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The Oakville Beaver, Wednesday November 24, 2004 - A3 Sharkey's neighbour likes OMB officer challenges Town planner Daniels' high rise proposal By Angela Blackburn OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF Downtown Oakville neighbours may oppose a 14-storey condo where Sharkey's Dockside Cafe now stands, but some imme diate neighbours like the idea, along with many downtown Oakville businesses. That's what retired Ford vice-president of manufacturing and Sharkey's neighbour. Frank Wiley, told an Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) hearing Monday before a standing-room only crowd. OMB hearing officer Susan Rogers heard from a quartet of people deemed par ticipants. rather than parties, to the hearing. They're interested groups or individuals, but aren't represented by legal counsel as arc the Town. DmiiHi Oulu ilk Cui[X)imltffT and four residents' associations. A handful of other participants also took the stand last Thursday night and more will do so again tonight. It's the second week of an anticipated four-week hearing into Daniels Oakville Corporation's appeal of Oakville Town Council's decision not to allow the 14storey. 85-unit condo on the Sharkey's site. Last week, the OMB heard testimony from a planner and urban designer on behalf of Daniels. They attempted to establish that the Sharkey's site is not strictly "down town" Oakville, the Town has said it would prefer a residential redevelopment of the site in the order of six storeys -- more in keeping with its vision for the downtown. Resident Nels Moxness who lives about 100 yards from Sharkey's and is likely to be most impacted from a redevelopment, testi fied he's less concerned about building height than he is with the building's appearance and the potential to gel rid of the prob lems associated with Sharkey's -- loud music, traffic noise, after hours loitering, property damage, fights and police visits. Wiley, too, said he supported the Daniels' proposal -- along with 326 people and business operators who he represents in Neighbours in Favour. Wiley traced the history of his group for Rogers, from the time he said he was booed at a public meeting for expressing his sup port for Daniels' plan, to getting incorporat ed in order to appear at the OMB hearing. A 47-year resident of Oakville. Wiley said his interest in the Sharkey's redevelop ment began nearly four years ago when Sharkey's hosted a meeting with neigh bours. police and Town councillors about noise and vandalism at the restauranl'bar. Wiley said he was later "disappointed" when a public information meeting "was taken over" by opponents to the Daniels' proposal and "a hostile environment was created." Neighbours in Favour, testified Wiley. wanR'lo M .V II Uaianced and reasonable" outcome for the development, to eliminate the problems caused by Sharkey's, and see the need for one-floor retirement living (that Wiley said appeals to him) in Oakville met. While Wiley testified there was early support for redevelopment of Sharkey's, he said by February 2003. "our members real ized there was organized opposition." Wiley said he hoped his group's exis tence was evidence of "substantial support that exists for Daniels' proposal." Wiley also testified that he didn't see the proposed condo as a precedent for the downtown and said, "I do not consider the Sharkey's site to be part of downtown Oakville." Wiley said the proposal appears to meet objectives of Smart Growth and local environmental objectives "of protect ing Oakville's rural greenspace north of Dundas Street" as well as fitting the Provincial Places To Grow paper that calls for growth in developed areas. The OMB heard Wiley claim the condo would bring in taxes annually, upfront development charges and would improve public access to the harbour with a public path that doesn't exist today. Wiley also broached the subject of downtown merchants -- a group that has been absent in the debate over Sharkey's. The resident said about 50 in his group arc downtown merchants while the U iw nw w ) QaJmHr BTA' (Business Improvement Area) is neutral in the debate, since Sharkey's is outside its official boundaries. Wiley testified that the new condo would be "an anchor" for the west side of ' the bridge and "provide a much-needed upgrade for the West Harbour area" Forsythe Street resident and a landscape designer o f more than 50 years Don Hancock disagreed. "A tower is an error, a severe error." Hancock said the Sixteen Mile Creek has been carving its way around the shale of the creek bank for thousands of years and expressed concern about boring into the earth next to the creek for construction and underground parking or running the risk of being affected by even the smallest of earth quakes that rock the lakefront occasionally. "You don't get a river given to you again. The Chisholms founded it and nur tured it," said Hancock, noting even Sharkey's parking lot offers sunshine, air and sky. If a tower is built in its place. Hancock said. "It will be nothing but a New York City." (Continued from page A I) While Daniels, the Town and four resi dents' associations arc parties to the hearing and will present cases, many residents and residents' groups have made statements to the OMB as participants. Those statements were heard last Thursday night and will be heard again tonight in a special participant session. Ghent took the stand shortly before 10 am . yesterday and by lunch time had w alked the hearing through a photo mon tage o f Lakeshore Road, downtown Oakville's main street, from Brock Street to Allan Street to demonstrate that, with a few exceptions, the corridor boasts a predomi nant height of two to three-storey buildings. "I don't think there's any debate about that, that's not an issue." observed Rogers. When Ghent offered his opinion on the parameters of downtown Oakville -- a def inition bandied about during Daniels' case last week -- Rogers asked, "Why do we have to worry about where downtown isT' During testimony for Daniels, the OMB heard that a high rise wouldn't contradict the character of downtown Oakville since downtown Oakville appears to lie on the east side of the creek. "The extent of the development being proposed is not appropriate." advised Ghent, noting the question is what is the appropriate designation of the Sharkey's site. "My thesis is that the dominant land use is Central Business District (CBD)." said Ghent, testifying that in his opinion, while the east side of downtown Oakville's main street of Lakeshore Road, is more prosperous, the downtown core runs both east and west of Sixteen Mile Creek. That Central Business District calls for a mix of commercial and residential uses and low to medium density. Artist's rendering of proposed high-rise condominium. Rogers expressed frustration yesterday, asking Ghent if the underlying designation for urban residential should just simply be "forgotten" on the Sharkey's site and why a landowner seeking a designation change should have to consider the Town's Official Plan in general. Ghent testified that a change in density or height would have to be considered in scale and said that the Sharkey's proposal is too great to be deemed minor in nature. The planner testified that it would, if allowed, become the highest density site in the downtown area and that Central Business District directives set out in the Official Plan should be followed. "The policy direction Council approved and what has prevailed over 30 years should not be thwarted." testified Ghent. "High density is not the predominant land use and doesn't properly recognize Iuikeshore Road as the main street in town," said G hent Rogers admitted confusion as Ghent w'alkcd til rough his rationale -- based on various versions of the Town's Official Plan, its sub-plan,' the Old Oakville Community Plan, and zoning by-laws which changed over the years, and were at times not up to date with one another. The hearing heard that at one time, the Sharkey's property was before another OMB hearing because a mapping error had deemed it to be agricultural. Ghent hung his hat on the fact that coun cil, through Official Plan changes and sub sequent zoning changes, had opted over the years to not repeat the high rise experiences of the 1960s in the downtown business dis trict by adhering to moves to residential inclusion, a four-storey height limit and guidance to redevelop commercial sites to low to medium residential. The planner outlined a history of plan ning approvals for the area to back his case. Rogers questioned a policy that called for residential to "relocate in" the down town area. Rogers asked why it didn't read "locate" or "locate to" or even simply state residen tial uses were permitted. The Town expects to call two planners and an urban design expert before Blair Taylor, representing the Oakville-Lakeside Residents'Association. Trafalgar-Chartwell Residents' Group Incorporated, the West River Residents' Association and West Harbour Residents' Association, presents their case. 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