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PAGE 4, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 1984, WHITBY PREE PRESS whitby P Voice of the County Town Michael lan Burgess, Publisher • Managing Editor The only Whitby newspaper independently owned and operated by Whitby residents for Whitby residents. lished every Wednesday by M.B.M. Publishing and Photography Inc. Phone 668-6111 The Free Press Building, 31 Brock Street North, P.O. Box 206, Whitby, Ont. MICHAEL KNELL Community Editor Second Class Mail Registration No. 5351 The Bugelli-Fox incident should have been avoided Last Wednesday night's administrative commit- tee meeting was highlighted by an event that this newspaper thought would never happen. A citizen and taxpayer of this municipality was ejected from the meeting by Coun. Joe Bugelli, the chairman of the committee. It was a sad sight. It was an incident that could have and should have been avoided by all sides. Leaving aside the confrontation between Bugelli and Dennis Fox of Kirby Cres., this newspaper would like to make comment on the issue that lead up to the argument. According to Fox and members of the town's planning department, the developer of the Whitby Town Estates subdivision was granted an amen- dment to the landscaping agreement signed bet- ween the town and the builder. This amendment, in effect, allowed the developer to save approximately $123,000 in lan- dscaping costs through a reduction in the tree planting requirements. This is a documented fact. However, it should be pointed out that between the time the original agreement was signed in 1978 and last Wednesday's incident, the town had implemented a landscaping policy designed to set standards for future development. This newspaper can accept Bugelli's argument that the amendment did nothing more than allow the developer to meet the current standards set down by·the municipality. We agree that the original standards set were probably too high and could have resulted in severe maintenance problems for the town. Therefore, it can be accep- ted that the amendment was in the best interests of the municipality as a whole. However, before implementing the amendment, the town should have informed the residents of what was going on. While we agree that negotiations with developers should for the most part remain closed in the best interests of the municipality, we should point out that the original agreement was already in force and that people had already purchased the homes in question. We should also note that the residents of the area had already paid the $123,000 that the town forgave the developer through the purchase price of their homes. And because this money has already been paid out, the town was In effect discussing the disposition of money that was not their's. In this instance, the town should have con- sulted the residents prior to re-opening negotiations with the developer. We agree that behind closed doors is usually the best way to negotiate but in this instance the town could have saved itself a lot of grief if it had sought the input of those homeowners directly affected by their ac- tions. This newspaper has no quarrel with the lan- dscaping policy. It seems to have been well thought out and its implementation seems to have benefitted the municipality. We would also like to say that it would not be out of line for the town to have told the developer, as part.of the negotiated settlement that resulted in the amendment, to return the money to the residents of the subdivision in some form. After all, the money was their's in the first place and when they purchased their homes they expected the agreement to be upheld in full. Therefore, they paid for something they didn't get. We are satisfied that the town took all reasonable steps to ensure that the development met the required standards. We are confident that the parks and boulevards will be equipped and landscaped properly. But a little forethought could have prevented the bad feelings that curren- tly exist between our elected representatives and at least one resident of our community. A letter from Anne's fan in B.C. Dear Citizens of Whitby: I know that you are all great fans and supporters of Anne Ottenbrite. However, I just wanted to let you know that many others across Canada are great supporters too. My husband and I had the great fortune of being able to purchase tickets to attend the Olympie Games to see Anne swim and win a gold and a silver. As a Canadian, I feel honoured that.we were given the op- portunity to watch her and I know we'Il never fully under- stand what commitments she has made in her life for others to enjoy! And...did we enjoy! I'm just sorry we do not know her personally, as I'm sure are many other Canadians. Thank you Anne and USC has gained a very valuable swim team member. I know it will be great for Anne to swim in the pool where she won her medals, however, Canada will miss her. Yours sincerely, Sharon Leveque Winfield, B.C. P.S. For those of you who weren't fortunate enough to be there, I would also like to mention that Anne can sure throw a mean frisbee! PICK A CARP . CAR .#,lii t 'I -.à