Jen, I understood your point and agree with you. I just stated that after people move in, they become engaged with local developments and this is one of them, a hot one. there was a similar heated discussion here when the proposal for condos on Fourth and Derry was put through and there were a lot of labeling and name calling going around.[/quote]
speaking of which here is an article of Town giving the OK for a Condominium:
Condo complex proposal wins at OMB
Melanie Hennessey
May 16, 2006
A controversial condominium complex proposed for the town's east end has been approved by the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB), bringing to an end a long and discouraging battle for local residents.
The recent decision gave the go-ahead to five four-storey buildings with 264 units, which Maple Crossing Developments plans to construct at the northeast corner of Maple Avenue and Main Street.
For Tracey Demaline -- one of a large group of citizens who have been opposed to the development since day one -- news of the approval was disappointing.
"Are we upset? Yes," he told The Champion in an interview Thursday. "We are disheartened by the whole thing."
The residents took their case to the OMB and put forward a variety of arguments such as, in their opinion, that the condos would create too much traffic on Maple Avenue and the buildings would be located too close to the street.
But that failed to sway the hearing officers, whose decision says they weighed the residents' evidence against that of two land use planners and ultimately ruled that the development won't create "unacceptable impacts" in the community.
"The board further finds that the proposed development is reasonable, appropriate and represents the principles of good community planning," the decision reads.
The condos were originally turned down by Milton council in a close 5-4 vote. But after Maple Crossings appealed that decision to the OMB, the Town reached a settlement with the developer that in turn meant it wouldn't be standing behind its initial position at the hearing.
Ward 4 Councillor John Challinor has told The Champion the settlement came about because the Town received a legal opinion that it would lose its case at the OMB, and if that happened, it would then be in a poor position to negotiate site plan changes.
The terms of the settlement reached between the Town and developer involved several changes to the plans for the property, such as setting the condominium buildings farther back from the homes on Roper Drive and constructing and landscaping berms to further block the view of the development from neighbouring residents.
Trini
