The Oakville Beaver, W e d n e sd a y M a rc h 26, 2003 - A 7 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR O M B COStS n o t th e r e s u lt o f a c tio n b y c itiz e n s ' g r o u p s Re: March 12. Oakville Beaver letter to the editor from developers represent ed by North Oakville Management Inc.. 1need help here. Paraphrasing, the letter states that citizens' groups at the Ontario Municipal Board will be responsible for millions of dollars in costs because they want specific issues discussed. Did not developers rush off in a tear to the O M B to appeal the decision by Oakville to wait for reports from sched uled environmental studies? Reality being taxpayers are hit with major costs triggered by developers rejecting decisions by elected officials and opting for immediate appeals to O M B. And they have the audacity to shift blame for OM B costs to citizens groups. Guess the issues some would drop arc air and water quality. The "letter" declined to mention air and water. Now let's move out of the box. and thrust our little pinky up and test the breezes of current public opinion and facts: a pin hitting the floor could have shattered the silence after the lawyer for the Ministry of Housing stated at the O M B pre-hearing that air quality should not be ruled out as a concern, and other environmental issues. Secondly, at the Oakville provincial conservative party's candidate's debate, strong support was voiced for environ mental issues at the O M B. The Liberal candidate has pro nounced similarly. Hence, since O M B is provincial jurisdiction, we might breathe a sigh of relief that there is con cern for life and good health. And the chair seemed fairly disposed in that direction: in fact, has now ruled in favour of inclusion albeit with condi tions. In closing, reference was made to " a planning matter sometimes requires `cooler' heads -- people without a political interest in the outcome -- ". Let's agree, elections are at the core of our democratic process: i.e.. people normally do build public support by participating and leading in issues vital to our community: this is applaud ed, not disparaged: as does making a profit, another sort of respected special interest. Yes. balance is the key. A ll hav ing the patience to go that extra mile for transparency and good natured exchange without jumping in a flash over citizens' rights directly to a costly O M B process. So. I sincerely urge all principals in a spirit of needing help to get this off the media page: act as good neighbours in a great Oakville community spirit, sit down over coffee (a big pot), and work this out. in a respectful, transparent manner. Yes. we all need to reach out to each other. DAVE DYKEMAN ft was developers who first rushed to the OMB Amendment before it was even approved by Council-- which resulted in all this! They have also written their own OPA, which they are now presenting to the O M B as a substitute for the one from the Town. In addition, they presently have 11 issues before the board to further their plans, whereas these groups have only five to protect the environment. What about all these costs? The developers have formed a new company named North Oakville Management Inc. of which Ms. Townsend is vice-president. That name seems to imply that they think they can and should manage the growth north of Dundas Street. There are quite a few residents in Oakville (except maybe landowners north of Dundas) who would strongly disagree with that! The mayor reassured and promised residents that the environment would be protected. I am thankful for the huge amount of time and effort freely dedicated by Oakvillegreen and Clear The A ir trying to make sure this happens at the OM B. DIANA LEVEY Ms. Lyn Townsend Renaud wrote a long letter to the Beaver on March 12. In it she seems to imply that the devel opment process would evolve much belter and cheaper if it was not for resi dents' groups like Oakvillegreeen and Clear The Air. and if developers would just be left alone to work out their dif ferences with the Town. She claims these groups could be blamed for " mil lions of dollars" in taxpayer costs. Well, excuse me. but it was the developers she represents who first rushed to the Ontario Municipal Board and appealed the Official Plan O A K YIL LE C O U N C IL & S T A N D IN G C O M M I T T E E M E E T IN G S ® p i n i t o GIVEAWAYS! NAME OF YOUR SCHOOL GROUP OR ORGANIZA TION: M o n d a y , A p r il 7, 2 0 0 3 M o n d a y , A p r il 14, 2 0 0 3 Council Meeting Council Chambers 7:30 p.m. Planning & Development Council Meeting Council Chambers 7:30 p.m. T u e sd a y , A p r il 15, 2 0 0 3 Community Services Committee 7:30 p.m. - Oakville Room Administrative Services Committee 7:30 p.m. - Trafalgar Room T u e sd a y , A p r il 2 2 , 2 0 0 3 Council Meeting Council Chambers 7:30 p.m. Send or drop off your collected coupons to: THE OAKVILLE BEAVER, 467 SPEERS RD. OAKVILLE ON L6K3S4 No copies or reproductions accepted 1225 T R A FA LG A R RO A D · O A K V IL L E , O N T A R IO · L6J 5A6 (905) 845-6601 w w w .o a k v ille .c a The Beaver welcomes your letters The Oak\ ille Beaver welcomes letters from its readers. Letters will be edited for clarity, length, legal con siderations and grammar. In order to be published, letters must contain the name, address and phone number of the author. 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