TOWN STAFF .. RATEPAYERS Battle emerges over Markborough by BLAKE PURDY Staff Writer Two of the Fown's senior staff members put theñiaselves on the hot seat at Monday's administrative committee meeting. The two, Planning Director Keith Birch and Director of Development Forbes McEwen, expressed their opposition to the most recent revisions to the plan for the Mark - borough Properties subdivision. The 175-acre subdivision, planned for the area bordered by Thickson Road, Garrard Road, Dundas Street and Rossland Road for some tinie, has been the subject of many planning meetings and considerable input from the residents in the vicinity notably the Corridor Area Rate- payers Association, niost of it aimed at reducinig the proposed population denisty therein. The plan had been revised considerably by the planning department when it was presented by the department in August. At that time, council and the developer felt tiat the plan was acc~eptable. After the latest public meeting on the subdivision in October, the plan "has been revised drastically by the owners to meet the desires of the neighbouring home owners or at least the Corridor (Area) Ratepayers Association's executive", Mr. McEwen reported. The revisions include a reduction in proposed population fronm 3,165 to 2,580; a reduction in units per residential acre from 9.2 to 8; a deletion of 133 block town housing units; a deletion of 104 street town housing units; a reduc- tion in semi-detached units from 126 to 8,6; a reduction in cluster single family units from 116 to 88; a deletion of 13 link housing units; and an increase in single family units from 262 to 426. The 120 apartment units remain. Mr. McEwen said that the developers were willing to accept the most recent plan approved by the ratepayers because théy have "never gone before the Ontario Municipal Board before and do not want to in this case... one gets the opinion that they are attempting to get in and out of the subdivision as fast as possible with the least resistance. They are not prepared to run the risk of an appeal to the 0.M.B., appeal to the Cabinet and back again. Time is nioney". Mr. Birch said that lie could not recommend approval of the latest plan mainly because it did not conply with the town's official plan. He added that the only way he could recommend the plan would be to make amendnents to the official plan. Mr. Birch said that he could not support that action, mainly because the most recent plan is not economi- cally feasible, the chief reason being that it calls for mostly low density units, such as singles, which are more expensive, than medium density units, therefore putting them out of the reach of the average income earner in Whitþy. Mr. McEwen echoed Mr. Birch's sentiments. John Buchanan, President of the Corridor Area Rate' payers Association, refuted those arguments, saying that the most recent revised plan does indeed conform with the town's official plan and that there is little difference in price between town houses and single family units. Mr. Buchanan received support in his first statement from J. G. Chipman, the solicitor for the developer, who said "it is our opinion that the scheme as proposed now does indeed conform with the official plan". Administrative committee members Councillors Don Lovelock and Gerry Emm also took Mr. Birch and Mr. McEwen took task, arguing that low density housing should be provided. The committee moved that the most recent revised plan be accepted. The full arguments will be present.ed next week. Vol. 5.No. 44 Wednesday, November 5, 1975 Ten Cents INSIDE FATHER AUSTIN RETIRES ............. PAGE 2 KALNINS AND QUAIL...........PAGE 5 BROOKLIN BY LINES ....................... PAGE 6 HISTORICAL WHITBY ..................... PAGE 7 COMMUNITY HAPPENINGS ............ PAGE 8 AND9 BOWLERS ACTIVE .......................... PAGE 10 DO'C WINS C.O.S.S.A........................ PAGE 11 RENAISSANCE BALL NEARING .... PAGE 12 Corridor group wants plebiscite on area growth~ Construction on the senior citizens' activity centre on Brock Street South is well underwav. Free Press Photo by Alex Kabhins Town to honour Newman ton ight A capacity crowd is ex- pected to attend tonight's testimonial dinner for former Mayor Des Newman at Heydenshure Pavillion. A number of municipal, provincial and federal officiais from ail parts of Canada will be present to pay tribute to Mayor Newman's work both for his own municipality, and for municipal government acros the country. The testimonial evening hegins ai 6 p.m., with cock- tails, followed by dinner, and entertainment by fhe County Town Singers and Sister Giselle Pilon, who entertained at the Whitby-Longueuil twin- visit last June. A number of speeches and presentations are planned for the evening. Mr. Newman has served the longest term as mayor of any chief magistrate in the history of Whitby. !e was first elected in December: 1965, and served until August 1975. Mayor Newman is a past president of the Canadian Federation of Mayors and Municipalities, and past chair- man of the Ontario Municipal Liaison Committee. He has served on the executive of numerous municipal associa- tions, ana has made speeches to municipal groups in both Canada and the United States. During his tern as mayor, Whitby Town and Township were amnalgamated, he took a leading role in the formation of regional government, and the town of Whitby grew both industrially and resident- ially from a town of 14,000 to one of nearly 27,000 people. Tonight's testimonial evening is arranged by the Town of Whitby in honor of Mayor Newman's years of service to the community, from the tirne he became a member of the Separate School board in 1960. Thie Corridor Area Rate- payers Association would like the people of Whitby to have a chance to decide, by way of plebiscite, the future pop- ulation desired for the town. The association's written request is a result of the Region of Durharn Depart- ment of Planning and Devel- opment's presentation of Stage 3 of the Official Plan, "Choices for the Future" in Whitby on October 8. The paper puts ford-h three alternatives for Whitby, all of which propose a population of 100,000 by the year 2000. The reasons put forth.by the department why Whitby was the only municipality of the region's 12 which had no choice of future population were that "the area south of Rossland Road is already committed to development" and "the existing sewage capacity can accomodate 100,000". "On behalf of the 3,500 residents of Whitby within the area of responsibility, we object to both the lack of choice and the reasons for lack of choice", the associa- tion says in a letter circulated to Whitby Council and F. H. McAdam, Commissioner of the region's planning and development department. "The denial of the basic autonomous right of the tax- payer i>f Whitby is not ac- ceptable", says the associa- tion. "It was first denied in 1973 when Whitby's planning staff developed the local official plan showing the 100,000 population. Since then the residents of Whitby have experienced the adverse effects of the type of devel- opment condoned by the official plan". The association goes on to cite a few examples: "the anxiety and concern generated among the people by the catastrophic West Lynde high rise issue and the subsequent expense bo'ne by the tax- payer in a futile battle to try and rectify an admitted "error in judgement" in the approval of this develop- ment"; "the needless hard- 'ships and expense in legal fees Io obtain relief from the official plan's sanction of Whitby Townesiaes. 4¯05~ row houses in the midst of an established. residential area"; and "the official plan com- mitted the 25,000 citizens of Whitby to a multi-million dollar debt for sewage treat- ment facilities to accomodate a population of 100,000". The letter concludes "the entire situation must now be reassessed to stop any further usurpation of the Whitby taxpayers' right to determine their own future, under the name of an official-plan". The suggested future pop- ulation choices that the association wants on the plebiscite are 50,000, 75,000and 100,000.