Will City Council go along with exemptions to the Interim Control bylaw?

News 100 redBy Staff

April 1st, 2019

BURLINGTON, ON

 

With the Interim Control just a couple of weeks old there is word that a number of exemptions are being considered. The pressure on individual members of Council will now increase.

Kearns

Lisa Kearns will face a lot of presure to approve exemptions to the Interim Control bylaw that was passed recently.

Lisa Kearns, ward 2 is reported to have told a ward meeting that the gas station on Lakeshore/Locust has been sold.

She is also reported to have told the audience that exemptions to the recently passed Interim Control bylaw are being sought.

Kearns outlined the exemptions that had been brought forward and her views on the merits of each.

Three developments that were inside the Urban Growth boundary. She explained that these developments were providing services to the residents.

Amica development rendering

The developers appeared prepared to do anything Council wanted to get an approval.

The Amica Development, the redevelopment of Maple Villas and the expansion of ROCK on James/Martha Street were the developments Kearns said were under consideration.

The justification for the Amica Development exemption from the Interim Control Bylaw was that it would serve a very small demographic of seniors. It would also serve the interests of Amica and provide some relief for the people in the co-op who sold their homes and are now in a no man’s land.

Maple Villa

Publicly supported long term care space will be replaced by private providers. The location is magnificent – it won’t be inexpensive.

Maple Villas, that will become known as “Better Life Retirement Residence” was in desperate need of repairs, it is reported to be in terrible shape. It does however provide affordable/Provincial long-term care for seniors. The new building will be an 11 storey rental building, with no long-term affordable care.

The extension of ROCK on James/Martha has been on hold for years.

Exemptions are possible – but once that door is opened – expect a flood of requests. The pressure on Council members is something they are not prepared for.

One resident put it very when saying: “…the message it will send to developers – once again they can manipulate Burlington. This new council campaigned on reasonable, sensible growth. They finally take a bold step in trying to control unbridled growth – ICBL and now are considering backing down.”

 

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6 comments to Will City Council go along with exemptions to the Interim Control bylaw?

  • Elaine O'Brien

    No exemptions ! There is no point having an Interim Control Bylaw if it is simply a title , to be manipulated at the whims of developers. Some semblance of order is needed with respect to downtown development and exemptions will simply make a mockery of the direction voters asked for in the last election. It is clear to everyone that the congestion downtown is becoming ridiculous. City Council needs to eliminate the core mobility hub designation and move the Urban Growth boundaries away from the core before anything else proceeds and they need to find a way to implement the Official Plan restricting rampant overdevelopment. That is why we elected them.

  • Alternative rock is the name given to one stone when you’re looking at another stone. The term was coined by photographer Edwin Blastocyst when looking at one stone and speaking about another, oddly enough.

    The quote from Edwin Blastocyst needs to be verified.

  • Stephen White

    The Mayor and this Council really need to send a strong, tough message to the development community by holding the line and not permitting exemptions. The sun will still shine in the east, set in the west, and life will still go on if the ICBL remains in intact.

    It’s time the tail stopped wagging the dog in this community. Council and residents need to wrest control of local development decisions from developers whose manipulation and veiled threats have shaped (some of us would say “severely distorted”) this municipal landscape for far too long. This isn’t just a philosophical issue, but it also involves fundamental questions around process and policy direction. The power structure in this community which subjugates taxpayers’ interests to the whims and profits of developers needs to be redressed.

    At the end of the day, it is the residents of this community who will have to live with the consequences, particularly the increased traffic, lack of green space, congestion, etc. Let’s remember that at the end of the day the folks from ADI, AMICA, etc., will just climb into their Mercs, Audis and Bimmers and tootle home to their trophy wives in their magnificent seven figure mansions in Caledon, Carlisle, etc., leaving the rest of us to wallow in the muck they leave behind!

  • Lynn Crosby

    I would be hugely disappointed if exemptions were approved by any member of council. They cannot start picking and choosing which applications warrant this, and I love Terry Rose’s reference here to “emotional blackmail”. Frankly it feels like we citizens are the ones being emotionally blackmailed.

  • Penny Hersh

    Council will be voting on this tomorrow at the 1PM Session of the Planning & Development Committee. If this goes through it will be opening “A Pandora’s Box” and could lead to more appeals at LPAT for non decision after 210 days. The Interim Control By-Law does not stop the 210 day clock from ticking.

    As for AMICA – why don’t they simply pay the co-op owners what is promised and take possession of the property? If they are so certain that this development is what is required to give seniors of Burlington a healthy, carefree living environment, they should be starting with the owners of the co-op that are very much seniors.

    It should not be the City who comes to the Co-Op owners aid – it should be AMICA – this is a private deal made between the owners and the developer of the property.

  • Terry Rose

    No exemptions! Council must hold its nerve! Once the flood gates are open …etc.! Regarding Amica there is no pressing community need for this project – they serve a wealthy demographic, not affordable seniors care. The Co-Op owners deserve our sympathy, but Amica created this problem and they can easily solve it by purchasing the property. This will free the Co-Op owners to get on with their lives. Council’s decision must be based on the merits of the arguments, not on emotional blackmail.