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Whitby Freo Press, Wednusdiay, April 28, 1993, Page 27 Canadian Tire dealer attacks council uport of warehouse plan Smth By Mfike Kowalski Town council's support of two gant netail warehouses proposed or south Wbitby bas cerne under attack. Local Canadian Tire dealer Gordon Giicbist bas accused council cf perjpetrating a cm plete snow j ob" in itsbgacking cf the Price Club and Alkenhead's deveiopment. Giicbrist dlaims information used te, defend counci's support for the projeet may not ho accurate and that further scru- tin4yof tbe proposai is required. But wbetber Giicbrist's con- cerns are beeded depends on wbat happons at today's (Wed- nesday) D urbarn Regien council meeting. Council was te censider a recemmendation frorn its plan- ning committee that an officiai p Ian amendment application from Invar Industrial Ltd. te, permit the warebouses be appro- yod (see separlite stony). Gilchrist. president cf the Canadian Tire store in Oshawa's Midtewn Mail, disputes figures used in projecting tbe impact cf the bulk merchandising outiets on existing businesses in Dur- ham Region. He aise challenges assertions b y Whitby and Durham officiais that the warebouses wili pay taxes on an equivalent basis te othen commercial properties in town, once the proposed site's zoning is changed. Prier to outlining bis neasons for opposing the Invar applica- tion, Gichrist stressed that bis objections are net hased on a fear cf increased competition. H1e said a survey of 2,000 people conducted by Canadian Tire in west Toronto found that nine per cent feit Canadian Tire bas lower prices than Aiken- bead's. "I'm net worried about Price Club and Aikenhead's, L'il fi~ht ths gy easiiy. In fact, I kind of welcome it," said Gilchrist. However, ho insists that there be a "level playing f"ield" for al concerncd. Gilchrist and other iÉrea Cana- dian Tire deaiers dlaim that Price Club and Aikenhead's wiii pay less taxes than commercial outiets of a similar size. For example, the Whitby Canadian Tire store paid slightly more than $103,000 in property and business taxes in 1992. But if the 32,594-sq- ft. store was expanded te tbe size of the combined 242,O00-'>q. ft. Price Club-Aikenhead's buildings, its taxes would br. approximately $816,000, Gilchrist said. This is far more than wbat the Town estimates the warebouses wiii pay in taxes basod on the property's current industrial zon- ing, he noted. Commi*ttee recommends plan FROM PAGE 1 Regon planning staff sufficiently addressed concerns wbichg prompted postponement of a voeo on the matter two weeks earlier. The majority agreed with Whitby councilýor ',jie Drumm and Mayor Toim Ed ards that Durham wiii benefit from the buik mercharndising stores and that existing businesses wili net unduiy sufer from the increased competitioli. "It's needed hadiy. Wo noed the jobs, wo need thoe assess- ment," said Drumm, in urging suportfortheproject. 'f pont1brth whore else (other than Durham) it wouid be turnod down," he said. Whiie Edwards said ho could net support the proposai, if ho beiieved any local business wouid suifer. "I wouldn't support the appli- cation if I feit in any way an existing business wouid bc 50, debilitated tbey couldn't sur- vive," ho said. But Edwands' and Drumm's comments notwitbstanding, the matter was again expecte d te ho a subject of fierce dehate at today's council meeting. As of iast Thursday, at least three deputations had been scbe- duled te address counicil on the controversiai issue. Altbougb preposed more than a year ago, opposition te the warebouses bas mounted in rocont weeks. Last month Wbitby council approved rezoning and offliciai pi lan ameadment applications from Invar for 22 acres cf vacant land on the north side cf Victoria Street. If supported by regionai coun- cil, this wiil allow Invar.te buiid two $5.5-miliion facilities which would bouse the Price Club and Aikenbead's -- two unreaited wholesale/retail/warehousing operatietis. The Price Club is an Amnen- can-owned chain wbicb dees net caten te the generai public but operates on a restricted memben- shbip basis. About 55 per cent of its sales corne from food, witb the romain- der coming from non-food and department store-type mer- chandise. Aikenbead's, owned hy The Maison Companies, is a building supplies and gardon centre geared te both censumors and professional contractons. About 540 fuli-time jobs are expected te ho created by the stores, wbich wiii bave a prejec- ted cornbined sales of $135 mil- lion in the flrst yenrcf operation. While studios prepar4ad.Ïm;â5Up' ---------------------5 port cf Invar's application con- tend the impact on local business will ho minimal, many area mer- chants disagree, claiming any new jobs will ho off-set from jobs lest at existing stores. This issue, among others, prornpted cemrittoe te ask for an additional staff report on the proposai. Accerding te the report, plan- ning staff are satisfied witb an independentanalysis of ..Invar's marketing studios which was commissioned by the Town cf Wbitby. (Except fer suggesting that more information was needed about the food component of the Price Club, the Town's indepen- dent analysis generaily suppor- ted the Invar studios.) Aise in dispute, was a dlaimi tbat Price Club and Aikenhead's will receive an unfair tax advan- taàg fromn being located in an in dustrial area rathen than on conmerci aily-zoned property. But officiaIs from Whitby, Dur- bam, and the provincial assess- ment office ail say the stores wiii pay a commercial tax rate once the zoning is changed. Diamond, however, argued tbat net ail information was before the committee. She said lettons of objection fnorn a local Canadian Tire.dea- ion and an A&P groceny store reuired a response. hi us fwe can't answer thiqus tiens we sbouidn't bhovoting," said biamond. "I don't understand wby some- thing tbat's been around for two years bas te go tbrough like a freigbt train,» she said. "Someone bas witten neason- chie lettons, asking reasonable questions, it's incumbent upon us te answen." l3ut Durham Regien chair Gary Henrema said information the merchants were seeking was wbat led committee te defen the application two weeks ago. 'ý)e'vo spent the past couple weeks trying te, answer these q uestions," said Herrema adding th'at one letter bad only heen received the day before. In arguing for the proposai, Drummn rend fromn a Toronto newspaper story whicb quoted a Canadian Tire executive as stat- ing tbat bis company and Aiken- head's cater te a diffrent ciien- tele and that the executive was net cencerned about Aikenhead's. "t does net affect Canadian Tire, tbey will do business,» saîd Dzumm. soe wrbuts uThesestrs.(aeoe) ge customers better prictrs and selection,' it bebooves t bis council te look at these type cf tiiusinesses,»be said. Herrema agroed witb Drumrn that project oppoents may ho iosing sigbt cf the public's feel- ins abut buik stores. 'Tepeople who are buying the randie are paying a lot of attention te this, sai d Her- rema. "I know it wili have an impact iocally, but that's the prie of doing business nowadays," ho said. "Are there some negatives? Yes, but the people cf Dàrham sec the positives,"I-Ierrerna con- tinued. "This is the merchandising of the nineties and we'd btter get on board and support it, rath or than see it go te somo other community," ho added. Altbougb net a comrittee member, Edwards was aiiowed te express his opinion on the subject. Edwards said bis support for the proposaI was ciinched wben ho learned that iast yoar, Dur- bamn residents spont $3.7 million at Price Club and Aikenhead's stores lecated outside the region. -He said this money shouid ho spent locally rather than in another community. HISTORICAL FEATUIHE in the Whitby Free Press 1. What Governers-General et Canada visited the Whitby Psychiatric Hospital? 2.Which Whitby buildings are bujit entirely et Kingston imestone? 3.Where are the only coppor beech trees in Whitby? 4.What Whitby sporting figures made the town world-famnous and when? Answers on Page 35 This teature provided by L..Ad.tactJG.wu...A... G.Itr Whitby treasurer AI Claring- bold told The Free Press that according to information the Town bas received to, date, the warehouses will pay a projected $454,018 in taxes annually. Claringbold said these figures were calculated on the Victoria Street site's existing zoning, but once a commercial rate is applied, the taxes will increase to some degree. However, the warehouses will be taxed at a commercial rate based on how much spaoe is set aside for retail purposes and this angers Gilchrist. Hie said the stores dlaimi to be warebouses, but that more than 70 per cent of their floor spaoe will be devoted te retail. "We stili don't know what it wili be,» he said, 'They shouid stop waffling and give us a deFiniteanswer.' Gilcbrist also criticized the findings of an independent eva- luation of the marketing studios prepared in support of t he ware- h ouse proposai.4 He said authors of a 'peer review' report commissioned by the Town of Whitbýy did not contact any business which might be aected by eitber the Price Club or Aikenhoad's. "We don't know a single person who was consulted. You'd think somiebody with a similar busi- ness would ho contacted," said Gilchrist. The report cited b y Gilchrist was prepared by M.M. Dillon Ltd. and Roaity flsearch Group Ltd. The Dillon -firm is aise in the process of, conducting Whitby's official plan review. While it is generally suppor- tive of the studios submitted with Invar's application, the report docs question certain aspects, specifically the food com- ponent portion of the Price Club store. As a resuit, Whitby council bas put a freoze on that part of the proposai until further details about its impact on local grocery stores are obtained. Peter Smith of Dillon explained that the peer review was not intendod to obtain imput in the manner suggested by Gilchrist. "We reviewed the submission of the applicant, that's what a peer roview 'is, ail about," said SPRING 295x50SR15 TA .............. $133.00 275x60S R15 T.A............$12200 255x60SR15 T.A...............$11200 24Sx60SR15T-A .............. $10900 235x60SR1 5TA .............. $10500 215x65SR1 5T............... $ 95.00 215x6OSR14T-..............S 215x7OSRI 4 TA .............$ 92.00 94.00 He said tho studies submitted by Invar were te have doter- mined the impact on area, stores such as Canadian Tire, net the peer review. uWO wouldn't necessarily do directly wbat he's suggesting,» said Smith. Smith's côxnments notwith- standing, Gilchrist said thero are many exampies of conflicting in- formation contnined in the vani- eus studies connected with the application. 'We're saying this is a cern- plete snow job by Whitby council and its planning department,» said Giicbrist. "If Whitby's net going te ho taken te the cleaners on this they shoud be getting their facts strai ght." A former Progressive Conser- vative Member of Panliamrrent from Scarboreugb, Gilcbrist said he bas "ne use for politicians.» (Ironicai1y, Beb Jarvis, a mem- broth aw firmn repnesenting Invar, is aise a fermer Tory MgP and caucus colleague of Gilcbr- ist.) Wbile be dees not forsee major diff icultips for his store, Jarvis said many smalier merchants in Whitby will be burt by the ware- bouses. "If you were a councilior in Wbitby and you tbought that your constituent was about te close down bis business or fire one person, wby would you vote for tbis?"be asked. "It's inconceivabie to me that politicians could prostitute them- selves tbe wny those people did. They'ie doing a disservice te small business p copie.» Councilior Joe Drumm, a member cf Durbam's planning committee, maintains tbat Price Club and Aikonhead's will be taxed accordingly. Ho referred te a letter from regionai assessmnt commis- sioner Merv Bowen tbat once the zoning is changed, it wiii be assessed at rates similar te other commerciaiiy zoned iand in Wbitby. "It wiil be rezoned from indus- trial, it will be a level piaying field," said Drumm. "The taxation will ho the same ...I'm net geing te buy wbat Canadian Tire or anyone olso says,» hoe added. CHECK-UP TIME!. unURUYALT1RE9 SALE UNIROYAL TIGERPAW 200 AIL SEASON WHITE 155xe0R13 ............$4900 175X80R13 ............$5400 105XO80R13 ............$5700 185x75R1t4 ............6000 195x75R14 ............$6300 205ex75Rl4...........$»*e6600 2e5X75R15 ............$6800 215X75Rl5 ............ $72.00 225x75Rl5 ............ $700 235x75Rl5 ............$8300 NO C HA RG E! USED TIRES from $20.OO 4 ea oa azrdootcono INSTALLED AND BALANCED BF GODR H & Dealer For Uniroyal, 13FGoodrich, BF GODR CHMîchelin, Dunlop & Goodyear. UNIR YAL IRETires may not be exactly as ilustraied. Dundas Si. HmXmenrres . Warren Rd.ai [FCosurrei O. We are now your Durham Region BFGoodr-ich Racing Headquarters --- - - - - - - 1 1 mi