The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

NEWS 29 Tribunal will give 'far more weigh' to local decisions: Flynn • Continued from page 11 which Oakville town council put in place to maintain the existing uses at the Glen Abbey site. Glen Abbey owner, ClubLink, has brought forward a develop­ ment proposal that, among other things, calls for the construction o f3,222 residences at the 1333 Dor- val Dr., property. Many residents have voiced concerns about the size of this de­ velopment proposal, the loss of green space and the iconic golf course, and the traffic levels the development would bring to the area. Flynn has said that in order to change the assigned usage of Glen Abbey to permit ClubLink's proposal, both o f council's plan­ ning measures must be appealed. Previously this would have meant a trip to the OMB, howev­ er, this is no longer an option. The Province signed the LPAT into law on April 3, 2018 to replace the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB). The law received royal assent on Dec. 12, 2017 and the rules state that any municipally-initiated matters such as official plan amendments and/or zoning by­ law amendments adopted after that are subject to the new rules o f the LPAT. Since the Oakville council planning measures were adopted January 2018, any attempts to ap­ peal them w ill be heard by LPAT and not the OMB. Flynn talked about the signif­ icance of this change at Oakville council's April 16 meeting. "When I was first elected (to Oakville council) in my 20s one of the impediments to what I thought was good local democra­ cy was the existence o f the Onta­ rio Municipal Board," he said. "The elected officials would make a decision based on the rules o f the day and by hook or by crook or just by pure process, those decisions would end up be­ fore some unelected people and the whole decision would be re­ visited." Flynn says the new rules change that. "It (LPAT) is going to give far more weight to local decisions," said Flynn. "It gives you as municipally elected officials far greater con­ trol over local planning and we are hoping as a result of that much fewer decisions w ill need to be appealed in the first place." The demise o f the OMB and the creation o f the LPAT were well received by Oakville Mayor Rob Burton. "We w ill be better able to en­ sure growth takes place in a planned and orderly manner. We w ill be better able to maintain the character o f the town. We w ill be better able to conserve cultural heritage and natural heritage," said Burton. "As council is aware the Glen Abbey lands are subject to a num­ ber o f ongoing legal proceedings before the LPAT and the courts. We can expect a legal update in the coming weeks from the town solicitor for council and the pub­ lic." Burton also emphasized that while the January 2018 planning matters w ill be heard by LPAT under the new rules, council's de­ cision to reject ClubLink's devel­ opment proposal was made be­ fore Dec. 12, 2017 and w ill there­ fore be heard under the OMB's rules. ClubLink declined to com­ ment on the abolition o f the OMB or what it means for their devel­ opment proposal. Fraser Damoff o f the Save Glen Abbey Coalition residents' group said the LPAT involve­ ment is a positive change. "The Save Glen Abbey Coali­ tion is very pleased that, while some decisions w ill be made by the OMB, the most significant de­ cisions regarding the future of Glen Abbey Golf Course w ill be decided by the province's new LPAT, ensuring that local plan­ ning decisions are made locally," he said. "On behalf of the over 10,000 people who have fought to save this historic golf course, we thank Kevin for his tireless work and look forward to working with him and the Town o f Oakville over the coming months to pro­ tect Glen Abbey for future gener­ ations." " When I was first elected ( to Oakville council) in my 20s one o f the impediments to what I thought was good local democracy was the existence Ontario Municipal Board. The elected officials would make a decision based on the rules of the day and by hook or by crook or just by pure process those decisions would end up before some unelected people and the whole decision would be revisited. " - Oakville M PP Kevin Flynn Minimize tax and maximize the legacy power of your will. The latest advice in wills from an esteemed panel of savvy financial and legal experts. Join us WEDNESDAY, MAY 9, 2018 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm Queen Elizabeth Park Community and Cultural Centre 2302 Bridge Rd, Oakville This event is FREE! RSVP to Jolynta Doss at jdoss@haltonhealthcare.com 905-338-4642 / | O akvilleB eaver | T hursday, A pril 26,2018 insidehalton.com mailto:jdoss@haltonhealthcare.com