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‘rsday, April 3, 2014, ‘ ‘ OPINION y 2013 CCNA BLUE MBBON warn-bum Editorial t 1.1» DIIBCIOB. Busmnss Anulmsmnou Robert (mu rko Allmeth ummmm include-W The Sun-tribune. published m stion 0! the W MMWLN..IM “Moth-5w M 4.23:; Eamon IN Cums Debora Kelly (ILA-l!“- \ 7 mg mm York Rrgion Mcd'n Group community 905640â€"26 l 2 .n 9()5â€"M0~8778 w 1-800-743-5355 DISTRIBUTION lâ€"SSS-RSS-Sbl.‘ Rm EsrAn um Cussman Cord Puoluca‘ [in Mason jmasonhmg.mm Daphne lawn? dlau'n‘d’qumm Duncan. DISTIIIU'HON Tanya Pacheco Wham? Dlucmn. Anvumsmc Debra Weller [ETTERS POLICY Pnonucnou lathe Smart F00 MI you: «Mary inqumos. phase York Region developer earned 0MB decision f you were surprised by the Ontario Municipal Board's decision to side with the developer in the Newmarket Glenway bat- tle. you shouldn‘t have been. Many are arguing the OMB iust sides with developers. but they don't understand the role of the provincially appointed appeals body. The 0MB is not in the back pocket of developers. It is not receiving kickbacks to support developer agendas. And' it d6esn't always back developers. For instance. in January. the OMB ruled against a develop- er‘s appeal to redesignate land for an outdoor banquet facility in King Township. Last November. the OMB supported a Vaughan council decision to maintain its ward boundafie The OMB. at its core. is an unbiased group that looks at development proposals with- out prejudice. lts decisions are based on evidence presented at a hear- ing, relevant law. provincial policies and the principles of good planning. The 0MB is a democratic system and has been since it was created by the province as the Ontario Railway and Municipal Board in 1906. In the most recent Glenway case. which the town entered at the urging of neighbour- GET CONNECTED Ontario Municipal Board sides with Marianneville in Glenway battle. \E M1 “CUR I E ? W "1 Email your comments and/o: suggestions to jmasoncyrmgcom ISSliE ing residents who opposed the planned addition of 730 homes to the former golf course property. ()MB chair- person Susan Schiller ruled that despite the fact the prop- erty was not pegged for devel- opment in the town's official plan. Marianneville Develop- ments is permitted to build on it. If the town was serious about preserving the l46-acre site. located south of Davis Drive West. between Yonge and Bathurst streets. it missed several opportunities to do so and did not take any steps to recover the Glenway land and provide long-term protection for it as public open space. Ms Schiller ruled. As well. the province's growth plan. at no point. sug- gests the only place intensi- fication can occur is within a designated intensification area. she added. So. the simple fact in this case is the developer came out on top because it had the stronger case. In the King Township and Vaughan cases. the respective municipalities put forth the more compelling arguments based on planning. rules and principles. That's why they won. That's not going to make Glenway residents happy and it certainly won‘t change the minds of anti-0MB crusaders throughout the region. but it's what counts. BOTTOM LINE: Best argument commywimdedslons durlngOMBflghts. Wf’Rt Ml MNh A80 facebookxom/Stouffvillesuntnbune 7Mbe Follow u? LETTER OF THE WEEK Cellphone tower crowd misrepresented at meeting Re: (2'11 lower dispute rages on ahead of public meeting. Man‘h 27. r V Your story ans. “(lountil Chambers were full of people opposing a cell tower on St. lohn‘s Side-road" in 2011. Those of us who were there have often wondered why. when there seemed to only be four people present who opposed the Roads aren’t safe Every night lately on the TV news. they have a scg~ ment on the condition of the roads in Toronto, the numerous potholes and the damage incurred by motor- ist to their cars. Well. Toronto residents. if you drive up to Stouffville you will encounter roads that make yours seem good. They are so badly dam- aged they no longer can be considered roads. These streets are Blake. Burkholder. O'Brien and Russell. along with many others. includ- ing Main from Park Drive to 'l‘cnth Line. However. Toronto. if you wish to train your road staff on repairing potholes. you could use our roads as a training ground. During the past 20 years they have been patched. re~ patched and re-patched and as a result we do not have GENERAL MANAGER Iohn Willems PUBLISHER Ian Proudfoot any roads. just patches. Each year we are told that they will be paved â€"- the town even had consultants meet with the residents to“ show us the improvements that will take place â€"- but it just never happens and the consultants just disappear like the funding that has been allocated in the past for road re~constmction. I. talked to Councillor Rob Hargrave about this major problem and nothing ever happens. Year after year. we are told the town has no funding available But they do seem to have funding for everything else like a Sl-million ball dia- mond in Memorial Park. “me last conversation I had with Councillor Har~ grave. he advised that 2015 will be the year the roads may be paved. We have all heard this fairy tale before. In the inteiest of safety. I requested that signs be post- tower. it didn'th through. The ms! wen: there in suppim. but other than getting up and speaking didn'l know how council would know where we smnd. One person in opposition. after speaking at the mic. sat down and promptly made a phone call. Now I wonder how many other times we were misrepresented due to coun- cil not knowing how the crowd felt. SW‘i-‘Ii'ibune 6290 Main St. StoufMlle. 0N. MA 167 m.wmmgion.com ed leading “Caution Rough Roadsâ€"Reduce Speed" to prevent damage to vehicles and others that use these streets. Councillor llargruvc advised they did not favour signs because it is not good for the town's image. But roads full of potholes are all right? In other words. forget safety. I challenge any mem- ber of council to drive on these streets and witness the condition first hand. These are not safe streets and it is requested that council allocate funding to re-put'e these roads. The only councillor that really understood and implemented a re-construe- tion program for roads was the late Harry Bowes and it has long been forgotten by MayorWayne Emmerson and this council. DIAN E WARD WHITL‘HL 'R(.‘H-_\'I‘( n 'I-H'll 1 1 B.Mll.LSlP 5n n 'H-HI I I