Ashton Homes has purchased…

To Whom it May Concern

This email is submitted on behalf of Ashton Homes Ashton Homes (Western) Ltd. (herein referred to as Ashton Homes) to request a re-designation of their lands in the adopted Official Plan.

Ashton Homes own lands located in the Town of Fort Erie to the west of Thompson Road, south of the QEW. The lands do not have a municipal address but are identified legally with as PINs 64236-406 (LT), 64236-0407(LT), and 64236-408 (LT), and legally described as PLAN 59R-11938; PART OF LOTS 1 AND 2, CONCESSION 3, TOWN OF FORT ERIE, REGIONAL MUNICIPALITY OF NIAGARA. A property map of the Ashton land holdings is located in Appendix I of the attached letter. The subject lands are approximately 16.2 hectares, with frontage onto Thompson Road.

The subject lands are designated in the adopted Official Plan as Commercial. Ashton Homes have a proposed Mixed-Use development on the subject lands, with both Commercial and Residential (Appendix II).

In support of a re-designation request, a Commercial Market Study by Urban Metrics was submitted in support of Ashton's request. The Commercial Market Study considers the size and composition of commercial activity in Fort Erie, in addition to future commercial land development opportunities within the Town, and an analysis over a 20-to-25-year planning horizon. The report concludes that there is not a public benefit to retaining the entirety of these lands for long-term commercial planning. The report concludes that the proposed Concept Plan by Ashton Homes is consistent with commercial growth prospects in Fort Erie.

Based upon the attached Commercial Market Study prepared by Urban Metrics (Appendix III), it is requested that the land use designation on Ashton Homes' lands be amended to align with Ashton’s proposed development plan, and which would result in a reduction to the amount of land designated Commercial and the introduction of a Community Area designation on that portion of the lands that are not needed for commercial purposes. This request is consistent with the proposed Official Plan update and is evidence-based, thereby reflecting sound planning practice.