http://www.yournepean.com/NepeanThisWeek/article/19411
Laurentian site brownfields funding deferred
Community meeting on site plan will wait until New Year
December 09, 2009
BY Margaret Sambol
A request for brownfields funding to clean up an oil spill on the former Laurentian high school site at Baseline Road and Clyde Avenue has been deferred until February. Last week, the City’s corporate services and economic development committee deferred the funding request until City staff have a chance to review the brownfields policy.
“They won’t get brownfields reimbursement until the site plan is approved,” says River Coun. Maria McRae, who represents the area including the shopping centre to be located at 1357 Baseline Rd.
“I don’t have an initial reaction yet,” she says about the site plan. “It’s very early in the process.”
Council put conditions on the site plan, when it approved the zoning change for the site and McRae says it will take some time for her to review the plan with City staff to see if it meets those conditions.
However, she did say the site plan submitted to the City in “no way will be the final site plan.”
She says the plan is missing some of the things shown on the concept drawing such as the parkette near the large store.
McRae plans on holding a meeting to get public input on the site plan, which she says will have to wait until the New Year so it doesn’t conflict with residents’ holiday plans.
“I don’t want to delay the developer, but I’m not going to be pressured to move quickly if (the site plan) is not what the holding provisions called for,” McRae says. “I will be vigorous and thorough in ensuring the City lives up to the promise it made to the community with these holding conditions.”
POLICY
Currently the City deals with brownfields funding requests on a case-by-case basis.
“The policy is intended to enable properties to be developed that would not otherwise be developed,” says College Coun. Rick Chiarelli. “This is a site that would have been developed anyway.”
McRae agrees the policy needs to be reviewed.
“Any site that has environmental contaminant should be considered,” she
says.
Chiarelli says the policy should deal with properties like the Vox in Bells Corners where the cost of decontaminating the land is prohibitive and the property becomes an eyesore.
“That deal will hinge on brownfields funding,” he says.
While Chiarelli says he supports the policy review, he adds that it will not affect plans to fix the Vox.
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