Oct 21st Meeting Recap

Hello Neighbours,

A HUGE THANK YOU to everyone who has written letters over the last several weeks, and to all the wonderful people who showed up to the town's public meeting yesterday.

It was a packed house, with 149 registered speakers and the building reaching fire capacity - a first in the town's history! 

For those who couldn't make it, or weren't able to stay until the end, here is a quick recap:

• Mayor Hackson was not present

  
  

• Councilor Johns, who had chaired the initial part of the meeting, indicated that he was legally advised not to speak publicly on the topic of 31 Sand Rd and passed the chair to Councilor Roy-DiClemente. He stayed in the room to listen to the rest of the meeting.

  
  

• The developer indicated that they are re-working their plan based on feedback heard at the October 1 meeting, and that they will hold any appeals to the OLT for an extra 30 days (bringing the timeline to Dec 21). They indicated that they had requested to postpone the public meeting but it was denied.

  
  

• The town staff indicated they did not postpone the meeting because the public deserves to be heard.

  
  

• The developer presented their original 161 townhome plan. At this point we have absolutely no idea what their revised application will show, or whether it will deviate only slightly or significantly from the original plan.

  
  

• Councilor Carruthers raised a motion to allow a group of 10 residents to speak first. These speakers all did an amazing job raising detailed research points on a range of issues, from indigenous and historical significance of the site, to traffic and fire infrastructure concerns, to the health risks of silica on sand-based construction sites.

  
  

• Remaining residents spoke after a short recess. Every single one expressed opposition to the development. We heard a range of reasoning, both technical and personal. This portion of the meeting went from 8:30pm - 11:40pm with only one short 5 minute break.

  
  

• At the end, each councillor had a chance to speak. 

  • Councilor Carruthers, Foster and Crone all explicitly stated that they oppose the development and will uphold the official plan. 

  • Councilor Lahey indicated she is listening to feedback. 

  • Councilor Roy-DiClemente who was chairing the meeting refrained from further comment, but specified that she has made statements in the past that the town should uphold the official plan.

  • Councilor Johns did not comment

    
    

If you did not speak or write a letter yet, or if you heard new points last night that you want to elaborate on, there is still an opportunity to write to the planning department and council members. The sooner the better as the town staff now has 30-60 days to review the file and come back with a recommendation to council before the developer can legally appeal to the OLT.

Stay tuned for next steps. I will share information as it comes out about any revisions to the application or news on the planning process.

Last night was an incredible show of community unity. I feel very proud to be a part of this wonderful neighbourhood and to stand in opposition beside all of you.