Copies of the four decisions on the application and appeals for Joint Board Hearing for the WestHill Development application. are on hand.
The town's decision to support neighbouring residents to the Westhill proposal ,in their opposition is already known. The decisions are a matter of public record. I scanned the first three. I read the most recent . The one that wasn't authorised by Council.
The first decision by the Ontario Municipal Board said Mr. Northey's argument was contrived.
Mr. Northey is the environmental lawyer retained by Mr. Mc Cutcheon, himself a lawyer I believe, and his neighbours. The town's lawyer, Roger Beaman supported Mr. Northey in his arguments. He was so instructed.
The last decision by the Divisional Court pointed out Mr. Northey had argued the case based on a law which had not been proclaimed. It was passed in the legislature but never proclaimed. That means it isn't a law. On instructions, Mr. Beaman supported that argument.
Mr. Beaman's fees for following Mr. Northey into court and supporting his argument three times, up to but not including the last appearance,were $135,000. We may assume the last appearance would bring the total close to $200.000
That's what we spent with tax dollars, to support an argument which never held water in the first place. The dispute is about amount of water being taken by the development. Pardon the pun.
It's not our business, but suppose Mr. Northey's costs for representing the residents with a company of experts was $400.000. And suppose Westhill Development spent the same amount.
.
We are looking at a conservative figure $1 million in legal fees in total and two years spent with nothing whatsoever accomplished on anyone's behalf.Not the Town's. Not the neighbour's. And not the developers.
NOTHING.!!! NIL.!!! ZERO!!!! ZILCH!!!! NADA!!!! Amen, my friends.
And we are not done yet shovelling money into this bottomless pit.
With professional advice yet.
Not that professional advice makes a difference in the Mormac Regime.
In fact, the pattern established seems to indicate clear bias, if not actual hostility, against any level or variety of expertise.
Here's another awful thought.
Someone has already contemplated that the town should compensate the opposing neighbours for their legal costs.
Add to that a potential judgement for costs to the successful party to the argument.
Tuesday, 16 February 2010
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5 comments:
Good grief! When will the madness stop?
Keep the info coming, Councillor Buck!
Mr. Northey is usually hired by "environmental" groups to fight their battles. I believe he was also the lawyer who fought and lost the Big Pipe battle in King City at considerable costs to the taxpayers there. His record of success is not thought to be good in legal circles.
Dear Evelyn:
You are to be commended for your courage and honesty.
Can you advise what portion of Mr. Beaman's fees are included in the "extra legal expenses" statement for the Town to the end of May, 2009, totalling $475,000? You state that $135,000 was charged, not including the last appearance. It's inclusion could bring the total close to $200,000.
Do you have any idea what percentage of Aurora's residents is familiar with your blog and how many read it regularly?
I find that some of the matters about which you write are bordering on the criminal, forget about civil gross negligence and malfeasance.
Does the Morris group receive a percentage commission on "extra legal expenses?" 10% on $600,000 is more than Mayor's pay.
Keep up the fight!!!
If you are really interested in a tad bit of tampering then please search the Auroran for a story on resident Mike Moran and a proposed music festival .
It seems there was support and money coming to the Town but then another festival came to light with the Snowball Queen at the lead .
Very interesting that one was squished to create another .
Why ?
Especially when the Snowball now is set up in The Cultural Center .
This stinks bad .
Mrs. St. Kitts is not "set up" at the Cultural Centre. She realized that that venue is not for the taking, unlike the Farmers Market and the Canada Day Parade.
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