Details

Bob Forrest’s planning application for a monstrous and out-of-place 7 storey apartment building in the heart of Newmarket’s heritage conservation district has now been lodged with the Town. It is expected to be considered by the Town’s Committee of the Whole in April or May.

But, before then, it goes to the influential Heritage Newmarket Advisory Committee which meets on Tuesday 8 March 2016 at the Town’s HQ at 395 Mulock Drive.

The agenda at item 8(b) under “Designated property Maintenance and Concerns” refers to Main Street Clock Tower – 178-180 Main Street. These heritage properties have been boarded up for ages.

A covering note from Dave Ruggle, the senior planner responsible for the file, draws attention to supporting documents which include a complete package of drawings relating to the proposed development and the full Heritage Impact Assessment (HIA). (You can read these documents by clicking on agenda item 8(b).)

He says the drawings include a “revised” site plan and an “updated” HIA. In what way, I wonder, has the site plan been revised and the HIA updated?

Mr Ruggle goes on to say:

“Please be advised that the Heritage Impact Assessment will be peer reviewed.”

This rather begs the question: who exactly will be peer reviewing the HIA of this very controversial planning application? This is hugely important. If the Town’s own planners come down in favour of Forrest’s proposal and this view is buttressed by an "independent expert third party" HIA review then Forrest wins. The Town’s heritage district is changed forever.

OMB boycott

If councillors were to vote against a recommendation of their own planners in these circumstances Forrest would appeal to the OMB with a 95% chance of success. (He already has an appeal at the OMB which is sleeping.) The Town’s own planners, following the Glenway precedent, would boycott the OMB Hearing saying they cannot be forced to argue the Town’s case if councillors have chosen to ignore their advice.

So. What is to be done?

If I were a member of the Heritage Newmarket Advisory Committee I would ask:

  1. When will the HIA peer reviewer be chosen?
  2. What criteria will be used to select the peer reviewer?
  3. What is the process used in selecting the peer reviewer?
  4. Has the peer reviewer substantial experience in assessing the merits or otherwise of developments in Heritage Conservation Districts?
  5. Where can I access and read previous assessments and recommendations of the peer reviewer which relate to developments in Heritage Conservation Districts?

There are any number of highly qualified planners and architects out there working in the heritage field. Many of them swap notes on the National Trust for Canada website looking at ways in which the integrity of heritage conservation districts can be preserved given the challenges of today when developers, like Bob Forrest, are constantly knocking at the door.

Now is the time to raise the issue of the peer review - not later when the views of the Town’s Planning Department are settled (if they are not already).

Tuesday’s agenda also flags up a report (at item 12c) from the Lower Main Street South Heritage Conservation District Advisory Group.

Now that all the papers relating to the Forrest development are in the public domain I think we can expect a lively debate on Tuesday.

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Update on 7 March 2016: I learn today that ERA Architects is the firm used by the Town of Newmarket to carry out peer reviews on Heritage Impact Assessments. I am told the peer reviewer is selected through an RPF process where firms submit their proposals which are then evaluated against a set of criteria.

Details

Yesterday, at the Small Claims Court in Newmarket, Deputy Judge Bernard Aron ruled that Maddie Di Muccio’s libel action against regional councillor John Taylor should proceed to full trial.

Di Muccio now has 60 days to ask the Court to set a trial date.

Astonishingly, the Judge called for the police to be physically present in Court before he would begin the settlement hearing.

Di Muccio has now amended her original claim and now alleges, in addition to defamation, Taylor committed misfeasance and malfeasance in public office. She says he was responsible for

“abuse of power, intentional infliction of mental suffering and injurious falsehoods, targeted malice, breach of confidence and breach of privacy”.

In her amended statement of claim Di Muccio comes across as a tortured soul. She says Taylor “has a history of abusing his authority in office to defame my character”. He displays “an arrogant, high handed and abusive attitude” towards her. She says Taylor continues to defame her character “even as a private citizen”.

Di Muccio stressed out

She says this has taken its toll on her health. Taylor’s alleged false statements about her continue to make her a “target of ridicule” in her own community and this has caused her great personal stress which required “significant medical intervention”.

Maddie Di Muccio is, of course, a well known drama queen but no-one wants to see her health suffer as a result of all this. It is open to her to drop the action against Taylor at any time before the matter goes to trial. No-one is forcing her to extract $5,000 in damages from Taylor. She brings this on herself.

She and her perpetually angry husband, John Blommesteyn, should strike camp and move on with their lives. Both of them spend a huge amount of time shaking their fists at the Moon and yelling about all sorts of imagined injustices.

If Di Muccio’s Court action against Taylor succeeds I shall be astonished.

In fact, I am amazed it got this far.

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Details

It promised to be a moment of high drama.

Instead all we got was an empty chair.

Yesterday (2 March 2016) Geoff Dawe, the Mayor of Aurora, was scheduled to appear before the Committee examining Chris Ballard’s Private Member’s Bill 42 which would force direct elections for the Chair of York Regional Council.

When the issue was debated at Aurora Council everyone except Dawe was in favour of direct elections. Despite this, Dawe held to his own point of view and voted for the status quo at York Region.

What conflicting diary commitment did Mayor Dawe have that was of such importance it persuaded him to pass up the chance of speaking before a key committee of the Ontario Legislature?

Instead of Mayor Dawe we got his email. He will not support Bill 42 because:

(a)   It only applies to York Region.

(b)  There are other wider issues of governance not addressed by the Bill including under-representation of some municipalities and the absence of any provision for alternates.

(c)   People couldn’t care less about direct election. He tells us he has heard from three people: (1) Chris Ballard’s constituency assistant; (2) a fellow Aurora councillor and (3) a local resident he paints as some kind of political junkie.

In this second and final oral evidence session, there was, once again, not one single voice in favour of the status quo.

Al Duffy, a former Mayor of Richmond Hill, told the Committee he could never have made it to Regional Chair because he wouldn’t have been able to cut the deals to stitch it all up.

Former Newmarket mayoral candidate, Chris Campbell, and Newmarket councillor Christina Bisanz also addressed the Committee. As did I.

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Details

Chris Ballard’s Private Member's Bill 42 which will force the direct election of the Chair of York Region from 2018 is now half way through its Committee Stage at Queen’s Park.

But what was striking about the first evidence session (on Wednesday, 24 February) was that no-one turned up to defend the status quo. All seven witnesses argued for direct election.

The second evidence session this coming Wednesday (2 March) promises to be delicious. Probably lip smacking. Aurora Mayor, Geoff Dawe, who voted against directly electing the Regional Chair when the matter came before York Regional Council earlier this month, will be mounting a defence of the status quo.

Fellow Aurora councillor, Wendy Gaertner, put it this way:

“The Mayor voted against (Aurora) Council’s wishes and for his own.”

Liberal MPP Bas Balkissoon told her:

“That’s not democracy.”

In fact, Bill 42 seems to have a lot of friends.

Progressive Conservative Ernie Hardeman told the Committee:

“I support the Bill 100% and I do hope that we can get it through as quickly as possible.”

Once the Committee has finished with the Bill it then reports to the House – with or without any amendments. It then goes to Third Reading and, if passed, Royal Assent.

However, the timetabling of the remaining stages of the Bill’s progress through the legislature is in the hands of the House business managers. But with such widespread support it looks increasingly likely the Bill will make it on to the Statute Book.

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Details

My spies tell me that Maddie Di Muccio’s ludicrous libel action against regional councillor John Taylor will be back in Newmarket’s Small Claims Court at 3pm on Thursday 3 March 2016.

Instead of setting a date for a full trial, the Court has ordered a “Mandatory Settlement Conference”. This suggests to me that Di Muccio’s absurd and totally contrived action against Taylor will be thrown out as having no merit whatsoever. And not before time.

The fragile and excitable Di Muccio, a former Newmarket councillor and now President of the York Region Taxpayers Coalition, is claiming damages of $5,000 from Taylor on the grounds he allegedly said things about her that made her an object of ridicule.

Poor thing!

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