The Citizen, 2018-08-02, Page 7THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, AUGUST 2, 2018. PAGE 7.
Belgrave residents feel ignored on development
By Denny Scott
The Citizen
Several Belgrave residents feel
they are being ignored by Morris-
Turnberry Council in their bid to
save a local municipally -owned
green space.
The residents are concerned about
the proposed development of 30
McCrea Street, a piece of municipal
property that Morris-Turnberry
Council has marked for sale,
rezoning and development.
According to planning documents
the space could soon make way for a
townhouse complex including three
units.
With the issue coming before
council in the coming weeks, the
concerned landowners said they
have been told from various sources
that the development is "a done
deal" and will proceed despite their
concerns.
The land in question, located
behind a water treatment plant near
the east end of the village, has been
a green space for over 40 years,
according to the landowners.
"Even if you talk to people who
have moved away from the area,
they will say kids have played out
there for generations," Nancy
Folkard, who, with her husband
Gord, owns land abutting the
property proposed for development
said. Steve Lipinski said maintaining
the green space is the group's top
priority.
He said council doesn't seem to
realize how central the green space
is to the community.
While the landowners have
several complaints about the plan,
Run it out
As part of the 47th annual Brussels Tigers Men's Invitational Tournament, the Brussels Tigers
faced off against the Kitchener Selects and posted a 2-0 win. The Tigers won the tournament.
After the win against Kitchener earned the squad a shot at the semi-finals against the
Fullarton A's, they continued winning right through to 2-1 victory over the Linwood Chiefs to
claim the tournament. (Quinn Talbot photo)
M -T buys land
for development
By Denny Scott
The Citizen
Morris-Turnberry Council has
purchased a 13.9 -acre parcel of
industrial land in Lower Town
Wingham to develop into industrial
lots.
The property is currently zoned as
VM 1 — Village Industrial and will
have servicing available from
Arthur Street beginning later this
year. It is located between Arthur
and Alice Streets.
The town purchased the lots from
Joy Harrett and James, Jeffery and
Jennifer Dennis.
In a press release, Mayor Paul
Gowing said the purchase would
help the expansion of local
businesses as well as enticing start-
up and relocating businesses to
move to Morris-Turnberry.
"Ownership of this property will
allow the municipality to see it
developed in a way to maximize its
benefit to our business community
as well as our residents," he said.
„ltar You mafiing out
riawatameat a 6,ucccee&s
V a,
Back row, left to right: Adam Corbett, Scott MacTavish, Ty Sebastian, Shawn
Daw, Corey Campbell, Steve Crawford, Ted Jacklin, Devin Johnston. Front
row: Nick McArter, Andrew Backer, Dennis Dewar, Jason Kellington, Steve
Scholl, Lane Sebastian, Trent Michie, Gene Johnston
The Brussels Tigers would like to thank all the fans for all the support
over the years. Their continued attendance allows the tournament to
be a great success every year and allows us to donate to Minor ball
and individual ball players. Thank you to all who helped make this
year's tournament run seamlessly. We would also like to thank the
Brussels Variety, Sholdice Insurance, C&P Portables, Blyth Printing,
Green's Meat Market, Municipality of Huron East, Ernie King Music
and Brussels Legion.
first and foremost is the fact that the
town doesn't have any other green
spaces on the east side of County
Road 4.
"There is no safe way for children
to cross that road," Gord said.
"There are no sidewalks and, where
there are sidewalks [on the east side
of the village], it's all overhung with
trees."
Members of the group would go
on to explain that, with the space
where it is, children play at the site
under the watchful eyes of not just
their parents, but also of the nine
families whose properties back on to
the landlocked space.
The group said that kind of safety
isn't attainable if young people have
to cross County Road 4 to get to the
park in North Huron in the west side
of the village.
Gord said that the demographic of
Belgrave is changing and the green
space is going to be more and more
important to the village.
He said, at last count, there were
approximately 70 children in the
blocks surrounding the space. He
also said that, because of the influx
of children to the area, multiple
school buses are dispatched to the
community because one was no
longer sufficient for the number of
students in the village.
The landowners said they
understand that, during original
planning for the village, the lots
would have been on a road, however
that changed and, as a result, the lots
are landlocked. They said that
change was perfect for the area
because the community has about
150 households that can utilize the
space.
The second highest -priority
concern for the group is that any
structure put in the space wouldn't
suit the neighbourhood of properties
that have developed around it.
The landowners said any kind of
multi -use residential space doesn't
match with the single-family
detached homes surrounding it.
They did go on to say, however,
that the preferred outcome is having
no development in the space,
regardless of its final form.
"We want no construction out
there," Gord said. "We want a green
space. We don't want any money. We
don't want any playground
equipment, we just want a green
space for the kids to play."
If the green space is lost, there will
be nowhere, save one dead-end
street, for children to play somewhat
safely on according to Nancy.
Safety and security are paramount,
according to Lipinski. Having that
space bookended by neighbours
creates a place where children can
feel safe.
Previously, in The Citizen, Mayor
Paul Gowing reported to Morris-
Turnberry Council that a meeting
with the landowners left him with
the impression that the group was
"less openly hostile" to the proposed
development.
A select group of landowners were
invited to the meeting, which wasn't
publically advertised. The invitation
stated that it was invite -only, which
Administrator Clerk -Treasurer
Nancy Michie explained to The
Citizen was a guideline set out by the
developer.
Morris-Turnberry staff facilitated
the meeting, however the developer
proposed it and limited the
attendance to the nine landowners
immediately surrounding the
property.
Despite Gowing's report that
stances had softened, members of
the group state they are just as
opposed to the development now as
they have been all along.
"At the end of the meeting, we all
walked out," Lipinski said. "That
should have been the first
impression. None of us were happy
... we all just left."
Lipinski said everyone was still
opposed to the changes.
"Nothing's changed," Lipinski
said. "We're still ready to fight and
they're not listening to what we have
to say. It's been like that ever since
the first meeting."
Beyond the private meeting, Gord
reported that he had discussed the
Continued on page 8
OLD FASHIONED
COMMUNITY BREAKFAST
SATURDAY, AUGUST 11TH &
SUNDAY, AUGUST 12TH
BLYTH MEMORIAL COMMUNITY HALL
7:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.
Ham, Sausage,
Hash Browns,
Pancakes,
Scrambled Eggs,
Toast, Coffee, Juice
Adults - $8.00
Children 12 & under - $5.00
Children 5 & under - No Charge
Hosted by the Blyth Lions Club
Blyth Legion & Ladies Auxiliary
BLYTH
Proceeds to The Tanner Steffler Foundation