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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1979-09-13, Page 1Iieritage plan meets three objections at public meeting BYJEFF'SEDDQN Despite three ob- jections filed . Tuesday night members of the Goderich Planning Board and th,e Goderich Architectural Con- servation Advisory Committee were pleased with a public meeting to discuss a heritage plan for The Square. The public session was called to determine if any property owners in the core area of Goderich bounded by Elgin, Waterloo, Victoria and Nelson Streets opposed the principle of a heritage plan. Planning board arranged for the meeting since it is that board that must recommend to town council that an am- mendment to the town's official plan be made incorporating the heritage concept into the core area. Planning board chairman Tom Jasper explained the heritage concept to about two dozen peo.pie at the meeting. He said the plan basically allows for the preservation of the ar- chitecture of the upper facades of buildings on The 'Square and provides a means of ensuring that architecture is protected in the future. Jasper made it clear that the heritage plan does not entertain any land use changes than are presently in force on The Square. He said it deals solely with the building stock. Architect Nick Hill, of Hill and Borgal, authors gf the heritage plan, told the group the plan is aimed at "preservation of the upper facades which lend integrity and beauty to the core area The heritage plan is merely a guideline • to be used when any changes or renovations are proposed to buildings in the core area. Jasper said any decisions made for the future of buildings would rest with town council. He said if council felt that a building change was not in keeping with the heritage plan it could refuse a building permit for renovations. He added that if council chose„ to ignore the heritage plan it could issue .a building permit for major changes. J.P. Brown, owner of Brown's Decor, objected to the plan telling plan- ning board he had a feeling that if the plan was "railroaded" through he would be forced to spend money on his storefront he did not want to spend. He said he understood that. the siding on his storefront is not desireable under the heritage plan and he feared that if the plan was adopted he would be under obligation to make renovations he wasn't prepared to make at the present time. Bill Clements, owner of French Cleaners, asked if council could refuse him a building permit for renovations to his store if the council did not ap- prove of his plans. Clements asked if he Aft understood correctly that "council can refuse a building permit to renovate modernly if I want to spend my own money on my own building". Gary Davidson, chairman of LACAC, told Clements that if the modern design chosen did, not fit in with the heritage plan in council's opinion it could refuse a building permit • for the renovations. "Then I must object," said Clements. Alvin McGee,; owner of McGee •Motors, said he objected to, the plan because of restrictions it placed on his property on Hamilton Street. He said his property is now vacant but under the terms of the plans any building he wants to erect is "controlled from the ground up and even how high up". McGee said the plan would force him to accept a building design "for a store that looks like a library or a house and I don't operate a store". Reeve Eileen Palmer told the meeting .the heritage plan was ad- mirable in that ft made the fronts of the stores on The Square look, nice but Turn to page 18 • 1;1:. 132 -YEAR 3'l THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 13,1979 35 CENTS PER COPY Farmers take ownership to province BY ALICE GIBB Members of the Huron County Federation. of Agriculture • took their campaign against foreign ownership of Ontario's farmland one step further at their regional meeting in Belgrave Thursday. Fs deration members from the north of the couy strongly supported a resolution put for ward—hy—V rtic-e--:`plusten---asking—that--"the- Ontario asking--that• -"th.e-- Ontario Federation of Agriculture request the Ontario government to act quickly .to prevent further, purchases by absentee foreign in-' terests." The resolution said absentee interests are purchasing farmland as an investment and "Ontario residents cannot compete with them• in money markets for the capital they.,,require to purchase land" . and "foreign absentee ownership of large parcels of land in any given area causes deterioration of our rural com- munity." The resolution will be, f9rwarded to the next meeting of OFA directors in Toronto, and a report on their action will be brought back to 'Mt" Huron county members at their annual meeting in Brussels on Oct. 19. Before presenting- the resolution, audience members had challenged guest speaker Floyd Jenkins, the regional assessment com- missioner for Huron and Perth counties, to defend statements he had made earlier in the week. Mr. Jenkins had been quoted as saying -F-"he-felt—the issue of foreign land owuersip iii 'Huron County has been exaggerated in the press.... Mr. Jenkins told the audience any foreign ownership purchase of land by a non-resideni.'of the country is subject to a 20 per cent land transfer tax, and that a survey of land tr9n- sactions showed reports of absentee owner`sllip were exaggerated.; Adrian Vos, one of the federation members who first raised the issue of absentee owner- ship, said all this proved was "that the buyers have smart lawyers." Mr.,. Vos claimed many foreign investors are hiding their involvement in Ontario registered companies. " Mr. Jenkins 'said, -I wouldn't disagree completely that there isn't foreign money in the Huron County farming industry." Vince .Austen told the audience he had. researched the sale of 1,865 acres of land in his township. Although the sale was to a registered Ontario 'company, on further research he discovered the company was made up of four "tenants in comino5TY , a`17 residents' of 'lie"' - Republic of West Germany. • Companies which are registered in Ontario aren't subject to the 20 per centland transfer tax paid when land is sold to a non-resident of the country. ,, Mr. Jenkins said if the company were legally registered with the Ontario government, then' "that's legal and that'spossible." Duringthe meeting; the federation members elected their three regional directors, .who represent them at the OFA directors' meetings in Toronto, and delegates to the annual •OFA convention. The regional director' for North West Huron is Merle Gunby of Ashfield Township. North West 410.111, There are lots of "neat things" to do in kin- dergarten as these children In Mrs. Fisher's morning class at Victoria Public School have found out this past week. Erica Sigurdson discovered that she liked to bthild things with blocks while Jackie Crawford preferred to iron just like a moihmy would do. Tracy Chambers, though, enjoyed the more quiet activity of looking at picture books. Mrs. Fisher says he children in her morning class are all respon- ding well to a new situation and she hasn't had any tears yet. (Photos by Joanne Buchanan) b Huron includes • Ashfield, East and West Wawanosh and Colborne Townships. Convention delegates from the region, are Dennis Connelly of Colborne Township, Clete Dalton of Ashfield and Walter Elliott of East Wawanosh with alternate VinceAusten. The regional director elected from North East Huron, which includes Turnberry, Howick srid'Grey towrisTips, is merry Fortune. Convention delegates are, Bev. Brown from Bluevale, Louise Marritt from Turnbe.rry and Max Demeray from Grey, with alternate Ross Veitch of.Grey township. The regional director for East Central Huron', which includes Hullett, McKillop, and Morris townships,. is John Van Beers of Blyth. •Con- vention delegates are John Nesbitt of the Blyth area, Mery Snaith of Walton, Bob Robinson of the Seaforth area, with alternate Bill Pullen of. Brussels. • At the regional meeting held at Huron Cen- tennial School, Brucefield, for federation members from the south of the county, Andy Durand was elected regional director for South Huron. South Huron includes Hay,•Stephen and Usborne townships. Flooding to be Residents of Walnut Street and Dawn Drive may•not have to worry next year a the annual floods the neighborhood s through every spring. Town council approved the expend' $20,000 to extend the Suncoast Driv sewer to the subdivision to' allow water to be dumped into the Sou Sewer. - Commissioner of works Ken H council that the storm sewer now strutted as part of the extension Drive could be installed to residential area off Bennett Street Hunter explained that the fu budgeted for the first stage of t had gone farther than expected hoped 1,000 feet of storm se Tender Goderich town council Omega Contracting of L install sanitary sewers and Napier Street; The Omega tender„o of three received by th conditional to town proval of Omega spec Council was pleas saved them approx Larry McCabe sai for the sanitary se The work invo along both stree Con Not ones members Monday n as chair servatio Counc remove Davids count chair exac tell exp in 0 • ds originally e storm sewer He said it was er could be in - Three wa deal left abeyan y in ce BY JEFF SEDDON A land deal at Sky Harbour Airport was left in abeyance by town ' council Monday night because none of the three parties involved in the complex sale will budge until the other does. ”' • Negotiations on three parcels of land have been going on for months but little progress has been made. The town of Goderich, Doug Hunter and Joe Morrissey each has something the other wants but each refuses to sell until the other does. Hunter is involved in two of the three parcels, ,one with the'town and the other with Morrissey. Hunter owns two lots the town wants to pur- chase for a proposed runway extension. He also owns two lots Morrissey wants for a subdivision he is planning to build near ,the airport. The town has a 66 foot strip of„land Morrissey needs fora roadway to his subdivision. Morrissey has an option on Hunter's lots but can't exercise the option until the town releases, the 66 foot . strip to allow a road to be con- structed. The town is not willing to sell its 66 foot strip until it can finalize a deal with Hunter for the lots needed for the runway extension. Hunter is hesitant to sell the lots to the town until the town sells the 66 foot strip to Morrissey to give the developer the go ahead to purchase the lots he needs from Hunter. In an attempt to get the deal back on track reeve. Eileen -Palmer suggested council pass a motion requesting its solicitor, together with the town's commissioner of works, the chair- man of the airport committee and the town clerk, meet with Hunter and Morrissey to negotiate a deal satisfactory to all. Palmer said it was only a recommendation pointing out thatthe parties concerned could "shoot it, up or tear it apart but.at least it gets them all in the same room". ;used with sewer rose bout ffers ture bf e storm drainage h, Storm unter told` being con - of. Suncoast service the stalled this year but once the project got un- derway he discovered with the same money another 600 feet could be installed. He said the extra pipe would bring the sewer about 400 feet from the subdivision' and if council spent another $20,000 on the prbject this year the subdivision could be hooked up to the main drain. Storm sewers for the area were installed when the subdivision was completed but there was no outlet for the storm water. Surface water simply ran into the storm drain, backed up and eventually flooded the streets. • The extra pipe installed thisyear completes' - about one third of the distance the-Suncoast Drive extension spans. The road will serve.as a link between Bayfield Road and Huron. Road across the southeast corner of town. The road is expected to be.co'mpleted by 1981. tr let for NIP area ccepted the tender of ndon Monday night to on Gloucester Terrace f $133,023 was the lowest e town and was accepted ngineer Burns Ross' ap- ifications. ed with the tender since it imately $57,000. Town clerk d $218,000 had been budgeted wer work. ves constructing sewer lines ts. The town, at its own ex- pense, is installing a lift pump on Cambria Road to pump sewage to the main trunk on Victoria Street. That work is expected to cost $8,000. The town is also footing the engineering costs on the project expected to run. about $20,000. The project is part of the town's Neigh- borhood Improvement Project and means that all homes in town are now hooked to sanitary sewers. The homes on both those streets used septic tank systems•for sewage disposal. Other bids received for the project came from C. A. McDowell of Exeter for $143,662.33 and Three Hills Contracting of R.R. 3 Waterloo for $146,009.50. flict is there...trust us BY JEFF SEDDON to let an issue be clouded byfacts of Goderich town council voted ight to have Gary Davidson removed an of the Local Architectural Con - Advisory Committee (LACAC). it voted in favor of the motion to an apparent conflict of interest on has. The conflict is real enough to it to instruct LACAC to name a new man but council, rather than outline tly how the planner has a conflict, chose to the committee there would be no official lanatibn for the move., tividson's conflict of interest arose earlier the year when, according to some members council, town solicitor Dan Murphy warned • council that the committee chairman could have a conflict. Whether or not the solicitor said there was a conflict of interest or a potential conflict of interest was not clear at Monday's coiuncil session. Reeve Eileen t'almer said she felt the conflict of interest was there because Davidson is an employee of the town of Goderich. She said as county planner his services are paid for by the town which in effect makes him a paid municipal employee. She argued that as such she could not act in the best interest of the town as chairman of LACAC. he also felt that the town solicitor had not Warned , of potential conflict of interest but had said the conflict was Turn to,page 18 •