Another tribunal date has been set in the ongoing saga surrounding a controversial 45-unit townhouse project at 65 St. John’s Sideroad, which sits near the McKenzie Wetland.
Developer Medal Homes Inc. took the Town of Aurora to the Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT) after council voted 5-1 against the development last January.
During the case management conference held on Thursday, June 27, Paul DeMelo, counsel for the developer, asked for another conference date to allow the developer time to address issues put forward by the Town of Aurora.
Aurora council met in a closed session on June 18, with the 65 St. John’s Sideroad proposal on the agenda for the meeting.
“There is not a settled agreement between the developer and the town at this time. A further case management conference has been scheduled for Aug. 20,” a town spokesperson said in a statement.
The development has garnered a significant amount of attention from local residents, with many expressing concerns about how the development will impact the nearby McKenzie Wetland.
Dozens of interested Aurora residents called into the OLT case management conference on Thursday. The Mackenzie Marsh Ratepayers Association, Climate Action Aurora-Newmarket, and the Lake Simcoe Conservation Authority all obtained participant status and submitted written submission for consideration during the hearing.
One resident who attended the online hearing was Trish Lear, a member of the ratepayers association who has lived near the provincially significant wetland for seven years. She has been rallying public opposition to the development.
“You’ve got to hope that OLT will prevail and logic will prevail and we’ll actually end up winning this one,” she said.
Lear launched a change.org petition in May to rally opposition to the development. The petition has garnered 2,476 signatures as of writing.
A number of signatories to the petition wrote messages criticizing the town council for holding the June 18 meeting behind closed doors.
“It is very difficult because you don’t really know what was discussed and neither can they disclose it, so it is a little bit challenging. I will say the public sentiment out there is we’re being sold out. But you’ve got to have faith that the town will hold true and they’ll stand by their original decision,” said Lear.
Another resident, Wendy Kenyon, called on the town to not “bow to meaningless ‘compromise’ behind closed doors.”
Others highlighted the importance of protecting the wetland area.
“Not everyone has a cottage or a car to get away to enjoy the beauty of nature. Let’s leave the birds alone so even less-wealthy people can enjoy them,” Aurora resident Sirkka Roman-Fannon wrote.
In response, Mayor Tom Mrakas issued a statement on his website, saying the closed session is “standard practice.”
“When council is in litigation or potential litigation these discussions need to be held in private to protect the municipality’s position. This is standard practice, and that meeting is confidential until such time that litigation has concluded and it can be made public.”
Mrakas added he is “looking forward to discussing this matter in detail once it is appropriate to do so.”
The next OLT case management conference has been scheduled for Aug. 20 at 10 a.m.
