15 Jan 770 Brookfield Road Soil Remediation Work and Upcoming Tree Removal
On July 10, 2019 City Council approved a Zoning Bylaw Amendment for the property at 770 Brookfield Road. The zoning permits the development of approximately 830 units marketed to post-secondary student housing. The proposed buildings will range in height from three to nine storeys. The site will be constructed in two phases. There is a significant setback of a minimum 20m from the nearest residential property lines of the homes along Egan Road and part of Hobson Road at the south end of the proposed development site.
On December 11, 2019 City Council approved a Brownfield Grant Application for the property at 770 Brookfield Road, a grant administered under the Brownfield Redevelopment Community Improvement Plan Program. Brownfields are properties where past actions have resulted in environmental contamination and/or derelict or deteriorated buildings. They may be vacant, abandoned or underutilized. The properties are usually, but not exclusively, former industrial or commercial properties. A Phase I and II Environmental Site Assessment was prepared by the applicant in October of 2017. The assessment identified the fill material at the subject site exceeding the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change (MOECC) of Ontario standards. The site qualifies as an eligible brownfield priority area.
The soil remediation activities are expected to start shortly and will be completed within the next six to twelve months.
The remedial action plan consists of a generic, full-depth approach which will involve an excavation to depths up to 3 metres or more below grade to remove all impacted soil within the boundaries of the site. Impacted soil and contaminated debris will be placed in trucks and hauled to an approved waste disposal facility. Non-impacted soil material will be placed in trucks and hauled off-site for possible reuse or disposal as clean material. Once the soil remediation program has been completed, confirmatory base samples will be collected for analytical testing. Throughout the excavation phase, groundwater control will be achieved using a mobile groundwater treatment unit. Impacted groundwater encountered during construction will be treated and removed off-site. Samples will be collected from the groundwater treatment system prior to discharging to the sanitary sewer system.
Further to the soil remediation work, there will also be a number of trees removed from the property. A tree permit has been granted for the development. Eighty new trees of species better suited to the developed site will be planted.