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vol 3 no 17 a metroland community newspaper saturday april 25 1987 64 pages 25 cents public meetings questioned by chris shanahan the value of public meetings has been questioned by a consul tant representing a residential subdivision proposed for whitchurchstouffville hydrologist brian whitehead voiced his concern tuesday dur ing one of these information ses sions held for planned op and zoning amendments for ot baggios planned 1 1lot develop ment if approved the subdivi sion would be built on a 103 hec tare 2548acre parcel located on the east side of the ninth con cession rd after more than two hours of objections from residents neighboring the proposed de velopment mr whitehead addressed the meeting and claimed he knew exactly what all the objections would be even before the session began i have sat through 40 or 50 of these public meetings and the concerns are virtually always the same he said ward 6 councillor jim san ders took exception to the conrf- ment asking if mr whitehead was inferring that such public meetings are useless the hydrologist denied this and explained his concern stems from the fact most ques tions raised during these public forums are addressed by the appropriate government agen cies councillor sanders said he feels the sessions are produc tive and provide citizen input that proves valuable when it comes time to make planning decisions its called the democratic process piped in bill hart- shorne one of several stouffvil- le ratepayers opposing the bag- gio subdivision we dont think this type of development blends into our area mr harshorne had ear lier told the meeting public meetings must be held under provisions of the plan ning act for all proposed offi cial plan and zoning bylaw amendments up for considera tion by a municipal council these sessions are designed to allow input from ratepayers and proponents affected by proposed amendments mr whitehead disagreed with opposing residents who claimed through both verbal and written submissions that the proposed development would create problems such as water shortages and increased traffic hazards on analready dangerous ninth line north its also unwise to develop on the environmentallysensitive oak rides moraine objectors claimed in response the hydrologist said he has determined theres adequate recharge to service the 11 large lots basically i feel the subdivi sion meets all your criteria he told councillors mr whitehead then asked councillors to approve any necessary studies so the project can proceed through the plan ning process the town has re served its decision on the bag- gio application pending ex amination of all information gathered at the public meeting mr baggio also spoke during the marathon session refuting contentions that hed earlier promised his neighbors never to subdivide his property the proponent a civil en gineer also claimed the grade of the road in that area is okay and wasnt a factor in previous car accidents concerns a total of four public meetings were conducted before whitch urchstouffville council april 21 including one for proposed op and zoning amendments for a property at the southwest corner of woodbine ave and aurora rd members of wesley corners ratepayers association appeared to voice objections to planned expansion of the existing petro canada operation nick gus service is request ing a zoning change to highway commercial to recognize all ex isting service station uses plus two proposed uses in a separate new building consisting of 2700 square feet of neighborhood com mercial space however neighboring proper tyowners are concerned about possible traffic congestion and other factors that could disrupt their lifestyle if the building pro ceeds troutfishing season opens today trout season opens today april 25 at bruces mill and other area facilities operated by the metro toronto and region conservation authority mtrca bruces mill located on stouff- ville rd cast of warden ave opens at 8 am during the first weekend of the fishing season af ter that hours at all mtrca parks are 10 am to 8 pm anglers can also try their luck at other authority conservation areas including greenwood off westney rd in north pickering glen haffy on airport rd just south of hwy 9 and mono mills heart lake near brampton and albion hills located on hwy 50 north of bolton for more in formation contact the mtrca office at 6616600 and in uxbridge today royal canadian legion branch 170 hosts its annual childrens fishing der by at elgin pond from 9 am to 4 pm anglers between the ages of 18 and 64 must have a resident sport fishing licence except for those with physical disabilities per mits are available at ministry of natural resources district offices and from private issuers