09 21 1994 Sp Public2 Minutes
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HB CORPORA'tION 01' HB 'tOWNSHIP 01' ORO-KBDON'lB
SPBCIAL PUBLIC KBB'tING
WBDNBSDAY, SBP'lBKBBR 21, 1""
@ 1:30
P.M. - COUNCIL CD1IBBRS
HIR'lY-SBCOND KBB'lING 1"1-1"" COUNCIL
The following members of Council were present:
Deputy Mayor Ian Beard
Deputy Reeve Norman Dalziel
Councillor Alastair Crawford
Councillor Walter Dickie
Councillor Murray Martin
Councillor Leonard Mortson
Absent:
Mayor Robert Drury
Reeve David Caldwell
councillor Donald Bell
councillor Joanne Crokam
staff Present:
Kris Menzies, Planner.
Also Present Were:
Larry cotton, Thelma Halfacare,
Shirley Woodrow, Bill Seymour, Don
Flint, Beverley Flint, V. Ready,
Spencer Vernon, stephen Woodrow,
Ivan Clark, Lorne Van Sinclair,
John Purkiss.
Deputy Mayor Ian Beard chaired the meeting.
Deputy Mayor Ian Beard opened the meeting by explaining to those
present that this Public Meeting was to receive public comments
with respect to a proposed Official Plan and zoning By-Law
Amendment, pursuant to provisions of the Planning Act, section
34, R.S.O. 1990 c. P. 13. The applicant has applied to rezone
certain lands and to change certain policies under the
designation described as lots located in Lots 2 & 3, Concession
6, (Sugarbush, Phase I), formerly Township of Oro).
To date, the Council of the corporation of the Township of Oro-
edonte have not made a decision on this application, other than
proceeding to this Public Meeting. Only after comments are
received from the Public, requested agencies and Township staff,
ithin the appropriate time perIod, will Council make a decision
on this application.
Notice of the Public Meeting was mailed out on September 1, 1994,
to all property owners within 120 metres of the subject lands.
Notice of the Public Meeting was also placed in both the Barrie
Examiner and Orillia Packet on September 1, 1994.
Deputy Mayor Ian Beard then asked the Clerk if there had been any
correspondence received on this matter. The Clerk responded by
indicating that no correspondence had been received.
The Deputy Mayor then stated that those persons present would be
afforded the opportunity of asking questions with respect to the
proposed Amendment. He then turned the meeting over to the
Township Planner, Ms. Kris Menzies, to explain the purpose and
effect of the proposed Official Plan and Zoning By-Law Amendment.
Kris Menzies:
Thank you Mr. Deputy Mayor, but before I do that, it has been
pointed out to me by Mr. Lorne Van Sinc1.air, administrator for
the Indian Park Ratepayers Association who is the applicant in
this particular case. The municipality made an error in the
otice. Correct me if I am wrong Lorne, the corner of Huronwoods
nd oneida, just in from the corner there is a pump station and
everal years ago, the Indian Park Ratepayers Association with
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Kris Menzies:
the blessing of council, received two residential severances and
I believe they are on either side of the pump station. The
Notice actually showed that the application, that the pump
station was subject to the application not either side. That was
a mistake on our part.
In any event, the purpose of tonight's meeting is to allow
Council the opportunity to hear Public comment on a proposed
Official Plan Amendment. I believe the rezoning is here as well.
Yes, it is. The purpose of the amendment is a Township wide
amendment. The applicants intent is to allow year round
occupancy of this portion of the existing sugarbush Development
(indicated on map). The municipality in the former Township of
Oro Official Plan currently has a clause which in effect states
that any property designated resort areas would not allow for a
year round use of the dwelling units. However, since that policy
statement went into effect in the mid to late sixties, the
municipality has approved four developments which are designated
resort area which do allow for permanent year round residences.
The most prominent is the balance of the sugarbush property,
designated resort area in the Official Plan but there is a
special clause which allows for year round use of the dwellings.
There is also a property to the south which is currently before
the ontario Municipal Board, more commonly referred to as Valdoro
Estates and there is a property to the east, which is also
currently before the ontario Municipal Board, more commonly
referred to as Sabiston. All of those developments are
exceptions to the Official Plan. The only development which
adheres to the Official Plan and in the strictest sense is the
old portion of Sugarbush and it is the intent of the applicant to
have that changed. Well for the benefit of not having a lot of
exceptions to these Official Plans, Council is suggesting and
would like to hear Public comment on changing that policy
statement altogether so that anything designated resort area
would allow for year round occupancy of the dwelling units.
The other proposal before Council this evening relates
specifically to this portion of Sugarbush and that assuming that
the Official Plan sees favour with Council and the Minister of
Municipal Affairs, would be to rezone each of the lots,
potentially each of the lots in this section of Sugarbush from
the Resort Residential zone which allows for a single family
dwelling seasonal occupancy only to the General Residential zone
which would allow for the same use. However, it would allow the
occupants an opportunity to have year round occupancy of the
dwelling units.
The proponents have been working quite closely with the Health
unit in order to determine from a zoning stand point, which of
those lots could be rezoned or a familiar term to this particular
municipality is converted from seasonal use to general year round
use. That information is not solidified at the moment but from a
conceptual stand point, it is my understanding that there is a
feeling of hope and promise that that won't be a problem with a
lot of the units in the proposal.
ow if I could Mr. Chairman, Indian Park is here representing all
of the ratepayers in this particular development. The Official
Plan is for the entire property. However, the rezoning is only
subject to certain lots based on the individuals (A) being able
0 satisfy the Health Unit, (B) showing a willingness to go
hrough this rezoning process. It has been a choice of some of
he owners not to have Council consider the rezoning on their
roperty. For the purposes of this Public Meeting however, the
lanning staff chose to identify each of the lots as being
ubject to the Public Meeting, just in case some time in the next
ouple of weeks, one of the land owners who originally said they
idn't want to belong, wanted to jump on the band wagon, if I
ould, and it would not require them to go through their own
eparate Public Meeting. Mr. Van Sinclair is here and I believe
e is available to answer any questions and Ms. vi Ready, the
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Kris Menzies:
President of the Association is here as well and she may be able
to field questions for Council and the Public. Thank you.
Deputy Mayor Beard:
Ok, now if anybody has any questions, we would ask that you come
forward to the mike and state their name.
Mr. Van Sinclair, do you have anything to add to this?
Lorne Van sinclair:
No, Kris has done well.
Deputy Mayor Beard:
Anybody else have any questions?
Please come to the microphone and state your name as it is being
recorded.
John purkiss:
y name is John purkiss and I am a resident at 57 Huronwoods Dr.
in the section that is being questioned. My apologies up front
if I am out of order in anyway please correct me because I have
ever been at one of these before.
y question is more of an inquiry rather than a question.
enty-one days ago I retired and because of that retirement I am
oing through what I call cocooning, bringing in all my assets to
ake me feel comfortable. One of those assets is 57 Huronwoods
r. and it is currently up for sale. My concern is perspective
lients looking at that property, wanting to come in as permanent
esidents and as I understand it, cannot under this situation as
't exists. I would be very much in favour of it going to
esidential so that it can be a permanent residence can come in
nd therefore open up much more of a market for those of us who
re sitting in that situation right now.
s there anything I can do to assure a lawyer or a perspective
lient about the sale of this property or does it have to be sold
nder the premise that it is for weekenders only?
t this point, that is the case until such time and not until
uch time as it actually goes through, if we decide to pass the
y-law and so many days after that for objections.
ris Menzies:
hat is correct. Typically a lawyer, if you are dealing with a
urchase or sale, the purchasers solicitor will write the
unicipality and ask what are the uses and various other
uestions and we are obligated to state that it is zoned resort
esidential to be used as a single family dwelling, seasonal
ccupancyonly. They in my opinion, have the ability to define
hat seasonal is. council as you may be aware, is not
rosecuting people who may be living year round in their
roperty.
ohn purkiss:
hat is my concern too because I am aware of others who are there
ull time and have been for many years.
eputy Mayor Beard:
am sure pretty well all of us are probably aware of that.
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Kris Menzies:
The Deputy Mayor is correct from a Planning perspective that the
Municipality can't advise other than what the current by-laws
permit. If and when this is approved and things change then
obviously they are in a position to instruct staff to change the
letters.
John purkiss:
Next question then, is there any approximate length of time that
it might take, approximately?
Kris Menzies:
Because an Official Plan Amendment process is involved, the
approval authority, assuming council sees fit to approve this,
after that is the Minister of Municipal Affairs. There process
to date, is not very speedy. It could take several months if not
years and there is an initiative at the moment through Bill 161,
sorry 163 which is the new Planning Act which, it is the intent
of Minister of Municipal Affairs to have approved January 1st,
to reduce that time frame to 120 days. Whether that goes through
or not is another story. Once the Official Plan is approved by
the Minister, assuming it is, the zoning by-law is a matter of
weeks if not a month or two.
John Purkiss:
I think I understand.
Deputy Mayor Beard:
Yes, I wouldn't hold my breath. Council may approve it and it
may be a long time before they get the official stamp on it.
Kris Menzies:
I have seen 9 months and I have seen 12 years. So, I usually
tell people somewhere between 9 months and 12 years through the
Minister's office.
Deputy Mayor Beard:
Councillor Dalziel, you had a question?
Deputy Reeve Dalziel:
No, he asked the question I was going to ask.
Deputy Mayor Beard:
Is there any further questions?
councillor Dickie:
Thank you Mr. Deputy Mayor. Maybe Lorne could answer this
question. How many in the Association that are effected by this
are opting out of it, to the change to have the property rezoned?
What is the dominant reason?
Lorne Van sinclair:
I don't know if that is exactly accurate, of opting out. We did
for a number of lots, I would say around 60 number that are a
little bit shy of the minimum frontage. We did send out a letter
asking them for authority for us to act on their behalf to rezone
the property to get the minor variance for the rezoning and there
as some, I think around 10 or 12, off the top of my head, who
id not respond to that. Now in some cases it is people who are
wners of vacant lots and some are cases of people who never
espond to our letters anyway. Some people just have not
esponded. We have not had anyone definitely say "I do not want
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Lorne Van sinclair:
my home rezoned". In fact, we sent out,numero~s le~ters. We
. have had this discussed at several publlC meetlngs ln Sugarbush
and it has been a process that has actually been going on for a
number of years. So no one has said "no, absolutely not". More
has been a lack of response from a few people who had to sign the
form and mail back.
councillor Dickie:
And how many of these are there?
Lorne Van sinclair:
I can give you an estimate. I have 10 and that includes several
owners who you can't get a hold of. We don't have an address,
and two are up as power of sale.
Deputy Mayor Beard:
Do we have any further questions on this issue?
Thelma Halfacre:
I would like to know if there are any families there with
children who require busing and are in fact being bused.
What about their properties, are they zoned permanent?
Deputy Mayor Beard:
I don't know who can answer.
Kris Menzies:
I can probably answer the second part, well speculate that I am
sure that there are families there with children who are busing
and maybe Lorne or vi will be able to explain that a little bit
more. But all of the properties west, well except for this phase
which isn't built yet (indicated on map) west of the 6th line are
all zoned for seasonal use. All of them on this side are zoned,
including the new phase, which isn't built, are zoned for year
round use.
Deputy Mayor Beard:
Can you answer that question?
Lorne Van Sinclair:
I couldn't give you any exact number of how many are being bused,
there are quite a number, my daughter being one of them. I live
there illegally full time and have for five years now. There
are, I think we counted this morning, 5 different school buses
that come in and pick up people from all the different areas.
There is one that goes right into the old sector. How many, I
can't tell you but there are a number.
Councillor Dickie:
This one through to the Clerk, I take it that the school board
as circulated?
es they were.
eputy Reeve Dalziel:
r. Mayor through to Kris, it has been identified that there are
pproximately 10 owners of properties and some of them are vacant
ots and if we processed, if a rezoning goes ahead, and the
inistry answers within a reasonable length of time, that is
IIIL-
~
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.
eputy Reeve Dalziel:
reat. Might we be confronted with legal action from so~e of the
other 10 saying that it was never their intent to allow lt to
appen and they didn't know about it?
ris Menzies:
at I would recommend is that council give consideration to the
fficial Plan Amendment for the entire site. When it comes down
0 the zoning, I think you might want to look at a case by case
basis. If there are some people who have not authorized Indian
Park to work on their behalf. I would suggest to council that
ou not deal with their properties. They may not want to be
rezoned. They may be indifferent. But I would suggest that you
stay out of the whole issue. The second reason is that Indian
Park is working quite closely with the Health unit. There may be
some lots which the Health unit feels that their systems are sub-
standard and thus should not be rezoned for year round use and I
ould be hard pressed to recommend approval of rezoning those
articular lots.
here being no further questions or comments, when being called
for the third time, the Deputy Mayor in closing the meeting,
thanked those in attendance for their participation and advised
tha~ ?ouncil would con~ider all matters before reaching a
declslon. He then advlsed those present that if they wished to
be notifi7d of the passing of the proposed By-law, they should
leave thelr name and address with the Clerk.
OTION NO.1
oved by Dickie, seconded by Martin
Be it re~olved that this Special Public Meeting of council (Lots
located ln Lots 2 & 3, Concession 6 (Sugarbush Phase I),
formerlyOro) now be adjourned @ 7:45 p.m.
/d; 4.h.{,/ UV..6i< ofg&'
/tLERK, DARLENE SHOEBRID E