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continued from p.1 People crowded the Halton Regional Centre auditorium where they heard from Town of Oakville council and Oakvillegreen representatives that development of Saw-Whet could negatively impact the environment and community -- and how to take action with the hope of stopping it. Developer Bronte Green is proposing to build 785 single homes and townhouses and two multi-storey buildings on the 55-hectare property at 1401 Bronte Road. Bronte Green applied to the Town to develop the privately-owned land over a year ago. Last October, it appealed to the OMB citing the Town's failure to level a decision in a timely fashion under rules set out in Ontario's Planning Act. The Town maintains the developer sidestepped the usual processes to take its case to the OMB. Elgar said it is "critically important" for residents to participate at the OMB hearing. "Participation of members of the public helps the OMB appreciate that this is a very important matter to the residents of Oakville," he said. The OMB is a provincially-appointed, arm's length agency that conducts hearings and makes decisions on planning matters that have been appealed to it. Oakville Mayor Rob Burton called Bronte Green's development proposal "really, really bad." He charged there would be negative effects on the eco-system and that the development could threaten properties further south along Fourteen Residents hear development could lead to flooding along creek have an OMB, so that we can go to another public authority and say what we have here is good planning." Shaniah Leduc, vice president of the Fourteen Mile Creek Residents' Association, said the public still has a chance to stop the development at Saw-Whet Golf Course, telling her neighbours not to let the signage confuse them. She said the large white signs on the property do not indicate the proposed development is inevitable. "This sign is saying (Bronte Green) asked permission from the Town and Town council to see if (it) could actually change the zoning of this land from a golf course to zoning for residential and commercial uses," Leduc said. Leduc said the residents' association has had successes in the fight opposing this development, but there is still more work to be done. "We have made a difference, we will continue to make a difference. It is not a done deal," she said to a round of applause. Karen Brock, president of Oakvillegreen, a local environmental concern, said her group is advocating for Saw-Whet to be preserved as green space as it is located on what's known as the Merton Lands. "We need to prevent the degradation of a pristine habitat that is increasingly rare in our community and in our region and in our world," said Brock. "Why does one of Oakville's last undeveloped green spaces need to be sacrificed?" 3 | Friday, April 17, 2015 | OAKVILLE BEAVER | www.insideHALTON.com Pictured, from left, are: Ward 4 Councillors Allan Elgar and Roger Lapworth; Oakvillegreen President Karen Brock; Fourteen Mile Creek Residents' Association's Shaniah Leduc; Oakville Mayor Rob Burton and Marty Atkins-Carly, an original resident of the Merton Lands. All spoke at a public meeting Wednesday that drew approximately 600 people who wanted to find out how to influence Ontario Municipal Board decision on a proposal to develop Saw-Whet Golf Course at the OMB. | photo by Inger MacKenzie - special to the Beaver Mile Creek with flooding. "There is more than the Saw-Whet owl at stake," he said. "There's the basements and the property and the lives of the people downstream." Burton charged the developer sabotaged the Town process by taking the case to the OMB. He claims Bronte Green stalled on studies it was supposed to produce in order to run out the clock so it could go to the OMB. "They operated in bad faith," he said. "So it's a bad plan, presented in bad faith and it was designed to sabotage the procedure that's set up in the Planning Act." Patrick Harrington, spokesperson for Bronte Green, said his clients undertook the studies to the best of their ability. He said Bronte Green is still willing to engage in dialogue with the Town. "To say we somehow ragged the puck to get out of the process, I mean we were very excited with the process," he said. "Now it seems to be going in a completely different, very political direction." Harrington said Bronte Green engaged in the process in accordance with the Town's Official Plan until the process appeared to stall last year. "It seemed like council hit the brakes and hit them hard and nothing had happened since," he said. 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