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By MAoBoucher Te Durham Board of Educa- tion -in foloiog the lead of York Regilon school -boards and wili charge lot levies on new homes. Accéording to Louise Parr, chairperson. of the Durham- board, ýa: consultant has .'been hired to report on the application of lot'levies. She said it wiii take a_bout. sûr imonths before,,the boardarr'ives at'an appropriate lotievy Public meetin p will, be held ta inform the public about the edu- cationdvepen charge on new homes, she said.' > "We certainly are >proceeding forward with this," she said. Parr said tie' board expects approximateiy 13,000 new stu-, dents over thie neit five years Mi the area. >The lot ievy will be a user fee ta cover the coat of providing classroom space for the new stu- dents, she saidl ExistiIIg tapayers wilbe exempt from the lot levy, she The Ontario Home Builders' Association (OHBA) has fiied a court chalienqe of the validity of theeducatio n deeiopment SEE PAGE 3 wH1TBjY's Town Crier Fred Martin talks with Barb Northey of Big Sis- ters during Tree of Hope Day in downtown Whitby. on Dec. 14. Van- ous charity and service organiza- tions were represented in the dowa- town to accept donatin as part ot the, Downtown Business Improve- ment Area (BIA). Christmas pro- motion. Photo by PetrTomblin, Whdtby Free Prem Downtown parking restrictions.,morrilylite §yN[maro Boucher Town council passed a byiaw on Monday thtt wili eliminate the three-hiouir paring restric- tion in the dowàtawn area. After mucli discussion, council- lors decidad, by a vote of 6-2, in ~favour of the bylaw ta hepsov the parldnj space prolm d aid i stunulating the local economy. The byiaw wili sspnd the three-hour restriction d«l bt ween 8 a.m. and 9 pan. or the rest of the month, effective yes- terday,,and between 8 an and 6" pam. during the month oJanu- lfhe no-parking restrictions will not change during this bylaw. The designated area is bound i'b John St. ta, the north, Henry t. t te wstOntario St. tothe south, and Athol St. and, Hickory St. ta thaeaast. Coune lvoted on the bylaw after hearing üb Morton, chair- ieso0f the Whitby -Dowvntawn §=s.ZS Improvemènt Area, and Bfi Làittie, co-owner of the Pear- son Lanes boutique development. They asked that, temiporary measures be, taken toa address the problem of parking spaoe i the downtawn core. «We have an imnmediate ro- blem that needs an immelLte, solution," sai4 Morton. Ha said it iâ difficuit for custo- mors ta shop in the downtawn area because mnost of the parking Some rebid<ents whose homes back onta Central Park i the West Lynde area want increased police attention and better light- inta address problems of van- d-ismian noise in thej>ark. In a letter Ifirom a group of concerned parents,"» it in stated that- teans fio= the community space iw bemng taken up bY tenants and wor]oers. 'This is intended as a tempor- a ensure,"n said Little. arge Town needs te, empioy al the tools posile ta heip the local economy and assure more stores. do not close and more jobs are lost to, Wbitby, lie said. "'It is a pretty serlous problem when y ou can't park con- veniently,'he said. are. destrýoyinlq park equipment, fighting, dinking and having sex in the park. "Large groupa of 50 ta 60 teenage chiidren have begun ta crate peer pressure ta undeor- take these activities which th%~ would not normally be drawn týo, states the latter, Which does flot Morton said many shoppers have compiained about having ta drive around for 10 to 20 minutes just ta get a parking Litftie sad about 35 per cent of business is lost due to custamers' frustrations in trying ta park in the downtéwn core. «I dont thik the businesses SEE PAGE 3 contains the names of concerned residents. The residents say the problemas combined with the numbers are "gettiiig well, ont of hand'to the point where. serions confron- ttion or accident wil inevitably SEE PAGE 3 Shool boar d considers, lot evies Cry,:ofhope es~dnt.wan.m.a...s..ke....... ............. .a.....m...........e m .. . .. . ..... . .. . . -6 - 4 ý éý, 0 4 4 A