that not everyone is comfortable with change, but we are extremely pleased that the Northwood LTC is moving ahead.”
Pachal said it is Vision 7 Developments hope that construction can start as soon as possible.
“With the Special Planning Area designation we are looking forward to starting the townhouses as soon as permitted,” he said. “The townhouses combined with the two multi unit buildings will help meet the “urgent needs” of seniors in the community.”
Pachal said Vision 7 can be contacted at any time to discuss the project at ron@vision7developments.com.
