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Downtown growth could be hurt by new commercial areas By Mike Kowalski Extensive commercialization of the Brock St.-Taunton Rd. inter- section will jeopardize downtown Whitby, Town council was war- ned Monday. Designating the area as a site for commercial activity will not only hurt existing businesses but will hinder future development in the downtown core, said coun- cillor Don Mitchell. But despite Mitchell's warning council endorsed a proposai which could lead to intensified commercial development in the Brock-Taunton area. Council approved a recommen- dation from its planning and development committee to adopt a consultant's report which addresses Whitby's future com- mercial requirements. The 'Commercial and Central Area Strategy,' prepared by M.M. Dillon Ltd., will be incor- porated into Whitby's official plan review. (An official plan is a document which specifies land use policies in a municipality. Whitby is in the process of updating its exist- ing plan.) According to the Dillon report, Whitby will need an additional 3.01 million sq. ft. of commercial floor space by the year 2011. Deducting pending applica- tions, designated development commitments and vacant lands, there is 1.6 million sq. ft. of floor space remaining to be assigned by 2011, the report states. Although the report makes several recommendations to meet this need, Mitchell focussed on two proposals: * Designating Brock-Taunton as a major commercial area with 400,000 sq. ft. of floor space; * Permitting.up to 150,000 sq. ft. of commercial floor space in Brooklin, outside the hamlet's downtown area. Mitchell said both recommen- dations are inconsistent with council's previous positions on Brooklin and the downtown. "If we want to see both down- towns become the places we want them to become this is not the way to go," he sai s . Noting that the report assigns only an additionall150,000 sq. ft. to the downtown's existing 830,000 sq. ft., Mitchell said developers will opt for the Brock- Taunton area. "This is where new develop- ment will go. Once we establish it at Brock and Taunton it will draw it away from the down- town,"he said. "If you want mall-type of deve- lopment this is the strategy to adopt...this is a tried and proven way of seeing your downtown diminished.» As for Brooklin, Mitchell objec- ted to the report identifying the hamlet as one of three areas, along with Taunton-Thickson Rd. and west Whitby, as suited for 'community commercial' develop- ment. This type of development would primarily serve residential areas and range in size between 2.5-6 ha. within a range of 75,000-150,000 sq. ft. of floor space, the report states. "This is three times the size of the existing allocation for Brook- lin (45,000 sq. ft.)" said Mitchell. "It will be a tool for future developers to use for compmercial activity away from the down- town." Planning director Bob Short said council will be able to speci- fically define where commercial activity occurs through the secondary plan stage. But Short said Brooklin's "fragmented" downtown area places limits on where develop- ment can take place. "As Brooklin grows this council will have to realize that it will have to look at other commercial SEE PAGE 2 Some businesses question need for dowItoWnBIA By Mike Kowalski A revolt may be brewing in the ranks of Whitby's Downtown Business Improvement Area (DBIA). Despite pla::s for less spending in 1993, some members are ques- tioning the wisdom of keeping the 15-year-old DBIA. Critics say the DBIA is in urgent need of a major overhaul of its mandate or perhaps scrap- ping it altogether. But proponents argue that Whitby benefits from the DBIA and they dismiss the criticism as the grumblings of a few chronic complainers. Last - week about 30 people attended the DBIA annual meet- inhey aproved a $155,974 budgetf 993 which is 11 per cent less than last year's $175,894 bud'et. Although he supports the lower figure, David Meadwell of Vick Insurance said the DBIA management board had little choice but to cut spending. "They reduced overal expenses by11 per cent but they don't realize that a lot of businesses are hurting," said Meadwell. "What you have to pay on top of your taxes is probably the straw that breaks the camel's back for a lot of businesses," he said. Formed in 1978 after a bylaw was passed by Town council, the DBI has about 400 members. It was established to boost downtown businesses through a variety of means such as improv- ing the appearance of buildings and promotional campaigns to attract shoppers. Centered at the intersection of Dundas and Brock streets, the DBIA geographic area juts and jags through the downtown as far north as Walnut St., east to Hickory St., south to Ontario St. and west to High St. The DBIA is operated by a management board appointed by Town council and consisting of merchants and business people based in the downtown. Harassment Caim by school opera tors page 2 Membership is mandatory. Members are assessed a special levy which is paid in addition to their property taxes. The levy listed as 'locals' on the tax bil, is based on such factors as square footage, park- ing area and general tax assess- ment. Meadwell is one of an apparently rrowing number of members wo wonder whether SEE PAGE 5 Puddle jumper PUDDLE JUMP designer Jim Petty was the first to test his course Saturday at Dagmar Ski Resort's 'Spring Splash.' The idea was to skim across the water to the other side without getting soaked, a task that Petty, and most other contestants, failed to do in a most spectacular way. Photo by Mark Reesor, Whitby Free Press Fuil-time university programming a t Durham CoRegein fal Beginning in SeptenIber 1993, full-time university programming will be available in Durham Region, at Durham College's campus in Oshawa. The first program will be a bachelor of arts and will be delivered and credentialed by Trent University. It will be scheduled mostly in the evemings and weekends - although several day-time courses may also be possible. This initiative builds on the success of another initiative, DATE' (the Durham Alliance for Training and Education), a partnership of Trent, Ryerson, York and Durham College. This year, 2,400 students have enrolled in university programming at Durham College all part-time; Monday's announcement fxtends this neludeul-time. Only eea oe ultm tdnswl eal ob accommodated this fall as the program gets started. The local work to date to get full-time university programming has been done by a community committee, under chair Gary Polonsky, president of Durham College. 1