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w w w .insideH A LT O N .com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Friday, F ebruary 1 7 , 2 0 1 7 | 2 OMB hears charge ClubLink is trying to have its cake and eat it too continued from p.1 Three parties were involved -- Town of Oakville, ClubLink and Halton Region. The Town's legal counsel was John S. Doherty, of Gowling WLG, ClubLink Corpora tion ULC and ClubLink Hold ings Limited's representation was Mark R. Flowers, of Davies Howe Partners LLP, while Isaac Tang, of Borden Ladner Gervais LLP, was there on behalf of Halton Region. The ICB, as stated by Doherty, is to provide time to complete three studies -- Ur ban Structure Review, Land Use Economic and Impact Analysis study and the Cul tural Heritage Landscape as sessment of the Glen Abbey golf course. It' s also in place to imple ment any possible changes to the Town's Official Plan and Zoning Bylaw and have the ap propriate policy and regulatory context in place to properly consider the Glen Abbey golf course redevelopment pro posal. Town staff requested Clublink participate in the review, but it hasn't complied with its request, Doherty claimed, noting the property owners haven't filed any bylaw and zoning amendments as part of the application. The Town's counsel said the studies are necessary to review the impacts of development and to consider the "merits of application" at a later date. Its evidence established a "carefully-reasoned and care fully-planned justification" for the ICB and its three studies, Doherty said. "It is in the Town's interest to get these three studies done as quickly as possible," he said. Doherty argued ClubLink's application conflicts with the Region' s and Oakville's official plans and municipalities have the power to freeze develop ment, citing Section 38 of On tario's Planning Act. He said the Town has a "public duty" to not only pre serve Glen Abbey lands, but the urban structure in Oakville, as well. Regarding its heritage sta tus, Doherty said the course, designed by PGA golfer Jack Nicklaus in 1976, is a "lead ing venue" for more than 20 championships. "(Glen Abbey Golf Club) brings significant tourism and marketing exposure to the town. This function needs to be understood (more)..," said Doherty. Oakville has more than met the "burden" of proving the planning justifications for the interim control bylaw, he con tinued. "The ICB is an important planning instrument that pro vides breathing space... to re think land-use policies," said Doherty. Among Flowers' arguments was his claim the Town's rea soning for the ICB, to com plete the studies, is invalid. He said the studies "don't re late to land-use policies," so the ICB isn't needed. The proposed development is already permitted in the Zoning Bylaw with permis sions in place for Glen Abbey lands, Flowers charged. The ICB eliminates certain existing zoning purposes on the golf course property, Flow ers claimed, a stormwater management pond, miniature golf course or a hotel. If the Town's concern with ClubLink' s application was the erection of new buildings, an ICB still allows for construc tion, alterations and expan sions, he added. It is "very clear" the Town and Region used the ICB to de lay consideration of ClubLink's application until new Official Plans/policies are approved, Flowers argued, calling it an attempt to "frustrate" its pro posal. He also accused Town coun cil of acting "unreasonably" in passing it, as there was no de gree of fairness or openness on its part. "If Council acts unfairly, it can lead to a finding of bad faith or a lack of good faith," charged Flowers. Referencing Section 38 of the Planning Act, ClubLink's counsel said the bylaw must be dealt with strictly, arguing onus is on the municipality to show planning rational for an ICB. "Nothing says in Section 38 says that a property owner can't file an application while an interim control bylaw is in effect," said Flowers. He argued there is a discon nect between the effect of the regulation and the Town's pur pose of enacting it, which is to implement changes to its Offi cial Plan. Representing Halton, Tang said the Town's actions in pass ing the ICB are appropriate and "well within the scope and purpose" of it. There are no permissions granted for areas designated as open spaces, such as Glen Ab bey golf course, Tang argued. He then claimed ClubLink is "seeking special treatment" with its application, which undermines proper planning procedures. "Clublink is attempting to have its cake and eat it, too," charged Tang. "ClubLink will not suffer significant prejudice if the in terim control bylaw remains, but the Town and Region will, if it's overturned." Following ClubLink's re marks, the Town was given the opportunity to respond to some of the applicant's submis sions. To claims it acted unfairly in passing the interim control bylaw, Doherty said the Town took a "balanced approach" and Council acted properly in its legislative function. A timeframe for when the OMB will make a decision was not determined. The second appeal will go to the OMB starting Tuesday, March 28, 10 a.m., at Town Hall (hearing room). It will deal with ClubLink' s development application of the golf course, deemed incomplete by the Town in December. On Nov. 10, the Town re ceived an application from ClubLink to redevelop the golf course property into 3,222 resi dential units, 121,000 sq. ft. of new commercial space and about 124 acres of permanent, publicly-accessible green space. 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