On Monday, March 21, 2016, the City Planning Committee heard all the arguments against the Forest Park Development Plan, and then voted 7-2 to approve. Councillor Chris Fonseca and Councillor Karen Ras voted against the application. The Mayor left the Council Meeting before the vote was taken.
The bottom line was that, since the City Planners had already approved the plan, the developer indicated that they would take the City to the Ontario Municipal Board. In essence, the Council would be reversing the decision of its own staff. The legal council for the City, when questioned by Councillor Carolyn Parish, advised that fighting the decision at OMB would cost the City upwards of $200,000.
On these grounds, and faced with the fact that their track record was not good when fighting OMB, Council approved the development, with some conditions. The conditions included a list of upgrades to the existing buildings and removing paid parking prior to moving forward with the final plans.
The bottom line was that, since the City Planners had already approved the plan, the developer indicated that they would take the City to the Ontario Municipal Board. In essence, the Council would be reversing the decision of its own staff. The legal council for the City, when questioned by Councillor Carolyn Parish, advised that fighting the decision at OMB would cost the City upwards of $200,000.
On these grounds, and faced with the fact that their track record was not good when fighting OMB, Council approved the development, with some conditions. The conditions included a list of upgrades to the existing buildings and removing paid parking prior to moving forward with the final plans.
This article was originally published in the Summer 2016 issue of the Rockwood Homeowners' Association quarterly newsletter, The Rockwood Times.
