Aurora has been handed another setback in its fight to stop a golf course and housing development on the environmentally sensitive Oak Ridges Moraine.
Earlier this month, a divisional court dismissed an appeal by the town and local residents arguing a joint board hearing involving representatives of the Ontario Municipal Board and the Environmental Review Tribunal would be necessary to gauge the suitability of the Westhill Development, eyed for an area near Leslie Street and Bloomington Road.
Lebovic Homes plans to build an 18-hole golf course and 75 luxury homes on the site, but the application was denied by council in 2008.
Since then, the matter has bounced back and forth between the OMB and the divisional court with the former body denying a joint board hearing and the latter supporting its lack of jurisdiction to even order one.
As such, the divisional court has repeatedly said the OMB is the appropriate venue to address the myriad of concerns raised by the town and residents.
Undaunted by the recent divisional court ruling, Mayor Phyllis Morris said she and her colleagues have since ordered their counsel to launch another appeal.
It's important for the town to win the Westhill case, she said, as it could well prove precedent-setting for future developments on the moraine.
"The cost of doing this is expensive, but the cost of not doing it is far greater as far as the environment is concerned," she said.
At stake, according to Mrs. Morris, is the water upon which residents around the proposed development rely. It's a fight now two years and counting, Mrs. Morris said, adding the town isn't about to abandon citizens in need.
"If you were one of the landowners on well water, wouldn't you want your council to do whatever it could?" she said.
Residents adjacent to the Westhill development shouldn't have any fears about their water levels, Lebovic Enterprises executive vice-president of Lloyd Cherniak said.
The new homes would draw well water from a different aquifer, he said, adding golf course sprinklers wouldn't draw water from the ground at all, instead making use of collected rain water and treated wastewater from the 75 homes on the site.
"They never really understood the proposal, even though we tried to explain it to them," Mr. Cherniak said.
It's difficult to understand the position of those opposing the project as the only end they've achieved so far is delays, Mr. Cherniak said.
That said, developments, such as the divisional court ruling, aren't surprising, he added.
"How do you argue the OMB isn't qualified to deal with this? It's their mandate," he said. "For God's sake, at least half of Aurora is on the Oak Ridges Moraine as it is. The people objecting to us are on the Oak Ridges Moraine, too."
Despite arguments to the contrary, resident Susan Jones said she isn't convinced her well is safe.
She has one golf course to the north of her property and another proposed for the south. As a result, she is somewhat perplexed by the resistance of the various government bodies to holding a joint board hearing.
"We're still concerned about water usage and the environment," Ms Jones said. "I'm not sure if anyone knows for sure if local wells will be affected or not. There hasn't been any good science on the effect of all of this cumulative water-taking on the moraine.
"As it is now, I'm within walking distance of four golf courses here on Leslie Street."
Councillor Evelyn Buck, the lone member of council who voted against denying the Westhill application, said she's concerned by the cost to taxpayers for the various hearings and court appearance so far, especially since the OMB hearing dealing with the actual application has yet to take place.
Costs have been cited at $135,000 and rising, Ms Buck said, adding they will only continue to increase during a two or three-week OMB hearing, whenever it actually takes place.
She said she doesn't dispute the rights of residents who became involved in the battle, but questions why the town did.
"The residents retained (a lawyer) and they had a right to do that," she said. "Everyone has a right to protect their own interests."
Mr. Beaman said he has already filed a leave to appeal. Should it be granted, the case will next be heard at the Ontario Court of Appeals, but if denied, it will go back to the OMB for a hearing.
Either way, there likely won't be any progress in the case until fall.
No comments:
Post a Comment