Some new housing developments are in the works for Dresden.
On Monday night, Chatham-Kent council approved a subdivision draft plan that proposes 20 lots for single-detached dwellings, 16 lots for semi-detached dwellings, and four blocks for semi-detached dwellings.
The proposal involves 11.2-acres of land between Isaac Street and Camden Street. Also included in the proposal is space for parkland and storm water management facilities.
Some deputations from residents read before the discussion raised concerns about an increase in noise during construction.
However, Director of Planning Services Ryan Jacques explained that any construction activity is required to adhere to the municipality's noise bylaw.
"This noise bylaw prohibits construction activities after 11 p.m., before 7 a.m. and on Sundays and statutory holidays," he said.
Jacques, who said the municipality is currently experiencing a record amount of subdivision development, also addressed concerns surrounding an increase in traffic once the subdivision is built.
"This subdivision at 44 new dwellings, would not meet the threshold requiring a traffic impact study to be submitted," he said. "It is assumed that local streets are designed to accommodate the higher volumes of traffic as a result of this subdivision."
Developer Dave Depencier, who has worked on other local development projects including Dresden's Leisure Lane, said he has experience mitigating these kinds of concerns from residents.
"We've had similar concerns and situations where there's one access or where the area hadn't seen any kind of activity like that over the years," said Depencier. "We did our best to keep everything clean, tidy and contained...I fully understand the concerns that surrounding neighbours have."
North Kent councillor Joe Faas also acknowledged the residents' concerns and the impact the project could temporarily have on the surrounding areas. However, he said he believes the long-term positive effect of having a new subdivision outweighs any short-term negative impact and could help attract new people to Chatham-Kent.
"I know that change is scary and that people are afraid of the uncertainties," Faas said. "But, in my opinion, there's a lot of positives to doing this... I know that we're sort of the envy of some communities because we do have the ability to expand and provide housing where other municipalities are struggling to do that."
According to Depencier, if all goes according to plan, homes in the subdivision would start being built by the end of this year and he's hopeful that the project will take between two to three years to complete.
"We're very picky about how things look, that everyone has an investment they can be proud of and making more people want to move to the community," he said. "Potentially, if all goes well, you never know, sometime down the road maybe [we'll expand] further."