In an Oct. 23 letter sent to the city, Paul M. DeMelo, of Kagan Shastri, informed city officials that more than 180 days have passed since the developer submitted his application to the city and council has failed to make a decision on the development. Under the revised Planning Act, a municipality must deal with a planning application within a 180-day window.

“In short it is our submission that the proposed development and associated zoning bylaw amendment and application for plan of subdivision approval represent good planning and should be approved at this time,” wrote Mr. DeMelo.

Stoney Creek councillor Brad Clark stated during the economic development and planning meeting earlier this month that he had misgivings over the proposal. Although he was not opposed to the development, it raised a few problems. One issue was the developers did not have a peer-reviewed landfill assessment completed and before council, which Mr. Clark found necessary since the development will be in the same area as the Newalta Hamilton Landfill site.

“I do have concerns if the development happens faster than expected,” said Mr. Clark, who represents the area where the development is being proposed. “The landfill is operating a business.”

The planning committee passed a recommendation to delay approving the development until more studies are done, including the landfill assessment.

The Newalta Hamilton Landfill is scheduled to close in 2019 and could create problems for residents, said Mr. Clark, which Newalta officials have also stated.

Mr. Clark lives about 1.5 kilometres away and says can smell odours from the landfill if it gets a particularly pungent truckload of waste.

The landfill’s community liaison committee has also raised concerns about locating a residential development near an active landfill site.

In the proposed subdivision agreement, the owner would be required to submit a landfill impact assessment, which covers landfill-generated gases, ground and surface water, odour litter, dust, visual impact, noise and surface runoff.

Mr. Clark also raised the potential problem of the townhouses being located in the sightlines of the Hamilton Teleport satellite dishes. Mark Giavedoni, a lawyer with Evans Philp, representing Juch-Tech, said there could be a potential safety problem with residents living near dishes.

He said a study for radiated power emissions on the satellites needed to be completed before the development should be built.

The proposed development plan on 57.8 acres of land along Green Mountain Road and First Road West, identified as the Nash Nieghbourhood, involves constructing 129 street townhouses, 204 single detached units and 90 maisonette units. The area includes 370 hectares of land, which encompasses the former West Quarry Landfill site that was transformed into the Heritage Green Community Park, the East Quarry Landfill site, farmland, the Niagara Escarpment and environmentally sensitive areas.

The development conforms to the Nash Neighbourhood Secondary Plan, which was approved in September 2006, said city planning staff. The document established land uses, a traffic network, community facilities, development standards, the protection of existing natural features.

Paul Moore of Armstrong Hunter and Associates, representing Empire Communities, stated the development won’t have an impact on the satellite company’s dishes.

It is not clear when construction would begin on the development if the city approved the zoning bylaw amendment and draft plan subdivision.

Mr. Clark has stated the development can’t begin until the city installs water and sewer infrastructure. The money for the project is in the city’s 2010 capital plan.