News clips: OMB hearing on Midhurst population allocations adjourned

Springwater Mayor Bill French shows lands where Simcoe County council has determined almost 3,000 people will live in the coming years – Barrie Examiner photo

Wait and see at the OMB

By Cheryl Browne, Barrie Examiner 

Springwater Mayor Bill French may have hit the nail on its proverbial head when he said more questions were asked than answered at the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) hearing on Friday.

When originally scheduled, the OMB was called because the Ministry of Municipal Affairs appealed Simcoe County’s right to approve Springwater’s adoption of the Official Plan 38 or OPA38.

But what transpired Friday was a closed-door meeting between legal counsellors representing the interests of the ministry, the township, the county, the Midhurst Ratepayers’ Association (MRA) and the developers to discuss a late-night settlement plan that may negate the need for the OMB hearing.

“There are still questions and there are no new answers yet,” said French, standing outside the township’s offices as the lawyers came to an agreement inside.

“We’re getting bits of information, and I think as our lawyer said today, hopefully he can come away with enough information today to meet with us so we can give him appropriate direction.

“If it’s not an OMB matter anymore, then I guess we have to say, ‘is there a legal challenge here that should be undertaken?’ And I’m not saying we are or we’re not. We’re not going to waste taxpayers’ money on a futile kind of battle.

“But we are here to make sure we do take care of the best interests of our residents.”

What was on the table at the OMB hearing was the latest settlement agreement between the County of Simcoe, the Midhurst Development Road Inc. and Carson Road Development Inc, Carson Trail Estates Inc., the Midhurst Rose Alliance, 285622 Ontario Ltd. and the Estate of Marie Louis Frankcom, all otherwise known as the landowners.

Speaking on behalf of the Geranium Corporation, Cheryl Shindruk said the OMB hearing was originally meant to address the ministry’s appeal which related to the available population.

“The (Simcoe) County had a pool of 20,000, the landowners asked for 6,000 and the (new) settlement provides for about half that, or 2,961,” Shindruck said.

With the new agreement in place, she said there was no further requirement for the hearing.

Yet both French and the MRA were unaware the county had made the settlement deal with the landowners until late last week and neither was pleased about it.

Legal counsel for Simcoe County explained that the Oct. 6 deal was agreed upon for several reasons, perhaps the most important one being it would put a halt to the province or the OMB chairman making the decision for them.

“Part of the reason why the settlement took place is because there’s an issue to determine whether or not Simcoe County Council has the last say in who gets part of this 20,000 or whether the OMB does,” said Marshall Green, legal counsel for Simcoe County.

Green said council held a meeting and originally decided not to add to the allocated 20,000. The landowners challenged that decision and said they were going to fight it at the OMB and have the OMB assume jurisdiction over the county’s future allotment.

“Now, what happened in the interim is that – this was not a usual procedure – but the (OMB) board member called all the lawyers on the telephone and said that he hadn’t made his decision yet, he intended not to make his decision in time for this hearing on the ministry’s appeal, but we were given the distinct impression from what he told us, that he was leaning towards taking jurisdiction away from the (Simcoe) county,” Green said.

Once it was apparent the county could lose its right for population self-determination, the county decided to extend an olive branch to the landowners to see if they could come to some agreement.

“Looking at all of this, the cost that would be involved in that kind of appeal process, the uncertainty involved in what would end up happening; would the board end up giving them the whole 6,000? Would the board give them less? Would the board decide the county numbers should change – you don’t know,” Green said, adding they feared huge expense and uncertainty.

Green said Simcoe County council decided to agree to the almost 3,000 population increase in Springwater Township, but also negotiated safeguards with regards to phasing – conditions on how the community is built – and timing.

Sandy Buxton, spokesperson for the Midhurst residents, said they will respect the OMB’s findings, when they are completed.

“What’s needed here is true democracy. There’s no need for haste; not at the expense of true due process,” Buxton said. “We represent the people who pay for it all and have to live with it. We want to know and see what goes on and we want the appropriate due process to be done with clarity.”

All parties at Friday’s OMB hearing will now have a chance to review the settlement deal and after a phone conference on Oct. 14, are expected to attend the next scheduled OMB date of Oct. 20.

Community group, Springwater officials upset with Midhurst growth plan

By Roger Klein CTV News Barrie 

A community group and the Municipality of Springwater thought they were on the same page as the County of Simcoe when it came to population growth in Midhurst.

All three had been opposing population growth, but the county broke ranks.

“We are angry. We are disappointed by the lack of democracy attached to it and on some levels we are a bit disgusted,” says Sandy Buxton of the Midhurst Ratepayers Association.

Details of a settlement between the county and developers became public at an Ontario Municipal Board hearing on Friday. It will allow the population of Midhurst to grow by almost 3,000.

That equates to about 1,000 homes sprawling across 400 acres of prime land.

“It’s all agricultural land. Not only that, its class 1-3, the best agricultural land you can find,” says Springwater Mayor Bill French.

County officials claim they made the deal in order to avoid the possibility of something much worse.

“If the board retained control, the full 6,000 could have been allocated to Midhurst,” says David Parks, director of planning with the County of Simcoe. “This way it was compromise.”

The landowners call it a win, win deal

“Residents in Midhurst will get what they want, land owners will get what they want without going through more of this ordeal so we are really excited about it,” says Louis Nitsopoulis, Carson Trails Estates.

Springwater’s mayor and the Midhurst Ratepayers say the fight isn’t over just yet.

They are taking some time to review the details of the agreement before deciding how to respond at the next OMB hearing later this month.