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Wednesdsay March 31, 1999 THE OAKVILLE BEAVER A5 Mid-toum development plan being massaged Stories by Howard Mozel OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF The T ow n's con ten tious M id- Town Core Planning Study inched closer to com pletion M onday, but was postponed as C ouncil fine- tuned the com plex blueprint. A pproval was delayed several more weeks when councillors - m ost of whom are uneasy w ith the scheme in its entirety - voted in favour of the O fficial Plan (OP) am endm ent, but referred crucial portions o f it back to the steering com m ittee. In m aking her m otion, Ward 2 councillo r Kathy Graham said she was unable to truly understand the vision being p resen ted - especially ,for an im portant area touted as a gateway into town. "I see a h igh-density , concrete jung le ," she said. The steering com m ittee will re-exam ine the density and building height stan­ dards o f specific areas of the M id-Town C ore that were "pulled out" o f the land use portion of the plan. G reenspace requ irem ents will likew ise be given another look. Fueling m uch o f the uncertainty is C o u n c il's trepidation over a potential repeat of the high density Kaneff/Genstar projects to be built on Old M ill Road. The M id-Tow n Core Study proposes an integrat­ ed transportation and land use planning tem plate for the M idtown Core. (This is essentially the area central­ ly located betw een Old Oakville and the Uptown Core with the QEW and Trafalgar Road as the main axis.) The m ost conten tious part of the study's trans- Scheme going back to committee following concerns of business, residents portation com ponent has been the proposed QEW crossing connecting an extended Iroquois Shore Road to a bridge which spans the QEW to a reconstructed Royal W indsor Drive. O ff in the future - and contingent on extensive analysis - m ight be a full interchange on the site. E x is tin g p la n w o u ld s e e ro a d g o th ro u g h b u ild in g While some residents oppose the Mid-Town Core Planning Study for quality-of-life reasons, at least one landowner is objecting on completely concrete grounds. According to Blair Taylor, solicitor for Sheridan Iroquois Developments, his client has no option, but to formally object to the plan since it calls for a North Service Road extension to cut through not only his Iroquois Shore Road property, but the building itself. This is the 88,000 sq. ft. structure leased by Sheridan College's Skills Training Centre. The college's lease expires in 2002, but contains a right of renewal for a five-year term. The site consolidated several Sheridan satellite campuses, explained Taylor, and millions of dollars were spent to retrofit. Sheridan Iroquois Developments has been part o f the pub­ lic process, said Taylor, but it was not until January of this year that his client was told of the plan to bisect his building. The landowner is also concerned about the plan's call for an "open space link" at the eastern edge of the property since the land abuts the Syl Apps Detention Centre. As a secure custody facility run by the province that is unlikely to re­ develop, says Taylor, any open space link would fall entirely on his client's land. The conclusion, Taylor continued, is that it appears the Town is trying to designate two portions of the land in ques­ tion for public use: one for the road, the other for the open space link. "My client feels that it has been severely prejudiced by the proposed designation of its lands for public purposes while they are privately held," said Taylor in his report to Council. Taylor explained that the Ontario Muncipal Board has. ruled that a municipality cannot designate private lands for public use without acquiring those lands at a fair market price. "Even if the Town of Oakville now proposes to do so, we strenuously object to this attempt to cloud the title to my client s lands, said Taylor. "Failure to so object would effec­ tively sterilize my client's lands." The transportation com ponent has already been approved. An Eighth Line/Chartwell Road link over the QEW which had been proposed for years has been aban­ doned. The second portion of the plan establishes new and revised land use designations and policies plus urban design guide­ lines for the future orderly development and growth in the M idtow n Core. OP Amendment 163 incorpd- rates both portions. On M onday night, a num­ ber of residents for whom quality of life is the driving force behind their opposi­ tion to the plan voiced their concerns to Council. Cheri Bain, who heads up the South Territory Iroquois R idge Society (STIRS), reiterated her longstanding concern that land use is dri­ ving the push for the addi­ tional QEW crossing. She said it is naive to believe that residents in the upcoming "live/work/play" highrises near the GO sta­ tion w on't use their own vehicles enough to impact traffic . She m aintained higher density in the area will be to the detrim ent of residential living. Because Bain believes that a great deal of prime land has not - and perhaps will not - be developed for a variety of reasons, she also fears an over-capacity of roads. "Any developm ent should be sensitive to residents who live in this town," said Bain, who added that homeowners should be able to work with Town Hall and Police begin seatbelt campaign tomorrow It's no joke: the OPP and Halton years since O ntario introduced Transport Canada Seat Belt Survey, Regional Police begin their annual mandatory seat belt legislation in however, revealed that usage has Spring Seatbelt C am paign on 1976, usage rose steadily. The 1997 slipped slightly. Thursday. The O PP's two-week initia­ tive runs until April 15th. Halton Regional Police plan step up enforcement for the entire month of April. The program is designed to create awareness about the impor­ tance of wearing seatbelts and properly secur­ ing child seat restraints. In Halton, officers from the Public Safety Unit will con­ duct periodic s p o t c h e c k s throughout the region during April. Traffic acci­ dents are among the leading caus­ es of death each year in Ontario. A fter two weeks of special enforcement last April, H alton Regional Police reported a 96.4% com pli­ ance rate. The Public Safety Unit stopped 6,904 vehicles. A total of 170 people were charged with seat belt offenses. An additional 80 warnings were issued in con­ nection with seat belt usage and proper use of child restraints. Last year, the OPP seatbelt c a m p a i g n checked more than 402,000 vehicles, result­ ing in more than 8,500 charges and over 6,000 warnings. This year's goal is to check half a m il­ lion m otorists for seatbelt com ­ pliance. In, the 20 O a k v i l l e 's D r i v i n g F o r c e ! O a k v i l l e l V a n s i t A p r i l H o l i d a y S c h e d u l e F r i . , A p r i l 2 : N o S e r v i c e S a t . , A p r i l 3 : R e g u l a r S e r v i c e S u n . , A p r i l 4 : N o S e r v i c e M o n . , A p r i l 5 : R e g u l a r S e r v i c e N e w F a r e R a t e s B e g i n A p r i l 1 2 t h Cash: $2 .00 Day Pass $4.00 T ickets M onthly Passes A dult: 10/$16.00 $58.00 S tudent: 10/$13.50 $50.00 Senior: 10/$11.00 $40.00 Go with GUS Pass: Now valid on Saturdays! Bus Information 815-2020 w w w . o a k v i l l e t r a n s i t . c o m o r v is it a n y o n e of o u r ticke t a g e n ts , in c lu d in g th e G O S ta tio n s not have to fight it to protect their lifestyle. A handful o f Chartw ell Road res­ idents applauded the plan since the E ighth L ine/C hartw ell connection has been dropped from the proposal. Bain, however, said that at some time in the future the Town could change its mind and reinstate the connection. M ayor Ann M ulvale explained that nothing is absolutely certain, especially given different circum­ stances and a different Council. Planning Director Ted Salisbury explained it's best to remove the crossing from the plan. If the Town w asn't sure it would not be needed, he said, it could have simply left it in. T H E C O R P O R A T I O N O F T H E T O W N O F O A K V I L L E 845-6801 H O L I D A Y C L O S I N G S A T T O W N H A L L The Oakville Municipal Building will be closed F rid a y , A p r il 2, 1999 (G o o d F rid a y) a n d M onday, A p r il 5, 1999 (E a ster M onday) For municipal emergencies please call (905) 845-6606. For Fire, Police or Ambulance call - 911. C o u n c il & S t a n d i n g C o m m it t e e M e e t in g s Tuesday, April 6, 1999 Council M eeting Council Cham bers 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 13, 1999 Community Services C om m ittee 7:30 p.m. - Oakville Room Administrative Services Comm. 7:30 p.m. - Bronte Room M onday, April 12, 1999 Planning & Development Council Council Chambers 7:30 p.m. M onday, April 19, 1999 Council M eeting Council Chambers 7:30 p.m. C oun cil & C ommittee To uchto n e Phone Line 815-5959 DEVELOPMENT CHARGES REVIEW COMMITTEE NOTICE OF MEETINGS The Town of Oakville has begun a public review process to prepare a new development charges bylaw which will determine the rates to be collected on new residential and non-residential developments constructed within Oakville. All municipalities in Ontario must pass a new bylaw under the Development Charges Act, 1997 no later than August 31" 1999. The Development Charges Review Committee was established to keep the development community and the public informed of the assumptions, key inputs and policy decisions being made during the preparation of the draft development charges study and to employ public consultation as a way to resolve issues during the process. The dates, times, locations and topics of the next meetings of the Development Charges Review Committee and special meetings of Council are: April 7* from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at Oakville Municipal Offices in the Oakville Room: Road-related and stormwater management works policy guidelines; library services; fire services; transit services; and. planning studies. April 28*from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at Oakville Municipal Offices in the Oakville Room: Parks development; recreational facilities; rationalized road infrastructure requirements; other public works services (stormwater management, traffic signalization, erosion control, operational depots and vehicles and equipment). May 19* from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at Oakville Municipal Offices (room to be determined): Overview of draft policy decisions; overview of draft development charges study (if available). June 15* from 7:30 a.m. at Oakville Municipal Offices in Council Chambers: Special meeting of Council - Public Meeting to present proposed development charges by-law and draft background study. June 24* from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at Oakville Municipal Offices (room to be determined and meeting still to be approved by Town Council): Dedicated for the stakeholders to present their comments and concerns about the proposed development charges bylaw and draft background study presented at the public meeting on June 15th . August 3rd from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. at Oakville Municipal Offices (room to be determined and meeting still to be approved by Town C ouncil): Presentation of the final proposed development charges bylaw and final draft background study. August 10* from 7:30 a.m. at Oakville Municipal Offices in Council Chambers: Special meeting of Council to approve development charges bylaw and background study. (Meeting dates, times, location and agenda items may change as required) Please direct your questions and comments to: Michelle Seguin, Director. Finance & Treasurer Town of Oakville 1225 Trafalgar Road 1225 TRAFALGAR ROAD • OAKVILLE, ONTARIO • LGH 2L1 http://www.oakvilletransit.com