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BEST AVAILABLE COPY the HERALD Wednesday October Opinion Notification policy needed for Site Plan committee One of the biggest issues for neophyte political candidates during the local municipal election campaign is public access to Town councillors and staff Most of these candidates are saying current councillors and staff havent properly consulted the public before making decisions Comparatively current council members counter by saying they go beyond the legal requirements to ensure the public has an op portunity to comment on proposals before councillors make a decision Whos right Im sure people could point to examples supporting the positions of both sides Assuming for a second the initial charge is correct it therefore follows that Council and its staff have failed to either establish or adequately com municate Town policies defining how and when the public can par ticipate in the decision making process For example I recently learned the Town Council sub committee Site Plan Committee doesnt have a formal public notification policy Site Plan Committee deals with development applications once they have been initially approved by Town Council Site Plan Committee members consider issues such as the appropriate height of a building and what type of landscaping is necessary for a particular develop ment The committees purpose is to en sure a development project com plements the surrounding area as much as possible During a recent interview Town Planner Andrew Colley said under the provincial Planning Act Town Bens Banter by Ben staff ib in no way obligated to notify any members of the public when a development application is scheduled to go before a Site Plan Committee meeting However in the name of public involvement staff sometimes notifies members of the public about an upcoming Site Plan Com mittee meeting In one instance members of the public will be notified about an ap plication going before a Site Plan Committee meeting if committee members decide to defer the item to another date Its generally acknowledged however a develop ment application is only deferred if residents attend the initial meeting to express concern over the ap plication Understandably this sequence of events rarely happens because its by chance rather than by Town notification that people find out about the original meeting In another instance residents neighboring a proposed develop ment will be notified when the item is scheduled to go before a Site Plan Committee meeting if the Town planner determines the project is controversial Its not top difficult to realize this process leaves staff members open to the possible criticism that they favor developers if the planner chooses not to notify the public about an application going before Site Plan Staff was expected to go before Site Plan Committee yesterday Tuesday to get clarification on the committees notification policy Results of the meeting were unavailable at press time It would be a step in the right direction if Site Plan Committee members established a formal notification policy However to only take action now shows Town council and its Site Plan Committee are weak in the leadership department Lack of direction is Canadas main problem Not so many years ago there was afloat in Canada a general consensus about what we were and a general idea of where we intended logo Some of those ideas might well have been wrong but they did pro vide us with a genera framework within which to operate I am not in any way or form implying that things were perfect just making the point that while once we had a sense of direction we are now like a without a compass or if we want to be modern without a The result is that in large and small issues we feel a rather justified sense of vertigo of lack of balance We have been used for over years to seeing the world as a stage for the conflict between Communism and what we liked to call the Free World There is hardly any com munism left the little still around has become rather meaningless and certainly too dangerous But the old view of the world had the beauty of position We knew there was something called class warfare whatever that mean Now we have what Nationalism was another powerful prop It was our Coun try right or wrong now we see the resurgence of tnbal warfare in Europe and something very similar to it in Canada Racial consciousness was another useful bit of information The were the best the rest was going in descending order- Now even to claim some racial sense of superiority is unacceptable We could go on pointing to the many even if sil ly certainties replaced by a world of fluidity But just look at the last two examples On one hand we see the resurgence of a sense ol tribalism which can hardly be without a racist content On the other hand Another View by Carlo Testa we see the desire the need to join forces in some kind tional structure eg the Com mon Market the North American Free Trade zone the new Japanese area of coprosperity Can we be good members of the tribe and good members of the supranational entity Can we be Quebecers Canadians and North American Potentially we can practically we bump into difficulties of split loyalties and massive intellectual confusion On the small scale ve are plagued by the same of lack of direction Children can nowadays leave I heir home and receive welfare from the state But the state does nothing to instill discipline and a code of their wards Peer pressure peers law becomes the only prop for the young Workers expect to be paid and so do their employers for poorly performed work The wage has become a due not a reward Local governments are com pletely lost in the rough currents of new development and conser vation And even within the con servation tribe there is great con fusion about hat is good and what is bad A simple test does anybody know if more pollution is created by herbicides and pesticides or by cultivating six times per season the same field When the battle for the economic independence of Canada or for a made in Canada constitution was joined we had some guidelines The new made in constitutional proposal docs not offer any clear image of the end result We are just told it is good for us As can uncertainty contradictions are with us from the macro to the micro all of this compounded by a terrific rate of technological change It is hardly surprising that we feel lost we are lost years there have been at tempts to find new parameters new guidelines new values We have so far failed Desperate peo ple have resorted to the sense of belonging offered by sects cults or looked for solace in drugs physical and intellectual ones It is not surprising many ot the proposals presented to us by our political masters leave us rather sceptical As the saying goes it is difficult to go there 1 we do not know where there is Peoples Forum Highrise threat continues according to R AI DD spokesman Dear Editor Re Maple Avenue Threat Continues The efforts of speculator Frank to build condominium apartments on Maple Avenue resumed October The firms he has hired to smooth way for the scheme held an open house at Park School to meet public and pre sent their findings Update evening was a study in the techniques of divide and con quer The findings of the com panies wen presented on a number of display boards each showing a small portion of the picture is much easier to can dy coat the plans if the sugar is applied to small pieces when the pieces do not accurately represent the available information The board titled Generalized Zoning Map for example showed only wo types of residential zoning low density and densi ty It completely ignored the ac tual zoning of Ihe area which in cludes four separate residenlal designations R2 R3 and R4 Nor did the map mention that the scheme will requin a zoning change from R4 The rather innocent Utile traf fic study map showed the peak hour flows along Maple Avenue and came with verbal conclu sion from the presenter thai these flows appeared to be levels and that levels were considered acceptable There was no menl ion of who found these levels acceptable nor of the fact that the study was completed in Ihe lasl week of August When this information came out it was admitted lhat this might not been he most representative week and correction factors would have to be applied to the data The information on the visual impact map indicated thai the visibility would be minimal from mm directions It was only Thanks from seniors To the Editor 1 have been asked much to my pleasure to express to you and to the staff at the Herald the ap preciation of the Georgetown and District Seniors Association for your interest and generous time and space to our association Most recently I would like to single out the very significant event of the Blue Springs Region Golf Tournament We feel that both you and your publica tions played a significant role preceding and on the day of the tournament The direct interest and sponsorship of the Herald is very much appreciated As you know Ihe proceeds exceeded our most imaginative expectations It is events such as this the recognition and interest of the community and the continuing assistance we receive from you that encourages us in our objec tive of Seniors Centres in Halton Hills Sincerely Ross Bethel VicePresident Georgetown and District Seniors Association under close questioning that the consultant admitted thai the data on the map applied to lines of sight to the propely in general and not to any specific size or location of a building on the three lots In question When asked Ihe number of an nouncements which were mailed out Ihe public the ing the consultants admitted that over 300 were sent Inform ing 300 of the or so households in Hills docs not represent a fair sampling of community The consultants an wrong if they plan to use the turnout as an argument lhat this scheme is only a local issue and that local people need be concerned If this spot reonmg is allowed lo occur a precedent will be set and any speculator who assemble a parcel of land anywhere in Hills will find it much easier to have the land rezoned hi suit his purposes rcgnrdtesn of the- of neighborhood and community The callous disregard of Mr and his consultants for nature of Georgetown and the surrounding neighborhood came to fore when Mr Don May of the consulting firm May Pirie and Associates stood before a large gathering of Ihose in atten dance and announced to one and all that the reason why Parkview Blvd deadends the way it does is to allow access for future development of the Fair Grounds Sincerely yours Ken Thorn Chair Maple Avenue Group RAI DD Region needs new committee Dear Sir Our Regional Government has three standing committees which operate largely in Isolation of one another Only one person the nonelected Chairman serves on all three committees and has full Information regarding Issues before the Regional Council This Is a heavy responsibility There is no political body to monitor the health of the Corporation to direct advise and assist the Chairman to provide a stronger voice In the management of the Corporation to be involved in priority setting direction and control as opposed to ad ministration of the Region A body of this kind to focus on policy development and manage ment was recommended by con sultants Hickling and Johnson for Halton about 10 years ago No ac tion has been taken by suc ceeding Councils The Regions very capable on the other hand heads a very able team or ad ministrators They meet on a regular basis on administrative and management issues Questions need hardly be asked regarding the relative impacts of the Councillors and of the bureaucrats More pointedly are the elected representatives of the Halton taxpayers really in charge A Board of Control or Ex ecutive Committee has not been favored by Halton Regional Councillors Reactions to the pro posal reflect a fear thai a group of Councillors might gain undue influence and do not reflect on the Job be done Recently an in dependent study of ad ministrative practices in Essex County has resulted in the forma tion of a central committee something quite here A recommendation has been advanced in Halton to form a committee of the Regional Chair man together with the Chair and ViceChair of the three standing committees seven members If any one of our four municipalities is not represented then Coun cillors from that municipality might name one of their members to serve as an addi tional member The duties of the committee would be carefully defined and agreed upon by the Coanct a a whole The member- ship would change from year to year Only a few Councillors have grasped the importance of this Ratepayers may now heard from In the weeks ahead at All Candidates Meetings For your consideration Respectfully submitted John Graham Regional Councillor Ward Write as a letter The Herald wants to hear from you If you have an opinion you want to express or a comment to make send us a letter or drop by the office Our address is Guelph St Georgetown L7G 3Z6 All letters must be signed Please indicate your address and telephone number for verification The Herald reserves the right to edit tetters due to space limitations