In Richmond Hill, there are parents of a family with a closing date for a new home in Aurora.
In Aurora , there's a builder ready to meet a commitment to meet the closing date for the home he built for the Richmond Hill family.
Also in Aurora , there's a team of professional staff who cannot authorize what is needed for
grading of the lot of the new home to be completed for occupancy by the closing date.
Also in Aurora as a matter of the public record, eleven pages of legal opinion from the town solicitor advises the political body they cannot withhold permission for that which is necessary to allow grading of the lot of the home built by the builder to be ready for the new Aurora family on the date committed to close.
Of Aurora Council ,five members steadfastly refused to accept legal advice from the town's solicitor.
Councillors John Abel , Sandra Humfreys ,John Gallo, Wendy Gaertner and Chris Ballard
voted to deny that which is necessary for the home to be completed by the closing date.
At the behest of neighbors who believe their right is paramount to enjoy the sight of trees bought and paid for and owned by a new neighbor , the five voted together, to a round of unneighborly applause .......
For a resolution to
SAVE THE TREES
The lot is currently being graded in accordance with approved grades, with three trees standing on a mound twelve feet away from the house and the walkout basement doors
Somebody should take a pictur.
It is a shame this wasn't cut off at the pass. Totally unnecessary and there is no way Aurora can remedy the situation they have created. Indeed they succeeded in making the problem worse. The paper trail is quite clear. The man had the right to remove those lonely trees.
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ReplyDeleteIt is surprising the John Abel joined with the other four.
Although, possibly not so surprising.
Clr. Abel has been confused from the very outset as to whether these trees were "heritage trees" or not, since they existed on a site that contained a "heritage house."
Once the heritage house was removed did the "heritage" designation remain with the trees?
I think he is still confused. This is really quite pitiful.
Obviously staff, in their initial report to councillors, recommended that the trees could be removed in order to permit the necessary grading that would prevent flooding of the house under construction.
Through several meetings, countless hours, a myriad of delegations, the Town Solicitor has now provided a written opinion containing numerous pages to the effect that the town cannot withhold the necessary permission as requested by the homeowner.
But still a majority of council prevaricates. This is an outrage.
Down with the trees!
There is a pattern. Faced with an angry group of residents, you send the matter back to staff. When it reappears, you argue that staff failed. You send it back for further study. And all the time the meter is ticking for the person with the problem and taxpayers.
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ReplyDeleteGarbage in, garbage out.
The one municipal service that functions flawlessly is garbage collection.
Would councillors get the message if half a dozen garbage trucks showed up at Town Hall, their engines rumbling?
On the other hand we have never faced a shutdown of municipal government for two weeks as is the present state of affairs in the national government of the United States.
And all is not lost in Canada, where in today's Throne Speech the Harper government state that deficits will be illegal "during normal economic times." It should be noted that several provinces have anti-deficit laws on the books, but they're frequently broken.
So, in order to SAVE THE TREES , they have condemned them to a slow death. You cannot fix stupid.
ReplyDeleteI thought they lived in Markham?
ReplyDeleteI fear the tree mess is heading for the courts. It cannot remain as it is now & no one appears willing to take the necessary steps to deal with the situation. The only good thing about that happening is that we can stop discussing our disgust.
ReplyDeleteThe funny thing is...And everyone knows it, including those 5 councillors. Those trees are going to come down. Whether it’s through the courts, get damaged from the grading and fall ill or the owner just chops them down.
ReplyDeleteIf I were the owner I would just cut down the trees.
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