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13| The IFP -H alton H ills | T hursday,S eptem ber 13,2018 theifp.ca haltonhills.ca TO HALTON HILLS TAXPAYERS The second instalment of the 2018 Final Tax Bill is due on September 26, 2018. PAYMENT OF TAXES • Payment must be received on or before the due date WHERE? • Service Halton Hills, Town Hall (8:30 - 4:30 Monday to Friday), or • Payments may be left at the Halton Hills Hydro Office (no receipts issued) AFTER HOURS? • Drop Box located next to main entrance of Town Hall available 24 hours HOW? • By CHEQUE or CASH • CHEQUES POST-DATED for the due date or earlier • INTERAC - in person at Town Hall • By TELEPHONE or INTERNET - Check with your bank for further information • PRE-AUTHORIZED PAYMENT PLAN: For details please call the Corporate Services Department at 905-873-2601, ext. 2242 • PLASTIQ.COM third party online credit card provider LATE PAYMENTS? • A late payment charge of 1 ¼ percent will be charged on the first day of each calendar month until taxes are paid FEES? • Returned cheques (NSF) $45.00 Ownership change per property $35.00 Past Due Notice $5.00 (charged automatically to any account with a balance outstanding of $150 or more) NO TAX BILL? • Bills were mailed May 30, 2018. Failure to receive a Tax Bill does not excuse the Owner from responsibility for payment, nor relieve him/her from liability for late payment charges. Please contact the Corporate Services Department if you did not receive yours NEW PROPERTIES? • Newly built properties are likely to have tax bills related to their land value assessment only until full assessment is applied and supplementary taxes are billed. Owners are responsible for taxes billed and should make provisions for the future billing of supplementary taxes SENIOR'S TAX GRANT? • To qualify for the Senior's Tax Grant applicants must be 65 years of age, own and occupy property in the Town of Halton Hills for one year and be in receipt of the Guaranteed Income Supplement. Applications are available from the Corporate Services Department and will automatically be mailed to those who qualified last year NEW - epost SERVICE • At the Town of Halton Hills, we've teamed with epost™ - the safe, secure and free way from Canada Post to receive, manage and store your bills online. Sign up today at epost.ca to receive your Town of Halton Hills property tax bill delivered to your own digital mailbox. Visit our website for more information QUESTIONS? • If you have any questions concerning realty property taxes, call the Corporate Services Department at 905-873-2601, or check our web site at www.haltonhills.ca • For assessment related questions, please call the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation at 1-866-296-6722 or check their web site at www.mpac.ca TAX DUE DATE 100 The Halton Hills com- mittee of adjustment put the kibosh on a marijuana grow-op at Rosetta Street in Georgetown. For approximately a year now, marijuana has been growing inside a rental unit at 1 Rosetta St., an area surrounded by residential units and across the street from the Georgetown GO station. "The neighbourhood is upset," said Pat Morey, a resident living across the street, who spoke at the meeting. "If there hadn't been a complaint, they wouldn't have been noti- fied of the grow-op." Notices went out to res- idents in mid-August no- tifying them that marijua- na was being grown inside one of the rental units at 1 Rosetta St., which is cur- rently an industrial build- ing. The owner of the build- ing, Yaniv Geler, had ap- plied for permission for his renter to continue running the operation. On Aug. 16, Geler told the Independent Free Press that the operation was for personal use only and that the renter had a federal permit for grow- ing. "There's a small grow- er who does it for personal medication," said Geler. "There's no contempla- tion of a marijuana pro- duction facility." The committee of ad- justment was given two options if they approved the facility - one being to permit the "legal noncon- forming use" to an indus- trial use for the period of three years, or to approve a minor variance, which is relief from the zoning bylaw that doesn't permit marijuana production. Planners with the town recommended to the com- mittee that neither option put forward be allowed, because they classify marijuana-growing as an agricultural practice, not industrial. "This is not a legal con- forming use," said town planner Keith Hamilton, explaining that marijua- na production is agricul- tural, and not permitted for the site. "The growing and selling of flowers on this property would not be allowed." Thomas Arnold, a law- yer representing Geler, argued that marijuana production is, in fact, an industrial practice. "There's existing ten- ant on that property that are hydroponically culti- vating marijuana," said Arnold, explaining that the property is zoned for high-density residential development, which is set to begin in about three years as part of the Georgetown GO second- ary plan. He said that in- dustrial uses are permit- ted by that zoning, and that the hydroponics fall under that umbrella. Morey also noted that the odour of marijuana has been incredibly strong at times in the neighbourhood, affecting people who want to sit out on the decks and porches in the evening, as well as employees of neighbour- ing businesses. While the committee of adjustment operates at arm's length from coun- cil; Mayor Rick Bonnette, Coun. Dave Kentner and Coun. Jane Fogal sat in the gallery with the gen- eral public. "Council has been aware; staff is aware of the odours," said Kentner, standing up to speak. After the decision was made, Kentner said he thinks it was the right de- cision, due to the proxim- ity to residential units. As the province rolls out policies on legalizing marijuana, municipali- ties await further infor- mation. The Town of Halton Hills will be debating on whether to allow shops selling marijuana in Hal- ton Hills in the coming months. CANNABIS AND YOU UP IN SMOKE: COMMITTEE NIXES ROSETTA STREET GROW-OP ALEXANDRA HECK aheck@metroland.com Halton Hills planner Keith Hamilton advised the committee of adjustment to deny the application to allow marijuana production at 1 Rosetta Street because cultivating marijuana is an agricultural practise, not industrial, which is what the building's zoning allows for. Alexandra Heck/Metroland SIGN UP FOR OUR WEEKLY NEWSLETTER AT THEIFP.CA