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COLOR TV YEAH WARflAHTY OH PUTS JUG LABOUR AUTOMATE COLOR WALNUT FMStt MitlWie assr I rill SECTION Wednesday March IBtM Page TOWN OF Halton Hills POPULATION Lack of subsidized units The sleepy town Hills I exp erienced massive the pail ten years laity when comparing ourselves to Brampton end Milton However the construct ion slowdown has given us a chance to pause and reflect on what people wont to see In terms growth here Opinions vary on housing needs By CHRIS Herald Staff There isnt any short age of opinion about what kind of housing Hills badly needs All kinds the experts say housing to match a broad range of family incomes Within Georgetowns newly expanded urban boundaries whole new areas are destined to become residential industrial and commer neighborhoods Through a secondary planning process guide lines will determine where certain types certain densities of housing can be located We need a good mix of housing across the community Hills Colin Mike Arm strong said some thing which solves the needs of younger and middle income families The vicepresident one local real estate company said that most of the housing demands in Hills is for homes below 100 000 Nice homes in the to range people really need Dan of Fobcrts- said Housing he added should also reflect changes in socie ty OLDLR There arc more older single professionals and single parent families round people who want smaller homes Mr commen ted Its a social Issue which Is not being addressed Hills is suffering from an acute shortage of apartments In region Form task force to aid development says chamber head Herald Staff The Georgetown Chamber of Commerce president would like to see town council the chamber and citizens form a joint task force to tackle economic expansion In town Thats Dave opinion on how to attract more growth to Georgetown I think council has to throw the goal out to the community and sell them on the idea of Increased growth Councillors often find themselves distracted by Issues that arise from week to week but long range planning to attract development would be beneficial he says Businesses would like Georgetown to KENTNER gently arrive at over the next 10 years he said The town will want I avoid big growth he maintains to know about It new development and care We dont want to upset the small town balance- 1 think thats in every ones mind Georgetown needs an industrial base he says but finding the avail able land is the problem A joint task force to look solely at the em of development would enable the town to come up with a goal and a game plan he says After the BIG Cele bration Business in Georgetown is comple ted the Chamber will have more time to work on individual projects he says If new stores are to town it will mean residents wont have to travel to other areas for items they need he says That means the dollars will stay in Georgetown and benefit the he says DAN was presented with a report on the conversion of apartments Into condominiums It notes that a vacancy rate of lower than the three per cent guideline suggested by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp In Hills there ii about one per cent of all rental on unoccupied which means a tough search tor people looking for an apartment Rent controls have been blamed forcurbing new apartment develop ment But Albert tender who wants to build an apartment development on Road north of Georgetowns downtown area points out that rent controls dont apply to new build ings RISK As a developer he believes his apartment project to be a better financial risk than single family homes at least while the economy recovers But some families have no other way of affording homes except government assistance There arc only IB subsidized Family homes in Acton and none in George- There are also 131 subsidized senior apartments in Georgetown and units In Aclon administered by the Housing No extra charges for new development Wgh rises A thorny The waiting Jist to get into family housing In linlton continues to grow Authority manager Ann Gabriel laid The Herald The turn over for family housing is small Mrs Gabriel said People could be on list for years Some people drop from the list she said and the actual need for subsidized housing may be greater than the list indicates NOV PROFIT Few developers have been inclined build non profit housing pro jects as a means of providing affordable housing for low to middle income families However Hills first cooperative housing development The Milts Cooperative was last year as the second stage of the River Run develop In the coop system residents buy into Ihe cooperative and hen pay a monthly fee for their homes They share the upkeep or the devel and they gel their initial co op membership charge back when they move out ideal location for condominium those he believes would welcome more condominiums are older couples who want to give up the respon of tending gar dens yet still have space for their lure and memorabilia While the lown is excited about the possi bilities for growth in Ilollon Hills Its not looking for the suburban sprawl which surrounds Toronto said By CHRIS Herald Staff Regional council Is determined that its not going to raise money by Imposing extra charges en new industrial commercial develop ment Last week council Steered away from proposal study how capital contributions from industrial land developers would help pay for such regional responsibilities as social services and policing Many councillors eared that the study would be the foot In the door to reintroduce capital contributions They were scrapped by council last year amid warnings develop ers that the extra charges discourage industries from locating in Helton Had they been endor sed by council the con would have been the first of their kind in province That developer Bill Robertson told loat weeks council meeting would prompt Industrial and commercial deve lopers fo locate In communities where they would pay fewer municipal charges Councillors favoring the capital contributions argue that the costs of new development either residential or industrlalcommerctal shouldnt be borne by existing ratepayers Talk of the conlnbu lions particularly concern councillors in and Hills The competition among municipalities for new industry Is intense they maintain without being burdened with discour aging extra develop ment charges Just to give you an Idea of what are up against regional chairman Pete Pome- roy said there- are acres industrial commercial land in the region of where there are no capital contributions Mr Robertson commented that while there are indications of a recovery There arc very few high rises now in Hills and Mayor Miller foresee many more being built Therell be more single family homes constructed in the town for the population growth the mayor anlicipotcs Georgetowns unique now because we dont have large multiple dwellings In one area but throughout the town Mayor Miller said 50 per cent rented At least half of oil farm land to leeut say the president of the Halton federation of hire James of RR2 Georgetown says 50 per cent of local turn land is leased now Hecnilcdil a very high percentage and hed like to wo more of th land owned by the who farm it With rented lands you dont have continui ty of support in main tenance Its hut like the difference between and renting ft car Mr said Interest rates have been too high to encourage farm land ownership he said Real estate values of farm lund have been declining Mr said Fighting red tape Planners explain the lengthy but necessary application stage By CUIUS AAGAARD Herald Staff Planners call it pro cess developers refer loit as red tape The steps involved in getting a development project built are One developer speak at a regional housing conference last year referred to the proce dure as a Man maze and called for changes to speed things up developments to take two years or more to move from the formal application stage a final subdivision agree ment with the town and Meanwhile op en soy they incur the carrying charges of holding on to the land- thc interest rates and land taxes they must pay while they wait or permission build Delays in getting developments approved t entirely the fault of the system planners point out PROPOSALS There are proposals in town that have been approved for years but haven been built possibly because inter est rales were tap high and the housing demand too low It not a straight forward processs Hills deputy planner Bruce MacLcan told The Herald Were a municipality with sewer and water eon strain Is There arc problems with hooking new systems lo old system of pipes We have be sure for one thing that the old system can accommodate new Before a developer draft plan of subdivision Is approved he has to provide the town with assurances that his development wont adversely affect neighbors The will be affected by adding home how the drainage from rain will away from the development and which show that there Is quote capacity in sew age plant ind water supply the project COMMENTS If needed to amend the town regions official plaas are mode to the respective planning offices ind then for comments Zoning amendments ore made to the town first Municipal depart like public works police and recreation as well as vat ion Authorities are among the IS to agencies which comment on the cations When the comments arc submitted town planners prepare a report for council re commending a public meeting Responses arc usually made In 30 Official plan amend ments once approved by the region and lown sent for final appro val to the provincial ministry housing and municipal affairs lug are endorsed by the Ontario Municipal Board Concerns about an amendment application the process as outstanding questions are researched and answered by the developer or municipal staff When the official plan and zoning approvals arc secured the developer submits a draft plan of subdivision the region The region then sends it to the own for comments and publ ic meetings arc held to gather the views of neighbors and other residents ADVICE On the advice of its staff council decides approve or not approve Ihe draft plan If it concurs with the staff report and the studies carried out by the developer council agrees that the town region and the develop should move to next step a subdivision agreement If the developer has the money to begin the housing he applies for his building 1N000 Decisions of the OMB may however be appealed to the Cabinet JUDICIAL The OMB is a body and the proceedings are similar lo those of a court of law The gallery rises when the one or is many as three enters propo nents and opponents call their own expert wit Georgetowns population growth 18811983 Georgetowns growth is documented in the graph above The town has experienced many rapid expansion periods but the last ten years have been very slow Source tittles Canada and are general- permits The develop ment can go ahead any lime weather permit ing after Thats the process in lis simplest unlnter rupted form But objections from the region the lown even adjacent Inn down era and other develop ers can come almost at any time If they re not resolved through negotiations at the municipal level then usually the final arbitrator is the Ontario Municipal Board more known as the ly represented by law yers Testimony is sworn in and the evidence given is understood to be truthful Maps and documents used by both sides of he case are entered as exhibits If the process frustrates developers municipalities are fru strated with developers who fall to build once they have secured all the approvals Sewage treatment capacity is commuted to Ihem Mr MacLean explained Delays extra money frustrate developers By CHRIS Herald Staff Developers point to twotier regional town planning as a source of the delay In gelling projects approved Joe a deve toper who wants to build town houses and double- link semi detached homes between John Street and River Drive Road has been waiting six years to build The town recently endorsed a vision agreement with him and when The Herald talked to him a couple of weeks ago he was still waiting to here from region It discourages me a bit Mr said This is a wonderful own to live In But lo develop something takes a long time In Peel region local municipal I lies arc given more control over planning matters Mr said it took only six months lo have a project he was working on Brampton approv ed It costs a forlunc lo get approvals Mr Rossett said If were not careful well price ourselves out of the market The politicians say put the costs on the price or the house Well its not nice to do that cither Wc want to build houses for people that they can afford plus make a little profit for us The absence of region planning does help speed the process up Guelph planner Mario Vcndlttl said Two years ago he moved from the lop post in the Hills planning department to run Guclphs planning office tries to get the approval process done in six months he said The final approvals are handled by the province To help avoid stumbling blocks to development works with developers and to get Ihelr comments as part of a report which Is present to city council Hills he pointed out is also hindered by the sewage capacity problem in Georgetown and the sewage and water problem In Acton Without these constraints is able handle large- scale housing projects Its In the larger developments George town lawyer Bert Arnold commented the policies of Ihe towns official plan can best be realized The development trend today he said is towards projects which highlight a neighbor hood Identity rather than sprawling masses of roads Theres more thought given to housing projects now Mr Arnold commented pointing out town poll or parks fitness trails and housing mix lures By planning develop ment on a large scale the official plan can ensure the aesthetics of living which it is supposed to support Mr Arnold said he feels the policy of in fill located smaller housing projects on vacant chunks or land in the old Georgetown urban area Is for a large share of public resistance lo development Youre doing some thing In the middle of their neighborhood and they don know what it will bring he said Whats needed Insleact Is orderly expansion Large scale expansi on should involve the public beyond the public meetings and council sessions which discuss the proposal Mr Arnold said Educating public would help clear up some of the concerns people have about large- scale growth he added High time good rural planning was done Herald Staff It high lime here was some good rural planning done the mayor for Hills said I hate to see the rural community cut up too badly but I guess thats a sacrifice we have to make Theyre not making any more land Mayor Ituss Miller said referring to town growth Ihat infringes on the rural area A rural resident himself the mayor said It was unfortunate the number of farms that have been destroyed In Halton Hills but you cant plan relroac lively he said Ive always been viewed as a person opposed to growth Mayor Miller said Im not opposed growth I like lo sec good growth not skelter growth He said hes opposed rural because of the destruction or agricultural land Themnyor objects to people who say weve got to have growth and it doesnt matter what kind It is