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Council rescinds lot levy delay policy An impassioned plea by Coun cillor Joe Hewitt Monday couldnt stop his colleagues from rescin ding a Halton Hills policy allowing apartment developers to bold off paying lot levies for up to six ths Councillors scrapped the policy first put in place two years ago when develqpers of the Sands con dominium units asked for the of lot levies Lot levies are a per unit charge must pay to the town to fund services for new develop ment They are charged by the household or by the apartment unit The levies were increased moderately last week at the reco of a consultant It was the second time in as many weeks Coun Hewitt argued favor of retaining the deferral policy Last week at the towns general committee meeting coun cillors voted 76 to rescind the policy That vote was duplicated Monday Allowing developers to defer paying lot levies would help some developers who are short of funds to get the building started said Hewitt They would have a few extra months to collect the first advance mortgage payments he said residential oc cupancy has got to be the biggest windfall for the town said Hewitt And apartments and con dominium units heavily tax the towns services because of their confined location he said The deferral policy wouldnt ap ply to every multiunit developer but would give the town ftexibili ty for those who need it said Coun Hewitt If we dont have this flexibility then well just be administrators rubber stamping things Mayor Miller disagreed Hills has some of the lowest lot levies in southern Ontario be said And when the town doesnt receive lot levies on time tax payers have to start paying for new development he said Joe Hewitt I think we should stay in the drivers seat I think we should run this town not negotiate with developers Town treasurer Ray King said most municipaUtt in Ontario charge lot levies when the building permits are issued And the issue had dealt with because that recommendation was made In the consultants report he said As well its impossible to relate services such as new Ore stations or recreation facilities to one specific development such as a condominium he said With new growth those facilities are needed and its impossible to point a finger at one aspect of new growth and say the new services are needed because of that development be said In fact some services are often in place before new development is complete he added OPEN 10 10 DAILY EASTERN AVE Florists DID YOU GORGET VALENTINES DAY ITS NEVER TOO LATE netr ends CENTRE Guelph St Georgetown SATURDAY FEBRUARY 18 1989 PAGES Theyre all heart David Hope and Kerrie Fleming were crowned King and Queen of the winter carnival at George Kennedy Public School last week David and Kerrie are French Immersion students who ate the ineky cupcakes to win the title as carnival king and queen Herald photo Homeowners await conclusions By BRIAN MacLEOD Herald Help from Halton Region doesnt appear imminent for over 100 anx ious people who are afraid of losing their newly purchased homes in Halton Hills Village planning and public works committee decided Wednes day not to allow Homes register three parcels of land containing homes on the west side of Mountainview Road The decision leaves people who nave purchased homes wondering if the subdivision will be registered before the deadline runs out at the end of February making the deals void In January Bruce Hayward a Georgetown resident who had sold his home to purchase a house in Hills Village asked the town to step in and help save people from losing their new homes Since then Homes spokesman Danny Salvatore said six people have opted out of their offers to purchase houses Homes purchased the lots on the west side of Moun- tainview Road from the developer Hills Village Homes brook began selling houses in the summer In the late fall Halton Hills Village Homes changed the phasing of the lots for the second time with the permission of Hills council Because of water ser vicing limitations Hills Village Homes is allowed to build a total of homes The rephasing in the fall switched most of the houses to be serviced from the west side of the road to the east side Now only 93 homes on the west side can be registered and built But people have purchased homes The bouses sold were spread among three parcels of land ac tually on the west Side of the road Fernbrook wanted the Region to allow registration of all three parcels containing homes so everyone who has purchased a house would be eligible to have their homes built The S3 who actually got the homes would be decided later But Halton has said no to that plan Regional planner Rash Mohammed said that idea means homes would be built scattered throughout the subdivisions and that is bad planning And once the plans are registered the builder could con sell the remaining houses and the new homeowners could force Halton to issue building per mits through the courts Since the homes were sold last year the price of houses has gone up by more than Mr Mohammed says People who have purchased homes are afraid they will have to pay the inflated cost of housing if all the deals have to be renegotiated And Mr Salvatote is worried that Halton Hills Village Homes could actually cancel the deal which allows to pur chase the 237 lots That would ter minate the deals with all 108 new homeowners Mr Salvatore said he of water servicing restraints until November after homes were sold And had recently sub mitted plans to build the bouses in clusters of 25 or homes throughout the three parcels of land so that no houses would be scattered throughout the subdivi herald Mr Salvatore said Fernbrook could absorb increased construc tion costs which have occurred over the year but not the in creased cost of land the firm would have to pay if the deal between and Hills Village Homes runs out in February wants Fernbrook to redesign the subdivision so that on ly 93 bouses can be registered and built If doesnt allow registra of all three plans Fernbrook will have to build the and 50- ravine lots first because they were sold first said Mr Those lots with houses are more expensive than the 30ft and ft lots many of which have been sold he said Those homeowners who have purchased the and 40ft lots t be expected to trade their lots for the bigger lots and pay the in crease in price be said Allowing the clusters as Fern brook has suggested would allow homes to be built on a variety of lot sizes he said At Halton on Wednesday Regional Chairman Pete Pomeroy said the problem has nothing to do with Halton Region It appears to me the town of Halton Hills council referred the issue to Regional council just because it was too difficult to deal with at home he said We Region were inno cent- bystanders and we were swept up m this thing Hills Coun Marilyn Ser urged tier colleagues to allow Fernbrook to register the three parcels of land even if it is bad planning In the end what difference does it make she said If we have to do an inap propriate design of the subdivi sion to help out then why wojildnt we do it she asked Were trying hard to commodate them said commit tee chairman Pat McLaughlin I dont believe we are Serjeantson shot back Mr Salvatore said Thursday he was not told of a pending decision at Wednesdays planning and public works committee meeting He plans to appear before Regional council on Wednesday to explain the concept of building the homes in clusters a African union CORNER OF ST HO S GEORGETOWN INK Ml RESERVE FOR GREEK NIGHT SLFb2Slh THIS WEEK BROILED Bigger