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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1990-04-18, Page 3'he . • • THE ;tiPRPN;;EKPOSITOR# APPAL IP, 1990 —3 I 11 /1,1,..issassaw ,111 1'1 1 1 1111111111111,1111111111111111111111111111111111M11111111111011,111111111111 11111I1111111111117111111.1111110111111111111rMIN11�!ILIPLIMIUMMINS BOX FURNITURE GETTING OLD LOOK - The facade of the Box Furniture store on Main Street is being restored to the look of former times. The above plans show New look for furniture store BY SUSAN OXFORD Seaforth's :ox Furniture store is undergoing restoration work that will return the store's look to that of • yesteryear. Store owner, Barbara Bettles, • said when the work is done the furniture store will fool like it "c1 during the 1920s. The work is being done in accordance with the Commercial Rehabilitation Grant guidelines for the Ontario Ministry of Citizenship and Culture. The black tile, put on the store front der- ing the 1950s, will be removej and s 'red for resale. The w:•In under the tile will be washed with medium har, ,ess bristle 111 brushes to remove the tile glue. Any I; damaged bricks will be repaired and pointed. New doors of oak and gr :ss, w ech will r; Zc 9 0 e also be wheelchair accessible, will be in- stalled. Originally the street level front windows were !larger and will be restored to their former size. The existing upstairs windows will be repaired eqwred, re- painted and some will have interior stoma windows installed. Much of the work involved in the restoration 1113 wood work, including dentils and brackets along the top of the bulb e. Although the scaffolding is up, and will be up for a few weeks yet, much of the wood work is already done. The brackets are almost finished and were all made by local carpenters. The paint color of the wo work has yet to be decided. New canvas awnings• ,:•ve been ordered for the main entrances. The hand crank for 14 gs will be rephcas of older t e • i I 5_11 BY HEATHER, IIOBIN_IN7 be desi ed in harmony with the scale, for rezoning made by building height, character and prevailing Tom Schoonderwoerd to Seaforth's Mann- architectural style of the surrounding area; ing and Advisory Committee, has been the development should be encourag referred back to the committee, following locate in or near the core area, in areas concerns voiced by Cindy Fisher of the with i' ect access to arterial and collector County of Huron Planning and Develop- roads, and near parks and schools; and ment Department after a public meeting. there must be adequate tree planting, land - Thirty -five area residents have si ed a seeping, buffering and screening to letter of opposition against a change in enhance the appearance of the develop- zonhng from Resbdentb Low Density (RI) ment and its compatibility with the adjoin- Residen • High Density (R3) to Lots 25 ing low density residential areas. and 26, R.P. 396, Block K in the Town of Mr. Schoonderwoerd has stated that the Seaford' (west of Optimist Park). The pro- proposed apartment building will be a good posed R3 zone would permit the establish- quality, attractive structure, and in his opi- ment of an eight -unit apartment building nion, quite coin tible wi the surrounding on the subject lands. properties. He proposes to provide ade- Presently vacant, the area to be amend- quite parking facilities and landscaped or ed has a combined frontage of 119.2 feet, parkland areas, and has said he is willing and a combined area of 17,7 .5 square to enter into a site plan reement if feet. Existing policies on high density residential areas, as found in the Town of Seaforth Official Plan, state that the development can not cause heavy volumes of vehicular traffic to use nearby quiet, residential streets; there must be adequate landscaping, on-site services, parking and amenities provided; the deveiopment must 1.11 t11 I enevimane how the building will look after the construction crews finish their work in a few weeks. Part of the costs of restoration will be shared by a grant from the Com- mercial Rehabilitation Grant program. 1 1 'F .,, ones. Plans for the restoration were three years in the inaldng, according to Mrs. Betties. Some of the costs will be shared by the Heritage program, which she heard of from former Seaforth Mainstreet C,00r- dinator. Tom Lemon. "The Heritage program has a say in everything," Mrs. Betties said, "even what color we should paint the wood work." "The work had to be done. The. Wile ,i,g Is almost 100 -years -old and it's been a fur- niture store for et years. We were ready to go last summer but the contractor was too busy. Now is the time." • The work is to be done from the top down and will take four weeks to com- plete. The Betties will 1, eve an open house after the restoration is complete. led ;4f ' , Ar,*4 ;3„4„.:4 CREWS GET READY FOR WORK - Box Furniture store is still open business despite the construction work. The scaffolding around the of the store will be in place for a few weeks yet. Oxford photo. fres more t t, discussio and hi the future tir residence there. Area residents however, are not taken with the idea of an apartment building in their neigh rhood. Peter Swinkeis of RR 4 Seaforth, has stated that he plans to d a home on an adjoining lot and does not wish to live next door to an apartment b • ding. He said he feels that such an establishment would devaluate properties in e area, and ex- pressed concern t establishment of one high density residential unit would set a precedeht for future high density develop- ment. He does not wish to see the present- ly quiet, single-family residential neighborhood changed. Hal Claus of Jarvis Street, agreed with 1Y1r. Swinkels and commented that he pus- ag ea • chased his lot knowingthat theentirearea was zoned as Low Density Residential. He He said he plans to market the apart- also does not wish • see the areas quail- ments as adult only, and that because of ty or integrity compromised. Mr. Claus this, does not feel the development will remarked that the Offic Plan suggests greatly increase traffic or parking pat- high density residential development be terns. Mr. Schoonderwoerd noted that he located hi the core area. He added he does o intends to develop the property to tile not feel ere is a sufficient need for an immediate north of the subject property, eight -unit apartment complex, and strong - y ly objects to any high density residentia development in the area. —BfedFirilayson, of Mili Street, als reve ed that he had bought his property two years previous on the understandin that the surrounding land uses were Low density residential. He said he would no ve proceeded with the purchase had h known there would be an apartmen building practically next door. Robin Lee of Mill Street, said he was concerned with potential maintenance pro- blems associated with high density residen- tial properties. He noted that in the past the vacant lots have not been well main- tained, and expressed concern that the situation would continue. His wife added that she was concerned that property values would decline, but that taxes would not decrease accordingly. She noted that if the rezoning was granted, the town should require the developer to enter into a site plan control agreement, and that the agreement should be strictly enforced. She also expressed some concern regarding the town's sanitary sewer capacity for such a development. Richard Verberne of Jarvis Street, said he was concerned about the potential in- crease in traffic flows, as he and many others hi the area have small children. • Only Jim Holland of William Street in Egmondville, supported the application for rezoning. He stated that the proposed development would be an attractive addi- tion to the neighborhood, and that there is a need for additional adult apartments in Seaforth. At a meeting of the Planning and Ad- visory Committee earlier this month, members discussed the issues and con- cerns identified by the neighboring proper- ty owners, and decided that all of the goals and general policies for residential develop- ment would be met by the proposed zon- ing by-law amendment, with the exception perhaps, of its location and its compatibili- ty with existing or proposed surrounding uses. However, upon further examination of these policies, the committee agreed that creation of a special high density residen- tial zone permitting only the establishment of an eight -unit apartment building, would Town to investigate recycling possibilities BY HEATHER ROBINET what kind of recycling program it will Local garbage collectors will meet with und rtak designated members of Seaforth Town "There's no time constraint as far as im- . ing in Seaforth. Cotmcil to discuss the potential for recycl- plementation of a program," explained Councillor Bill Teall, Seaforth's represen- At its regular April meeting, private col- tative on the landfill site board. "I would lectors Jerry Nobel and BM Eisler, told think the ideal time would be the fall. The council they were willing to work together current landfill is closed December 1990 with garbage collection in the town, and and there have been no extensions on that, "whatever other program the town has in so if a program were started in the fall, mind". The town has been asked to enter the new site would not be getting more into some type of recycling program as garbage than it could handle." part of an entrance requirement to the "Fall is also an ideal time, because peo- Midhuron Landfill Site. At present, ple are back from their holidays, and you however, council has made no decision can educate them on it (recycling)." Mr. Utilities commission lobby The Seaforth Public Utilities Conunission met recently with the representatives of the Town of Seaforth, Burns -Ross and the develpers of the McTeague subdivision to review power and water supply re- quirements for the proposed Royal Orchard Homes properties north of town. The Commission is in the process of hammering out an agreement with all par- ties, and has asked for a 10 foot easements throughout the subdivision for Hydro and water lines. In accordance with the agreements reached so far, the P.U.C. will be bringing services up to the edge of the property lines. Further details are sketchy, but P.U.C. Manager Tom Philips informed the Com- mission that a solicitor will review the points of the discussions and prepare another checklist as the project gains momentum. To date, no ground has been broken on the Royal Orchard Homes subidivision. "We're just getting everything ready on our behalf so that we won't be delaying them in any way once It gets going," Mr. Philips remarked. M.E.A. TO APPEAL The Municipal Electrical A.ssociation will Liioppetta uctan, e hearing board on behalf of all of the Public Utilities Com- miasions, opposing the upping of electrici- ty rates in 1991 by Ontario Hydro. The hearings are slated to begin in September, and there is already a roster of 200 people waiting to appear before the Board. Ontario Hydro is proposing an average increase of 7.8% beginning January 1, 1991. This hicrease, however, is an average, all - customer increase. Large industrial customers served directly by Ontario Hydro would see their bills increase and average 7.4%. Ontario's 315 municipal utilities, including the Seaforth P.U.C., will see an increase of an average 7.9%. Based on consumption of 1,000 kilowatt hours of electricity, Ontario householders would pay an average of $4.50 more per month for Hydro's proposed 1991 increase. E.U.S.A. RECOMMENDATIONS The Electrical Utilities Safety Association completed their audit of Seaforth facilities and equipment, and have for- warded a list of recommendations to the Commission. The majority of the equipment passed as satisfactory, but E.U.S.A. has proposed some guideLines for the trucks. They sug- gested that trucks 2 and 3 (hitc.ket'and llne 1 Teall noted however, that council should in the meantime decide what type of recycl- ing program it wanted to get involved in. "Do we want a bin for recycling? or blue boxes?," he asked. "Blue boxes aren't necessarily as efficeint but they are highly visible, and you can go on from there." Councillor Garry Osborn suggested coun- cil look carefully into the issue of recycl- ing, and commented on the fact that the price of recycled material has really gone down in past months. "If we can get out of it...," he said. Mr. Nobel agreed there are problems Turn to page 6 increases trucks) both be equipped with 20 -pound fire extinguishers in case of pole fires. Present- ly, the trucks are outfitted with five pound exthiquishers, and Commission members noted that the trucks are generally out together and would never be far from pro- fessional fire assistance, with the Fire Department in Seaforth. The Commission will be purchasing one 20 -pound extin- guisher, and double the two smaller ones up on the second truck. The E.U.S.A. has also recommended that truck 3 be equipped with regulation -size traffic signs, and that the hooks on the trucks chain hoist be fitted with safety steeps. As well, they were urged to replace the 5/8 inch poly rope with a 1/2 inch nylon one. Our apologies In last week's story "Helmeted House is a country dream come true for new owners" the price for a single room with a shared bath should have read $35 per night, not wo. We aplogize for any inconvenience, or embarrassment, this error may have caused. for front 1 then allow the proposed amendment to _ confaanne with the Town's Official Plan o policies. Ms. Fisher however, is still concerned a g special R3 zone wo d not cause the amendment conform with the policies of t the 1 acial Plan. She suggested, therefore, e that before approving the rezoehig, that a t possible compromise or redevelopment ap- proach using a Medium Density Residen- tial (R2) zone be •'scussed with the developer, and the residents. She conveyed that same suggestion to council last week, and added that such alternatives as: reducing the number of units in the development; increasing the parking and buffer area by adding a third lot of the proposed development; and investigation of ternative designs and developments, be Thosea'..-ecommendations were debated, but the committee decided a special high density residential zone would address all of the concerns regarding the official plan, and made a motion in favor of the zoning amen ent. That motion was not passed by council. "PAC is sitting in an uncomfortable posi- tion," said Councillor Marjorie Claus. "I suggest council meet with Cindy before making a decision." "What we have to consider now, is that if this goes to the Ontario Municipal Board, and Cindy is called before the board and asked if the amendment con- forms to the plan, and she can't say yes, then the plan is no good," explained Seaforth's Clerk -Administrator Jim Crocker. "It only takes one thing that doesn't comply with the plan. I'd much rather see the issue resolved locally, see an effort, than have it go to OMB." "She (Cindy Fisher)'s telling us we're not going with the official plan, and that we're going too far by passing the amend- ment," commented Deputy -reeve Peg Campbell. "If this goes to the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB), she's not going to back us, and we'll lose." I m not against the apartment building. Certainly there is a need in town, but I think we should go by the policies that we, ourselves have set forth.", Wed., Apr. 18 1:30-4:00 p.m. — Senior Shuffleboard at SDCC 1:30 p.m. — Senior Games. Softball Throw at Arena Fri., Apr. 20 1:30 p.m. — Senior Games - 6 Pin Bowling at Starlight Lanes Sat., Apr. 21 1:30-2:30 p.m. — Story Hour at Library Wed., Apr. 25 6:00-10:00 p.m. — Seaforth Home, Garden and Trade Show at Seaforth and Dist. Comm. Centres 7:30 p.m. — Senior Games — Contract Bridge et the Seaforth Legion - Upper Hall Thurs., Apr. 26 5:00-10:00 p.m. — Seaforth Home, Garden and Trade Show et Seaforth and Dist. Comm. Centres 7:00 p.m. — Senior Games — Snooker et the Dolg Residence