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www.oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver, Friday June 8, 2007 - 5 Mayor extends olive branch to BVRA By Kim Arnott SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER Disgruntled Bronte residents will have an opportunity to make recommendations on how the town should handle future developments like the one on the former Shell House lands. The president of the Bronte Village Residents Association (BVRA) ­ which spearheaded public opposition to a high-rise condominium development on the waterfront property ­ has been named to lead an advisory group that will offer recommendations to Mayor Rob Burton. "I don't think you'll get a better offer. You get the support of my office, and you get to run it. When you order up an inquiry, you're ordering up an independent judge. You don't get to write his report." Mayor Rob Burton Burton offered the opportunity to the association at its annual meeting on Wednesday night, as an alternative to calling a public inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the controversial development. Although Burton promised the association a public inquiry during last fall's election campaign, he suggested the advisory committee would offer a better tool for addressing the residents' concerns. "I don't think you'll get a better offer. You get the support of my office, and you get to run it," he said. "When you order up an inquiry, you're ordering up an independent judge. You don't get to write his report." The call for further investigation into the circumstances surrounding the development of the eight-acre lakeside property came following last month's release of a report from the town's legal department. Although it was intended to answer questions raised by the BVRA about the development of the property, association vice-president Laurie McGinn described the 41-page report as, "not complete, not factual and biased to make staff look good." The report attempted to analyze why the town spent over $900,000 dealing with the development application and its subsequent appeal to the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB), but failed to limit development to the 27 medium-density units it was seeking. Instead, the OMB ruled that 300 residential units in three buildings, ranging in See BVRA page 8