NEWS EDITORIALApril 14, 2008 60 Sweetnam I am very disappointed that we were unable to secure a planner to take on this file. The residents and community are being denied an opportunity to present their case to a legislative body, and Council is being denied its right to defend its decision. On April 2, I held a meeting in the community with legal staff to explain this situation to the Granite Ridge community. Since a planner could not be found, legal staff brought a report to Planning and Environment Committee on April 9 and City Council on April 10 advising that legal services could not find a planner to support the City Council decision to refuse this development. As a result, the City is left without a defence team and will not be able to fight the zoning request at the Ontario Municipal Board. However, the City can still work on the site plan issues with the developer. I feel this case may set a precedent for the council process to be compromised, since every planner can now control Council by refusing to take on a file. The major issue in this situation is the City's Official Plan and how it defines infill and compatibility. Currently, the definitions of infill and compatibility are very vague and left to individual interpretation. Therefore, when the Official Plan is being reviewed, I will urge City Staff to provide clear definitions for these terms so as not to allow for broad latitude of interpretation on the part of the developer. Concrete guidelines for intensification within urban, suburban and rural boundaries are a must, and will certainly be raised during the Official Plan review. Please be assured that I have done everything in my ability to reject this proposal. I will continue to do absolutely everything I can to ensure the Official Plan is respected, and the wishes of our community are respected. Thank you.
Sincerely, [ close window ] |