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The Oakville Beaver, Friday March 10, 2006 - 3 Councillor asks others not to betray Bronte Continued from page 1 development application and seek to amend Oakville' s Official Plan with the intent of the Bronte Quadrangle Study -- done some time ago with local input and which calls for low-rise commer cial/residential development. Council then went in and out of closed door sessions to hear legal advice on alternatives that may have still resulted in a settlement, and then wait on negotiations between the Town and the develop er, Cityzen/Birchgrove Estates, that continued as council dealt with other matters. Nearly five hours later, minutes before 11 p.m., council heard from its legal staff that a memorandum of understanding had been reached with the developer -- an agreement that, if endorsed by council, could go to yesterday' s (Thursday' s) OMB pre-hearing as a settlement that would preclude the need for an OMB hearing. However, before that memo randum was made public, council voted on Robinson' s motion. It won 7-5. The Town was head ed to the OMB yesterday and the details of the possible settlement 'were never revealed publicly. Councillors voting to head to the OMB were Robinson, Ward 3 Councillor Keith Bird, Ward 4 Councillors Allan Elgar and Renee Sandelowsky and Ward 5 Councillors Jeff Knoll and Marc Grant. Voting against were Ward 1 Councillor Mike Lansdown, Ward 2 Councillors Cathy Duddeck and Fred Oliver, and Ward 6 Councillor Tom Adams. Ward 6 Councillor Janice Wright was absent. When the vote went 6-5, Mulvale still hadn't voted and refused to break her 18-year tradi tion of never voting to create a tie -- which she said would have still left Oakville in need of a decision before Thursday' s OMB hearing -- Councillor Ralph Robinson so she threw her vote behind the majority to make it 7-5. "Some of our planning people and elected people don't have the clear vision, some of us do and I'm very concerned about the direction we may be heading tonight," said Robinson, pleading with fellow councillors to deny all high-rise development scenarios for the Bronte Quadrangle. The latest plan, that promised more ground-floor commercial space, a town square, shorter high rises and one fewer levels of under ground parking, but would have moved the historic Glendella House from where it has sat for years overlooking Bronte Harbour, to a spot around the comer on Jones Street, was denied. Glendella was the former Ned Thompson Hotel. It became the Hill family homestead and sits around the comer from the former marketeria on a chunk of land known as the Bronte Quadrangle. Located in the "heart of Bronte," the quadrangle formerly housed Lakeside Marketeria, oper ated by the late Bill Hill, a wellknown Bronte grocer and his wife, Donna. The quadrangle sits between Bronte Road and Jones Street, Ontario Street and Marine Drive. From local residents, the Bronte Historical Society, the Bronte Village Residents Association (BVRA), some of Hill' s descendants, to Town of Oakville planners and Heritage Oakville, chaired by former mayor Harry Barrett, no one wanted to see Glendella moved. Those concerned about her itage noted it' s as much about the property as it is about bricks and mortar, and one of Glendella's notable features is a basement whose walls were constructed from stones hauled out of Lake Ontario and assembled by hand. ' Cityzen/Birchgrove Estates long ago appealed to the OMB. The Town was then left to formulate its decision before the hearing was to begin -- and it ran right to the wire. Robinson opened his com ments Tuesday saying the develop er was "not willing to accept what I believed was a thoughtful, reason able approach." Acknowledging the need for a quadrangle facelift, Robinson called for a three-and-a-half storey residential/commercial develop ment that fits the landscape. While the Bronte BIA favoured an influx of new business, Robinson said it would be* three years before arriving. Robinson defended against alle gations that he was voting against development to get re-elected. "Such a statement is totally untrue and absolutely false," said Robinson, noting his voting on the toughest issue he's ever faced in nearly 25 years, was motivated by "the best for the community." He said the proposed density was "far beyond" anything in Bronte except the seniors' build ings. Robinson noted Town council' s $900,000 purchase of a piece of the quadrangle in 1992, so it could be held in public hands ia perpetuity, and the public' s opposition to high rises, and asked fellow councillors not to "betray" the integrity of previous councils or the public. The councillor noted the OMB hearing would likely cost half of what the Sharkey's hearing cost and said that shouldn't be seen as a threat. Sandelowsky, a member of Heritage Oakville, said, "It' s about history it' s about a heritage area. It' s about a small fishing village and big, old trees." Stoate said it wasn't Robinson' s fault the Town was "on its heels and needing to find a way to defend" itself at the OMB. The Official Plan designates no ,height for the quadrangle, though commercialresidential zoning exists on the land. "It' s all about zoning. Zoning is the law. The Official Plan is not the law, it is a poli cy document," said Elgar. "Bronte has spoken and I've heard them. Let' s stick with C3R," said Grant. Knoll said, "We're playing avoid the OMB bogeyman. We're avoiding the scary beast that lives in the pink palace at Queen' s Park." Bronte Councillor Mike Lansdown however said, "I don't think we stand a chance with C3R at the OMB. It' s my belief we're going to lose." Adams said supporting Robinson would be supporting "the short term inter ests of the local residents and not in the best interests of the broader community." Duddeck said naysayers to OMB reform said local councils wouldn't have the forti tude to make the tough calls and she wanted to prove them wrong. Oakville, led by Stoate, led the call for OMB reform after losing over a high rise at Sharkey' s at the OMB. ULTIMATE DRIVERS® , " ' 7 'M i t U n f S a r f e Z k i v e u H w n w u m " www.ultimatedrivers.ca MARCH BREAK SPECIAL 4 D a y P r o g T a m M a r c h 1 3 -M a r c h 1 6 th Certificate for highest insurance discount issued by M TO. Classroom also available in evenings and weekends. Our in-car sessions include training on highways, freeways, night-time, collision prevention and winter driving, a FREE pickup from home, work or sqhool for car lessons. Q | Special preparation ^-revaluation for the Ministry Road Test. a Fleet of new model cars, flexible time seven days a week. 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