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THE NEW TANNERTHURSDAY, APRIL 12, 2018 9THE NEW TANNER THURSDAY, APRIL 12, 20188 ROCKWOODTh e Miller OMB Prehearing heralds new season of fundraising for CRC Guelph / Eramosa CounCil Chips By: Vivien Fleisher In Guelph/Eramosa Council Chambers last Thursday, the drama con- tinued unabated for the proposed Hidden Quarry. What started as an appli- cation in 2012 by James Dick Construction Ltd. (JDCL) for rezoning and a license to extract aggre- gate from below the water table has morphed into an epic battle full of twists and turns, starting with JDCL's decision to ap- peal to the OMB. If JDCL did not grasp the depth and sincerity of local op- position to the quarry six years ago, it surely does now. Thursday's prehear- ing kicked the can down the road yet again to May 21 2019, contrary to their lawyer's repeated appeal to outgoing OMB chair Stephen Stefanko for a hearing "as soon as pos- sible." With the OMB now disbanded, and the Land Planning Appeal Tribunal (LPAT) in its place, cases like Hidden Quarry are tangled up in the overlap between an old and new body--The burden on municipalities in disputes such as this in part precipitated the change. Because it was in the queue before this, Hid- den Quarry is processed under old rules. However, a backlog of cases filed in the lead up to the change means Hidden Quarry has to jostle for time with many others. Eight consecutive weeks are allotted for the hearing, which must accommodate many lawyers and muni- cipal elections this fall to boot. The original hearing in October 2016 was de- railed by a technicality: the township had repealed and replaced its entire set of bylaws, forcing JDCL to reapply, while sub- jecting their application to new rules at the Coun- ty level. Additionally, the GRCA--which had previously stated no ob- jections-- requested more time to study the situation. A lot can change in a few years. To that end, the non-prof- it Concerned Residents Coalition (CRC)--which sprang up in 2013 in re- sponse to the proposed quarry--launched what will be the final leg of their battle to fight it with a meet-and-greet at DJ's Diner in Rockwood two days later. With their 3D model of the Sixth-line site on display, members were on hand answer questions, and get the fundraising machine fired up in the hopes of getting as many citizens on board as pos- sible. With an already hefty legal bill to contend with, they still need to raise in the thousands of dollars, given their lawyer has been on idle at times as the lumbering OMB pro- cess slotted the case into a packed schedule. CRC President Doug Tripp acknowledged the dubi- ous advantage of getting more time to fundraise, while soliciting sugges- tions from the crowd for the best ideas for how to go about it. Three Public Meetings. No. 1: Development Charges "Growth must pay for growth" is the premise of de- velopment charges (DC's), which are a one-time fee charged to developers for residential and non-residen- tial development, in order to pay for future infrastructure needs resulting from that growth. Guelph/Eramosa last changed their DC's in October 2013, which are set to expire this October. They retained Watson and Associ- ates to incorporate changes to the process resulting from Bill 73, the "Smart Growth for our Commun- ities Act" passed in 2015, which was drafted to: help municipalities fund growth; give residents a stronger voice; make things more transparent/predictable/ac- countable; etc. Monday's public meeting was part of the mandatory process ahead of the bylaw's adop- tion on May 22 and received zero public input. No. 2: Building Permit Fees The second public meet- ing, regarding changes to building permit fees, fol- lowed a Feb. 21 draft report and also received zero public input. Watson was retained for this review as well, having concluded in 2008 that the Town would need to raise fees to cov- er--among other things--a built-in reserve to "mitigate the impacts of any future economic downturns on operations." The latest up- dates were described by Mayor White as "kind of a historic change. We used to hire outside consultants to do building inspections but a number of years ago brought it in-house...to be self-funding...we're one more step toward the ultim- ate goal of a 100 per cent funded, fully-reserved de- partment," and since deck fees actually went down-- marginally--he finished with the quip that it was "nice to see decks (fees) going down. Decks will be going in all over the place." No. 3: All of the Lands in Guelph/Eramosa The th i rd mee t ing was a "housekeeping amendment"which con- cerned all lands in the township via accessory second units in eight differ- ent zones from agricultural (A) to highway commer- cial (C4). Under the current bylaw, second units are confined to the primary dwelling. The new bylaw will allow them in ancil- lary buildings, such as over garages, etc., with a list of criteria to be met. However, Mayor White emphasized that such units cannot be- come second houses, as enforced by three main rules: the unit may not be severed; it must be located within the main building cluster; and, it must be screened or buffered to the Town's satisfaction. In Village Commercial (C1) and Village Service Com- mercial (C2), the number of units over a main-floor commercial space is based on square footage, mean- ing that the limit is not on the number of units, but the number of units that can be built based on a maximum square footage. Residents Rosemary and Lucas Coombs praised the rural residential (RR) by- law, saying it fit perfectly with their plan to live with their children and grand- children when they retired. They were overjoyed at the separation the new bylaw would allow "so we don't drive our kids nuts in the future by living in the same house with them." with Vivien Fleisher Sandra Littler: "I'm a bit of a food hoarder, so I guess I'm going to say some really nice beef. A beautiful roast, the stuff you look at and go '$45!'" Jonathan Hernandez: "New brake pads. That would take up $50. I'd save the other 50." Richard Latour: "If it were a million dollars, I'd have a better answer. But with a hundred dollars, I'd buy some fishing gear." Marion DeSouza: "A gas card. I drive a lot." You've just been given $100 and told to spend it solely on yourself. What are you going to buy? WORD IN THE VILLAGE Joe Gabriele of DJ's Diner hosted the CRC's meet and greet. The public was invited to come and ask questions in the wake of the recently rescheduled OMB hearing, set for May 2019. Jennifer, Henry, David and Simon Brink tuck into a hearty "all-you-can-eat" pancake breakfast at Rockmosa Sunday morning. Hosted by the Rockwood Lions Club, the annual event raises funds for community projects. - Vivien Fleisher photo