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6 j tc -ji-v- vrt i tiiiit ywm konontffsmnitnfcmne7thej3ak ridges moraine saturday may 26 2001 a year later theres still no decision on future of oak ridges moraine wmikeadler staff writer it would have had its first birth- dayqri tuesdayand some people thoughtit would stillbe dragging on a year from now v c it ate money 10 millionso far and it never moved v richmond hills municipal offices a cluttered place of and boxed documents presided over by two men members of the ontario- municipal board- since may 29 2000 the board hearifig6n moraine development in richmond hill has featured the sight of highpowered lawyers forced to argue about the inigra tions of tiny frogs the sensitivities of breeding tlie trickling of water throughsand v some consider it the most importantdand iisejplanning case in ontarios history now its in- limbo j the provincial government finally stepped in last week and put the hearing along with develop ments across the entire moraine on hold for six months it has promised tocomplete a legislated moraine policy in that time if tlie proyince had taken the same actions in the fall of 1999 or staff photorob alary gloria marsh was one of many activists who blocked construction on the morame including the bayview extension project last year richmond hill in the provincial board he wrote to richmond hill spotlight vt- mayor bill bell in march 2000 when it began both opposition the hearing considering 8000 parties the cityoftoronto andthe homes on 7000 acres was impor- greater toronto services board were calling for a sixmonth freeze on the moraine tony clement then municipal affairs minister said that view was shortsighted and york region politicians jbacked him up clement insisted his interven tion was not needed and towns like spring of 2000 the hearing richmond hill had the necessary which adjojlirned on tuesday might never have happened 1 and if it did the hearing never wouldjiayebecome the monster that kept the- moraine- s toolsto protect the moraine i am confident our shared goal of bal ancing environmental protection with economic development will be given due consideration by the tant because richmond hill holds some of the moraines most sensi tivc areas at one of its narrowest points tlie disputed zoneincluded headwaters of the humber rouge and don rivers rare plant and ani mal species and the fragile bond and philips kettle lakes tlie public mood was heated before tlie hearing with some pro- testers dumping wood chips in front ofthe municipal officesat a prehearing in april 2000 board chairperson james mills dismissed torontos involvement causing erso save the rougevalley system pres ident glenn de baeremaeker to declare two and a half million people have just been gagged by two men sitting at a table v de baeremaeker went on to say no one should bet on the environ- mental group winning meanwhile thedeyelqpefs had spent millions on studies and had hired some of v the countrys top experts v but toronto then gave srvs 800000 to hire experts and fight its casetke province surprising k many came to the hearing with a position that staked out most of the subject area as offlimits to devep opment- de baeremaeker insists his groups witnesses were about to turn the tables on the developers experts and their testimony when the sixmonth timeout was announced their reports will be obliterat ed absolutely obliterated they will be torn to shreds he declared this week i think- these people are going to be embarrassed and humiliated when the current municipal affairs minister chris hodgson stepped in srvs was also prepar ing for some public sessions at hopedwould draw many ordinary citizens to speak with emotion to the omb bellsaid tlie town although a bit player spent more than 15 million at the hearing we were advised before the freeze that this thing could go on for another year he added this week i guess right know its environ mentalists 1 developers 0 but the game is still on pfoviri tihafe5 backtrack on moraineeze mayor i v by linda johnson j a problem here s described the event as surreal n s c lyou hadto bethere three v kchmond hill mayor blu bell- richmond hill are affected by theg- ministers all dissing the develop- says- the provincial government freeze many of them have receivecl ersfand being cheered on by the probably didhtrealize the full draft a which means the enyirbnmentajists j impact of freezing development dnv f haigonmrqugh bell said at first he was encour theoakridges moraine and may cent of the permit process iequiredv aged by the announcement think v be fofcedto backtrack ok he said in jan interview later whats scary is i dont think the province understands- the full impact i dont think tliey intended to catch r people in the net they i caught were probably going to see some backpedalling fpffull approval ie- ingitwas essentially a return to av y but they have to be careful its i adiressing tlie hillv keylthingwsome portion plan the town had adopted before acredibility thing they cant call a 11 chamber j of s commerce of the 7000lotshave already been the process moved to the ontario total freeze arid then start making wednessaybell spoke ofthe plight sold he said and people will be v municipal board all sorts of exemptions ofhomebuverswhdwill seethe expecting die building to start i thought imaybe thiswould bell said he and town officials vticrfiiirrf nff thoiiihmicso khtmi i j s t c accelerate things he said at thef are still digesting tlie full impact construction of their chouses -sopn- delayed by atleasfauyearafter the for mepeoplewho bought the end of the six months lands which of the freeze especially ohthe piovirfce passed legislation halting flots it paeans more tnahsixt should beprotected would itowns finances mevelopjnenvonvthe enwbnmen- mpntiscause november isriotte theuncertain areas would be it could have a profound effect tauvseiisitivearev5ia those clearlyvon ihetowns ability togenerate much greater significance- took in all the lands of r is mother arid aadtvscenario tion had muc rtheur sbndhaughteriia con fbell whor- vaehde because it toi k cern toririe and to me announcement js v- jf this departrnent i thinkweve got quite richmondhius millpdnd mayl7 sfi doiit understand- thats substarit saidi the town brought in more than half a billion dollars from building permits year it will probably be substantially lower hesaid region will buy land for bayview extension important project must move forward regional chairperson says by patrick casey staff writer york region is prepared to pay 23 million to purchase three pieces of property and finish con struction of the bayview avenue extension in richmond hill and the provincial governments sixmonth freeze from building on the oak ridges moraine will have no bearing on the substantial pro ject under the legislation we are allowed to complete any projects that had already received full approval explained regional chair person bill fischa week after queens park halted future develop ment on the moraine as the govern ment prepares guidelines for fumre growth this project has full approvals including all the necessary environ mental assessments this road is absolutely necessary because we need to connect the load for nortii- soutli travel we need relief off of- yonge street and leslie street this is an important project that must be moved forward on thursday the region approved a 12million purchase for one tract of land and will expro priate two remaining parcels for a combined 11 million fisch said construction will begin shortly and he expects work to be finished by the end ofthe year at the north bayview avenue currently ends abruptly at stouffvilleroad construction will link bayview between stouffville and bloomington roads taking the road farther away- from lake wilcox so that it crosses bethesda sideroad 130 metres east of the existing bayview avenue the old bayview will become a series of deadend streets last year police removed pro testers from the bayview site as crewsarrived to clear rows of trees to make room for the new road environmentalists- fear con struction will have a negative effect on the oak ridges moraine and nearby jefferson forest both sensi tive areas comprising part of the planned roadway