"Cowardice asks the question...is it safe? Expediency asks the question...is it politic? Vanity asks the question...is it popular? But conscience asks the question...is it right? And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular but one must take it because it is right." ~Dr. Martin Luther King

Saturday 12 December 2015

THE TOPIC IS EXHAUSTED

Councilor Mrakas has posted a response on Facebook to our analysis of the resolution approved by Council on the purchase of a golf course to accommodate a Ratepayer Association. 

 Written  by staff, the resolution directs staff to reject the developer's offer to sell the golf course to the town for 98.1 million and notify the developer of the decision.

Ratepayers are encouraged to continue discussions with developers , with town staff facilitation,to a 

I figured the resolution was written by staff.

The Councillor refers to two consultants giving planning definitions of  Open Space. 

No reference is made to the  application for development or Council's position on that. 

Councillor  Mrakas is obliged to ask others for information. He can't be faulted for that. Any newly elected Councillor has to learn. Some are more up to it than others. The current issue is an opportunity.

The problem is with paucity of information received. 

Planning consultants, in the business of selling expertise, tend to provide whatever will successfully woo the client. 

An OP designation of Open Space can be different  in different circumstances. 

A  functioning golf course in the country, like Westview, surrounded by fields, no road allowances or municipal services dead ending at multiple points around the course, like water and sewers, street lighting, police and fire protection, all the incidentals that come with an urban setting, has an Official Plan designation of Open Space. 

In that context,the designation is not the same as the Highland Gate Development Inc./ Club Links property enclosed completely by aforementioned urban services. 

The resolution fails to deal with the development application. Or town responsibility under the Planning Act to process an application within three months of  receiving .Or reasons why the property cannot or should not be developed. 

Or denial of the legal  right of a private property owner to make an application for a change in use.

It appears the legal process has not been followed.

Seems the town's mintention has always been to relieve the owner of ownership at a price agreeable to the town.

Ratepayers may have been encouraged  by Council to believe acquisition of the golf course was 
feasible.

Even without reference  to the Town's Master Recreation Plan or without property owners legal expertise on hand, I suspect the town's argument will fall short of persuasion at an Ontario Municipal Board Hearing. 

Maybe the only hope left is Ratepayers will exercise better judgement than Council and acknowledge the unlikely possibility the OMB will order the property owner to sell the land at an affordable price to them.  

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

Surely no one feels the OMB can order the sale or fix the value. The latter will depend upon the market now, not some
arbitrary price from a consultant.
It was a very abrupt confusing process which I still do not understand. No one to whom I have spoked does rither.
Ditto that - the topic is exhausted, We must wait it out now.

Anonymous said...

Cardinal Golf course has been sold recently. I would suspect that the new owners will be presenting development plans in the near future.

Anonymous said...

AFP
" Mysterious buffalo herd runs amok in Canadian prairies "


The comments to this story are quite funny. some are suggesting they came from Montana to escape
Mr Trump.

Anonymous said...

We do not need all those golf courses, I guess. Membership costs at Beacon Hall are supposed to be fairly
reasonable and I think they used to cost a lot more.

Anonymous said...

The OMB will look at the plans and take advice from THEIR consultants.

Anonymous said...


195 nations reach agreement in Paris to deal with global warming.

Anonymous said...

The Hydro Funds are safe for the time being.

Anonymous said...

First Nations will be pleased. Buffalo back/ Harper gone

Anonymous said...

Yeah. Let's just hope they don't copy the Green Energy model of Ontario.

Anonymous said...

We should all be pleased. Jr. will be in in the pages of Vogue magazine.

Anonymous said...

He looks great and so does his wife. A real improvement over Voltemort.
Problems there certainly are but there is also some enthusiasm for finding solutions. People actually talk and listen.
When did the provinces last sit down like that ?

Anonymous said...

When the majority of the provinces are liberal, I would imagine that it would be quite easy.

Anonymous said...

12:17
You must be one of these "Entitled Ones" that I read about all of the time. Beacon Hall reasonable? Compared to what, Augusta National or Pebble Beach?

Highland Gate was a mediocre golf course. When you have signs telling you not to use certain clubs, there is a problem.

Clublink has reached a point that they cannot expand their evil empire any longer with actual real estate. They need to divest of property so that they can enter into long-term lease agreements like they did in Barrie with National Pines or Woodbridge with Board of Trade.