Simcoe County should not attempt to exclude Midhurst group from OMB

AWARE Simcoe  also rejects companies’ claim that ratepayers’ appeal is ‘frivolous and vexatious’

AWARE Simcoe news release June 19 2013 MIDLAND – AWARE Simcoe deplores the County of Simcoe’s attempt to exclude the Midhurst Ratepayers Association (MRA) from the Ontario Municipal Board process involving Simcoe County’s amended Official Plan.
“The MRA’s concerns about blatant disregard for basic planning principles and a deeply flawed approval process need to be heard by the OMB,” said AWARE Simcoe chair Don Morgan.

“It is surprising that the County of Simcoe is introducing a motion to dismiss the MRA after repeatedly refusing last year to have any public meetings on its amended Official Plan – meetings at which these and other concerns could have been aired.”
AWARE Simcoe rejects the view expressed in a joint response in support of Simcoe County by the companies that own the prime farmland the MRA is fighting to save from development.
The document, dated May 30, 2013, states that the MRA raises “no legitimate planning issues that warrant a full hearing and are worthy of the adjudicative process. Furthermore, the appeal is not made in good faith and it is frivolous and vexatious.”
“This is an affront to the important and painstaking work done by Midhurst residents since November 2011 when they became aware of the plan to increase the size of the village from 3,500 to 30,000,” Morgan said.
The companies are Carson Road Development Inc., Midhurst Development, Doran Road Inc., Midhurst Road Alliance Inc., Midhurst Rose Alliance Johns Inc., Midhurst Rose Alliance Cooney Inc., Midhurst Rose Alliance O’Brien Inc.
Morgan expressed concern that the language used by the companies could intimidate citizens and discourage them from participating in the OMB process.
“We hope we aren’t seeing a return to tactics used in the Big Bay Point development in Innisfil, when millions of dollars in costs were sought from citizens and their lawyers,” Morgan said, adding, “that would be ironic, just two weeks after the provincial government introduced legislation to ban SLAPP suits (strategic lawsuits against public participation).”
The OMB resumes its pre-hearing at 10 a.m. tomorrow (Thursday) morning at the Nottawasaga Inn in Alliston.
Links
County residents have extraordinary opportunity to be heard on Official Plan
‘Staff crossing line’: Marshall questions OMB motion to turf Midhurst ratepayers