Development projects in Clarenville need more supervision.
That's the contention of local resident Cam Greening, who says blasting operations in a subdivision at the end of Huntley Drive created problems.
According to Greening, during blasting operations at Katherine Estates last month, large boulders rolled over an embankment at the edge of the development and toward his property.
It came to rest on a stretch of land between Greening and Katherine Estates, a subdivision being developed by Shoal Investments.
Kevin King is president of Shoal Investments. The Packet made several requests for an interview but Mr. King declined comment.
According to Greening, the town council was not even aware the blasting operations were going on.
And it wasn't until he took the issue to council that the large boulder was removed.
It's not just the blasting that perturbs Greening.
The long-time resident of Shoal Harbour says due to the way Katherine Estates has been developed, the elevation of the land is much higher than surrounding land.
"Katherine Estates was suppose to connect with Glenview Estates by a collector road, but . . . . due to very little supervision from the town, elevation checks were not done during construction and the development ended up 40 to 60 feet higher than it was suppose to be," Greening says.
"That was a beautiful piece of land, but it's built up 40 to 60 feet higher than the original property was.
"It was a nice hiking area," Greening continues. "We've got pictures of moose in our backyard, but we haven't seen a moose since this has been ongoing."
The walking trail used to be used by local residents - adults and children - also runs through the area where the development is taking place.
Greening says these issues could have been prevented if the town had paid closer attention during the development of Katherine Estates.
He would like to see the council be more diligent in the monitoring of developments in the town.
Bob Hiscock, Clarenville's chief administrative officer, says when local residents raised complaints at the beginning of the summer regarding the Katherine Estates development, the town investigated and found that all work was being done within the boundaries of the land owned by the developer.
That was a beautiful piece of land, but it's built up 40 to 60 feet higher than the original property was. - Cam Greening, on the development of Katherine Estates
He said the town has received no recent complaints.
As for Greening's contention that the elevation of the land at Katherine Estates will make it impossible to build a road to connect from the subdivision to Glenview Estates, Hiscock said, "It's not impossible, it can be done and that connection will be made, eventually."
The construction of the collector road, he added, will "depend in large part on what takes place further on Huntley Drive, how soon the remaining area develops and how much development takes place."
Hiscock said when the current town plan was developed, the planners felt the road network was sufficient for just one exit for Katherine - through the existing Huntley Drive. However, further development would require an additional exit - on Glenview - and the town is currently working to find a suitable way to continue with that development.
"Ideally, there should be a second exit coming out of Katherine Estates; not only for emergency, but it is a matter of safety," said Hiscock.
The CAO added all the costs associated with connecting Katherine to Glenview will be covered by the developer.
Public works chair and deputy mayor Frazer Russell acknowledged some issues were recently raised with regard to development of Katherine Estates, but said he would prefer to comment on the issue once the town knows how it will address the development concerns.
"One of the issues up there obviously related to our desire to have a road go through there," said Russell.
The town's public works committee and town planners plan to meet soon to discuss these and other issues.
"There are three of four other issues tied in there. I would rather leave it until then because I think the planner will provide us with some concrete advice."
Russell agreed to an interview with the Packet after those meetings are held.
