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weanesasay ^epiemoer zv, ivyv I MC UAN V 1LLE, DCAV CK M 9 Commission rules section of escarpment won't be developed By Irene G en tle S P E C IA L T O T H E B E A V E R Development should not be permitted on 179 hectares of pro­ tected land, the Niagara Escarpment Commission (NEC) decided Thursday. But the 9-3 verdict reached at an NEC meeting in Tobermory does not deliver a fatal blow to the aspirations of four landowners to build on their lands, said Mitch Fasken, vice-president of real estate at Jannock Properties Inc. "We didn't expect anything different," he said. Jannock, along with John Grant, the numbered company 825927 Ontario Inc. and Central Milton Holdings, have applied for their lands to be released from the restrictive Niagara Escarpment Plan (NEP). Their combined properties are bordered by Bronte Road to the east, Tremaine Road to the west, and Main street to the south. They then veer north towards Milton Heights on the CPR line. The NEC decision was lauded by Protect Our Water and Environmental Resources (POWER) spokesperson Barb Halsall. She was one of a dozen or more environmentalists who arrived at the meeting -- many via a specially commissioned bus -- to lobby the NEC to protect the lands. "We are certainly pleased," she said. "The NEC are taking a strong position. This is their job, to be a guardian of the escarp­ ment." But that job makes it unlikely the NEC could arrive at an unbi­ ased decision, charged Fasken. That is why applications have been made to bring the issue before a joint board in November, he said. The board is made up of mem­ bers of the Ontario Municipal Board and the Environmental Assessment and Appeal Board. "The intention is to get a fair and objective hearing based on practical, tangible, documented information," said Fasken. That would necessitate sweep­ ing aside the emotional pull of items such as an 800-signature petition arguing against the appli­ cations, he said. "There has been phenomenal public pressure put on these appli­ cants," he said. "The board isn't subject to that kind of pressure." Developers are attempting to strike a fair compromise, not carve up the escarpment, said Fasken. But protecting the escarpment and its vicinity means no land should come out of the NEP, said Halsall. "Before the actual plan was finalized there was years of back and forth whittling down," she said. "The compromises have already been made." Releasing any more land will only open the door for others in the future, said Halsall. "I have attended enough of these (hearings)," she said. "Precedent is held right up there with the Bible." Sound planning principles were what guided the commis­ sion's decision, said NEC senior environmental planner Marion Plaunt. She said the proponents didn't prove their case when it came to making an amendment to the plan. "What is the public interest served in encroaching into the escarpment?" she asked. "The proponents simply hadn't justified their amendment." Granting the applications would mean going against the grain of Halton regional planning, argued Plaunt. "Our point of view is (the Region's) policies include the pro­ tection of escarpment and escarp­ ment rural areas," she said. The NEC vote came as no sur­ prise to Mayor Gord Krantz, who said he expected to be in the minority when he voted to release all four properties from the NEP. His vote was consistent with that of Milton council, which dealt with the issue about a year ago. "It is over all good planning," said Krantz. "Nothing has changed my mind on that." And there is nothing to stop these or other developers from coming back in the future if they lose at the joint board, he noted. "People have the right to make these kinds of applica­ tions," Krantz said. But that is no reason to approve them, argued Halsall. "It is like your children ask­ ing for candy," she said. "Just because they come back and ask again doesn't mean you are going to change your mind." LACAC favoured am algam ation W a s:: (C o n tin u e d fro m p a g e 1) to consider changes within the HeritageConservation Districts remains valid today," said Emo in a letter to the Town. OLRA member Jane Hawkrigg maintained that there is still a need for the Heritage Review Committee, which focuses on properties designated under Part 5 of the Ontario Heritage Act. This consid­ ers sites within the context of the Official Plan (OP) and the Town's spe­ cific Heritage District Plans. Here, character, streetscape impact and over­ all context are all key factors. LACAC, Hawkrigg continued, deals primarily with individually des­ ignated properties under Part 4 of the Act. Emo said LACAC is currently responsible for 120 properties desig­ nated under Part 4 but only eight of these properties fall within Oakville's three heritage districts. Hawkrigg said the OLRA also opposes the merger on the grounds that the potential volume of work is more than enough to keep both entities very busy. LACAC spokesman Dan Chalykoff came out strongly in favour of amalga­ mation, maintaining that the duplica­ tion of two committees is wasteful and that he believes LACAC handles the process adequately. Chalykoff said the two sets of stan­ dards set out in Parts 4 and 5 of the Act makes the process that much more unwieldy and is "harmful" to heritage in Oakville. He maintained the OLRA opposes the merger because members are afraid to relinquish the power they hold under the present system. Oakville resident Beverlie Rockcliffe said the end result of the current hands-off policy regarding her­ itage buildings is often crumbling structures that no one wants to buy or invest in. Another resident, who pressed for the merger, said under the current system the facts of heritage con- servatien often become too blurred with pub­ lic opinion. Ward 3 coun­ cillor Tedd Smith made a motion to have staff report back in a year on the effectiveness of the procedural changes rather than automatical­ ly amalgamate in 2001. "This is a much more rea­ soned approach," he said. Ward 5 coun­ cillor Liz Behrens dis­ agreed and said Smith's motion leaves staff - which needs to craft an OP amendment to disband Heritage Review - in limbo and only drags everything out. Ward 1 coun­ cillor Kevin Flynn worried about the legality of tying the next Council's hands. "I would like to tie this down as much as we can tonight," he said. After Smith's motion failed, Hardacre offered her October 2000 compromise. At Behrens' urging, the cycle of committee appointments will be maintained, meaning that members of the newly created body will be selected in Jan. 2001. 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