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STAFF PHOTOS/JIM MASON The owners of the Hoover Park Drive big box centre want the freedom to have smaller stores, they told town council. 0% finance rate up to 60 months term on selected 2008 vehicles. ‘Sale price plus height, PDI, admin., lic., gas, etching, locks and all applicable taxes, O.A.C 'siioo Swiss Army gift pack available only on Eclipse and Spyder. See dealer for more details. DIXIE MITSUBISHI WI“. MATE SID. FROM EVEIV VEHICLE SOLD DURING THE RIGHT To PLAY EVENT. “7) MVE FOR Vacant stores in downtown Stouffville are already for merchants and town councillors. “I believe with the way the price of gas is going, it'll keep people shopping locally, at least I hope they he said. Bafffi‘afi, owner of Barthau Jewellers, didn't support smaller stores being allowed in the plaza. Ist Cave would consider relocating if smaller stores were allowed, the move would further hurt the down- “I’m finding this is not making any sense,” he said. “If (more business and inter- est) is the case, why do you need to loosen the restricâ€" tions? If so many retailers are looking to come to Stouflville, why do we need to reduce the store size to smaller than 5,000 square feet?" Following her comment, Councillor Clyde Smith questioned Mr. Clarkson and Mr. Annand about their statements regarding the plaza attracting 900-per- cent more traffic flow since its opening. She said if the amend- ments were approved, “why wouldn’t (she) consider” moving her thnee businesses to the plaza as she says they have “the whole market cov- Several other business owners attended the meeting and expressed their concerns as well, including Charlotte Cave, who runs Chic Thrills, Hubba Hubba and The Girls near Main and Church streets. The proposed amend- ment calls for a removal of all previous restrictions includ- ing allowing stores of any size to be construtzted. well as prohibiting the conâ€" struction of medical and dental clinics. Originally, the BIA was in support of the motion as it set a minimum size for stores in the plaza, which limited potential comâ€" petition from smaller stores. Developer ’showing lack of respect for downtown: councillor tells meeting In the end, council voted to only accept the presen- tation and bring it back to council in August. Mr. Emerson suggested to the two men to do “more work" for the proposal and try to work with the BIA. “We want you to feel con- fident that your dollars are heing invested wisely and that we fully support you.” Councillor Phil Bannon assured business owners council was behind them. “I do think its an asset to have Walâ€"Mart, Canadian Tire and Rona, They’re essen- tial to a community that has everything, but we also need a vibrant downtown." “We’ve sunk a lot of tax- payers dollars into that downtown," he said. Mayor Wayne Emmerson expressed his concern. “We (Whitchurch- Stouffville) haven't got the population everyone thinks we have,” he said, adding he didn’t believe the town could sustain the downtown core and dozens of smaller stores in the Wal~Mart plaza. Mr. Clarkson said other Smart’Centres are developing at a faster rate as they have “little to no restrictions" and are able to construct stores of any size. His response to Mr. Annand’s “modest change” garnered applause from the business owners sitting in the audience. “You’re showing a total lack of respect for our down- town core,” he said. “You say it's only 60,000 square feet? Our entire downtown core is 80,000 square feet. If we relax on our restrictions, you’ll suck the business from the downtown core.” That did not sit well with Mr. Smith, who was visibly upset by the comment. Mr. Armanda referred to the 60,000â€"square-foot allot- ted section for the smaller stores as “only 12.5 per cent" of the total possible retail space available. a CO“ C cm