The Goderich Signal-Star, 1979-02-08, Page 5Benmiller subdivision approved by OMB
GODERICH SIGNAL -STAR, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 1979—PAGE 5
BY JEFF SEDDON
Fears that a 20 unit
subdivision would cost
the village of Benmiller
its rustic charm did not
sway Ontario Municipal
Board chairman Vernon
Singer. Singer told
anxious residents of the
village at an OMB
hearing re>tntly that
fears of what may happen„
to the village could not be
used to stop the sub-
division claiming only
planning or engineering
facts could do that. '
"I have great difficulty
dealing with fears,
suspicions and motives,"
Singer told the residents
of Benmiller opposing a
20 unit subdivision
proposed by Benmiller
Estates Incorporated. "I
have to deal with facts."
The residents objected.
to the subdivision
claiming_ it would disrupt
life in the village of
Benmiller and that the
rustic charm and
character of the village
would vanish with the
development. Other
concerns aired by
residents dealt with
sewage disposal for the 20
homes, lot sizes that did
not conform to the
Colborne township of-
ficial plan and that the
water supply for the new
homes and the drainage
of storm water may be
suspect. But the
residents did not provide
professional opinions to
back up their complaints
and Singer said that while
many of the things the •ns,
residents feared may
come true he could not
use them to stop the
subdivision unless they
could be proved. •
Singer told Don McKee,
spokesman for the
Benmiller Preservation
Association which is
made up of residents of
the village, that the
residents of the village
had said very little to
prove that the plan
submitted 111111111by Benmiller
Estates was not a good
plan. He pleaded with
McKee to produce "good
hard evidence" that the
chairman could use.
Singer made it clear to
the residents of the
village that he did not
want them to be em-
barrased by their ob-
jections nor did he want
them to apologize for
their lack of proper
- preparation for the OMB
hearing. He said the
residents had a right to
the hearing and had a
right to have their con-
cerns heard. He added
that although the sub-
division was not stopped
many of the fears of the
residents would be settled
with his decision. He said
he agreed with some of
the worries the residents
had and he intended to
approve the subdivision
with some conditions
aimed at protecting the
interests of the village.
Singer said his decision
will reflect some of the
things he heard at the
hearing. He said he
planned to incorporate
some typeof ar-
chitectural design into
the approved subdivision
to ensure that the
heritage of the village is
preserved. He said
developer of the project,
Peter ,1. Ivey, .had in-
dicated that he intended
These girls were given, figure skating awards in the stroking category at the
arena last Wednesday. Left to right are Teresa Ferguson, a medal for
second place, Carole Wain, the Horton trophy for first place, and Sonya
McCallum, an honorable mention. Absent for photo was Harmony Ludwig ,
who won third place. (Photo by Joanne Buchanan)
These three boys were given power skating awards in a presentation at the
arena last Wednesday evening. Left to right are Bradley Wilson who
received a medal for the most desire and the most discipline, Aaron Duck-
worth who received a Dierolf-trophy for the most improved junior power
skater, and Mike McCallum who received a Dierolf trophy for the most
improved senior power skater. (Photo by Joanne Buchanan)
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•
VICIDRIA
AND GREY
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Since1844
How cbcLt tomorrow .. Me nhnr Canntla pepocii Invurancn Corporation
to use architectural
design in keeping with
rural Ontario and rather
than take the developer's
word on that Singer
would make it a condition
of approval.
Ivey sought some relief
from drainage
regulations imposed by
the ministry of en-
vironment in its approval
of the project. That
ministry indicated that
storm sewers should be
installed to adequately
drain storm water but
Ivey Minted that open
drainage ditches may be
sufficient. Singer wanted
n -.rt of that claiming
the open ditches can be
"very ugly and
dangerous to children".
The complaint that the
lots in the subdivision
were smaller than
required in the township
official plan did not
concern Singer.
Residents pointed out
that under the 'official
plan the minimum lot size
permitted in the township
is 20,000 square feet and
several lots in the Ben-
miller subdivision were
about 18,000 square feet.
Singer explained to the
residents that the
minimum Int �r ,,•' ,
Dear Editor....
• from page 4
Ministry of Inter-
gave-rnmetital Affairs
who were present at the
meeting to explain the
functions of both Council
and PUC.
For this reason, the
article must be printed in
its entirety, without
deletion or addition or' it
may not be printed.
Your co-operation in
informing the citizens of
Goderich of the events
which transpired at the
PUC -Council meeting
would be most ap-
preciated.
Yours truly,
H. J. Murphy
Editor's Note: The two
•and one half page brief
submitted, by Mr..Murphy
cannot be published in its
entirety due to length so,
as per his own, in-
structions, it won't be
published at all this week.
The Signal -Star
recognizes its respon-
sibility in this matter and
has no intention to ignore
it The. story.
however, be left in
abeyance until after. the
PUC 'meets later this
month. At that time, all
ramifications of the
•matter, including the
policies which were
reviewed•at the January
22 meeting of PUC 'and
Council with government
officials should be more
clear to the people of
Goderich.
Celebrate
Dear Editor,
The Town of
Haileybury will be
celebrating its 75th an-
niversary of its in-
corporation from Friday,
,rune 29 to Tuesday, .July
2, 1979.
To honor this occasion,
Haileybury High School
will hold its first reunion
of ex -students on
Saturday, ,Tune. 30, from
10 a.m. to 4 p.m'. in the
school building.
We sincerely hope that
all ex -students of
Haileybury High School
will plan to attend it
possible. If so, ,we ask
them to write us a short
note to the address below,
including the year that
they left the school, so
that we may produce a
list of "expecteds" for
later publication.
We should also like
very much the loan of any
suitable photographs in
their passessio.n_ These
should have their name
and return address on the
back, and, if possible, the
names of those in the
photos. These pictures
will be returned promptly
after they are duplicated.
Needless to say, we
should also welcome their
help in notifying ex -
students of their
acquaintance who may
not be contacted in this
particular manner,
Since the reunion will
be - held as part of the
guideline and that it was
not necessarily strictly
adhered to. He said other
'lots in the subdivision
were more than 20,000
square feet and he was
satisfied that with the
open village 'green
concept, the plan used the
intent of the official plan
would be met.
One aspect of the
Benmiller residents'
objections that was not
cleared up was the
possibility of commercial
use of the homes. Ivey
hinted that he was
looking at a scheme
whereby the homes would
be made available to
Town Anniversary
celebrations, they will
have the opportunity- to
meet many friends other
than classmates, and to
enjoy the other events
scheduled at that time.
As soon as a com-
prehensive mailing list
can be compiled we will
send to all who write in
the complete program of
the anniversary
weekend.
So, please let us hear
from you! We'll be there,
and your friends .will be
there. ,Join ,us and make it
a'- time to renew old
Snowmobilers
raise X12,000
Not even high winds
and poor visibility could
keep more than 170
snowmobilers from
completing a 100
Kilometre snowarama on
Sunday afternoon to raise
money for •crippled
children.
The snowmobilers, who
wound through Colborne
Township to Auburn,
Blyth and back to Clinton,
raised $12,000 in pledges
for work with the
children.
Doug McCreery of
JVoodslee made the
major contribution,
raising $1,086- in pledge
money. He won a Bulova
watch, donated by
Anstett Jewellers in
Clinton, for his money -
raising efforts.
The warden's challenge
trophy, donated by
Champion . Road
Machinery, for the
municipal council with
the largest amount of
pledges, was caputred by
,Toe Gibson of Hullett
a
give generously!
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the
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Lavern Godkin, R.RN1, Walton
Ross Leonhardt, R.R,#1; Bornholm
John McEwIng, R.11.111, Blyth -
Stanley Mcllwain, R.R.112, Goderich
Donald McKercher, R.R.#1. Dublin
John A. Taylor, R.R.#1, Brucefield
J.N. Trewarlha. Box 661. ClirTion
Stuart Wilson. R.R 811. Brumfield
482-3354
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AGENTS
James Keys,
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Wm Leiper, R. R.41, Londesboro 523.4257
CALL AN AGENT OR THE OFFICE
Township.
The Royal Canadian
Regiment from London
manned five mobile
communication units
along the route as safety
precautions.
The snowmobile ride
was made possible by the
co-operation of lan-
downers who allowed
drivers. to cut across their
property and by the ef-
forts of local snowmobile
clubs. -
The Auburn and Blyth
Lions Clubs provided
refreshments for riders
during the snowarama.
The next snowarama
will be held at Belmont on
Sunday and organizers
expect to attract 300 to
400 riders,,
Board opts....
• from .page 4
council services to
strengthen a case it
would have to remember
it "wasn't pulling its
weight".
Hazlitt added that there
were a number of things
she felt the council
needed to look at to im-
-prove its effectiveness.
She said the dnly way to
tell OSTC the board is not
satisfied is to withdraw
membership. -
Benmiller Inn for guests
of the establishment in
the event no rooms are
available. The scheme
involved the Bennriller
Estates selling the homes
in the 20 unit subdivision
but retaining ownership
of the land.
Ivey said the practice
was a very technical
legal problem and said it
was being looked at. He
added that he had no
control over owners
renting homes in the
subdivision conceding
that if Benmiller Inn was
full and a guest wanted to
friendships and rack up
one more pleasant
memory!
Yours very sincerely,
Gary Aquino
The Reunion Committee
Haileybury High School
Box 279, Haileybury,
Ontario POJ 1K0
stay in Benmiller for a
month the Inn may at-
tempt to get the guest and
a home owner together to
see if something can be
worked out. But he
quickly added that that
would do nothing to
threaten the quality of
life in Benmiller.
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