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10 - The Oakville Beaver, Friday September 8, 2006 www.oakvillebeaver.com Palm Place high rises down to fine details By Angela Blackburn OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF A Town of Oakville Site Plan Committee meeting on the former Shell House property was deferred on Tuesday to next Wednesday so the public could be better notified. It's very little, very late, but not doing so would be making the same type of mistake that have left many residents disillusioned over the fate of the southwest Oakville lakefront property. Ward 1 Councillor Ralph Robinson asked for deferral of the Site Plan meeting. It will now be held on Wednesday, Sept. 13 at 5 p.m. at Town Hall, 1225 Trafalgar Rd., Oakville Room. Robinson is still stinging from the public perception that the public was not privy to all the facts back in 1999 when a `deal' was reached between a developer and council. The so-called deal became a major focus in a lengthy tion related to the Ontario Municipal former Shell lands Board (OMB) hearnorth of Rebecca ing over the property Street, have been earlier this year. fully satisfied as well The deal was as up to 300 units of claimed to have residential developmeaning by the ment on the lands developer, but south of Lakeshore claimed to represent Boulevard. The Town no legal commitmakes no prior comment by the Town. mitment to residential development The deal was put approvals on the to paper in a letter southerly lands and it from the developer to is understood that the Town in which it Councillor Ralph Robinson New Province Homes was outlined that the developer was handing over more than must go through an application on its required green space in a subdivision these lands under the normal process." While the final OMB decision gave north of Lakeshore Road in exchange for a parkland credit for up to 300 units the Town the option of considering south of Lakeshore Road, pending nor- buying or expropriating the entire property from Palm Place mal development approvals. It stated, "The Town agrees that the Developments, councillors decided the statutory parkland payments or dedica- asking price was too steep with no cash in sight other than hiking taxes. Palm Place Developments is a related company to Metrus Developments and New Province Homes, which built the Lakeshore Woods subdivision north of Lakeshore Road in southwest Oakville. Earlier this summer, the Town settled on the OMB offer to accept half the site, the east portion, at no cost from the developer as a public park, and agree to the development of three, five-to-eight storey, terraced buildings on the west half of the property. Palm Place's site plan documentation calls for 299 units. The OMB battle was a protracted and bitter one. The Bronte Village Residents' Association (BVRA) was formed to fight the Palm Place development. Its founder, Laurie McGinn, personally took holiday time from her fulltime job and represented the BVRA at the OMB hearing alongside legal heavyweights hired to represent the Town and Palm Place. When Robinson believed not enough public notice was given regarding last week's Site Plan meeting, he called for deferral and wider public notification. "Two wrongs don't make a right," said the veteran Ward 1 councillor who admitted it may be only a slim chance that someone could offer something that would be influential at the meeting -- given most of the final site plan authority now rests with the OMB. Broad public notification of site plan is not mandatory under Ontario's Planning Act. Most of the issues to be dealt with have already been part of the OMB hearing. The Site Plan is a chance for the Town to present its position on site plan matters. The site plan recommendation must be back before the OMB by Sept. 29. Robinson stands by the claim that the so-called deal legally represented nothing more than a pre-payment of cash-in-lieu-of-parkland by the developer, but many in the community believe it was more. The councillor was criticized for deferring the Site Plan meeting. "To now go to great lengths to ensure public consultation and input is a farce in my opinion when there are no real decisions to be made," stated McGinn in an e-mail to Robinson this week. According to Robinson both the BVRA and his Ward 1 counterpart, Town/Regional Councillor Mike Lansdown preferred to press on with Tuesday's meeting. Lansdown announced his decision not to stand for reelection citing the Palm Place issue as a major source of disillusionment. He called it a "fiasco." Robinson, however, said he is pursuing McGinn's previous call that a public inquiry should be held in the Palm Place matter. Though a public inquiry is not possible through the legal mechanisms in place, Robinson will turn to Ontario's Ombudsman. "I have been working with our legal department and MPP (Kevin) Flynn (who was also a Ward 1 councillor in 1999) and since it appears as if all those doors have been closed, I will be submitting a position and request for review to our Ontario Ombudsman," said Robinson. The councillor said he will submit the letter that has been dubbed the socalled deal, the OMB decision and indication that he believes he should have been called as a witness at the OMB hearing, but wasn't. Robinson said he was the only councillor present in 1999, as Flynn was not allowed to testify at the provincial hearing since he's a Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP). "We could have done a better job in 1999 so there's no reason for not doing a better job now," said Robinson. While the buildings may be going ahead, details of how they'll go ahead are the topic of Site Plan. Robinson said he also sought deferral because he wanted more information from Town staff on issues like road widening, trees, Town gateway views and construction liability. The community should also be made aware of and involved in Town plans to redevelop the east half of the site as a public park. While that's not part of the site plan issues, Robinson said it's a good time to let people know where that stands. -- Angela Blackburn can be reached at angela@oakvillebeaver.com.