Denley nailed it today..
http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/ab...627/story.html
OMB is about facts and rules, not politics
BY RANDALL DENLEY, THE OTTAWA CITIZENAPRIL 16, 2009
People who are rushing to blame the Ontario Municipal Board for approving the expansion of Manotick fundamentally misunderstand the OMB's role as an adjudicator of development disputes. The OMB's job is to make decisions based on expert testimony and legal arguments, not public opinion polls.
Municipal Affairs Minister Jim Watson's comment this week that the OMB should be "more reflective of community values" is just feel-good hogwash. If politicians want planning rules that please the public, they should draft them properly in the first place. In the case of Manotick, the city was forced to defend a vague and contradictory secondary plan that was prepared by the former Rideau Township. It didn't stand up to scrutiny, but the city and the people of Manotick had a fair chance to present their arguments. Their failure to win doesn't make the system invalid.
Judicial or quasi-judicial proceedings are decided on the basis of who can make the better factual arguments. Despite Watson's comments, there is no better way to do it. How would an OMB hearing take into account people's subjective feelings?
The idea that the OMB should approve something simply because a city council had done so is another non-starter. The point of an appeal is that both sides get a fair hearing by an impartial third party. People might not like it when they lose, but without recourse to the courts or the OMB, city council could approve a high rise next door to your house and there wouldn't be a thing you could do about it.
City government gets to set the rules for development under broad guidelines from the province. The city determines the expected population increase and decides where and how those people will be accommodated. The balance is that the plan must be reasonable and actually produce the housing units that are required. The OMB is there to make sure that government lives up to its own rules.
In the case of the Manotick expansion, the rules were a lot less clear than they should be. The city plan placed apparent restrictions on development, but didn't do so artfully. The way the document was written, Minto had the right to build 250 houses on its land by 2020, but the houses needed to be on municipal sewer and water services. The cost of bringing the pipes to the development is not justified by that kind of limited growth.
Manotick residents argued that the plan was clearly designed to slow and limit growth. It's a reasonable interpretation. Minto said the plan was designed to allow growth, but it wasn't practical to build under the rules set out. Also a reasonable position. City staff favoured the Minto interpretation, bolstering their argument by pointing out that provincial guidelines dictate that sewers and water pipes be used to capacity and that a mix of housing types be provided, not just single family homes on big lots.
It's also important to note that Minto's land in Manotick is part of the village and has been designated for development for many years. The primary issue was when that development could take place.
Expanding within village boundaries is one of the goals of the city official plan. Between now and 2031, the city anticipates that nine per cent of total residential growth will be in rural areas. That means 7,500 additional units in existing villages. This would increase the number of units in villages by more than 60 per cent and the bulk of that would be in the handful of larger villages with municipal services. Rideau Ward Councillor Glenn Brooks warned this week that the Manotick decision will mean a flood of village development. If so, it will be right in line with city policy. Minto's development is arguably less than Manotick's share of the proposed growth.
If people are worried about an explosion in village population, now's the time to stop it. The city official plan is in front of council for review. That's how democracy comes to bear in planning, by writing rules that reflect the public's wishes, not by giving the city final say on the interpretation of those rules.
It's probably small consolation to people in Manotick, but Minto has put a lot of effort into the design of the houses and the look of its proposed development. It appears that the company is making a sincere attempt to make its development fit with the feel of Manotick's core. Improving Manotick is in Minto's interests. Destroying the village is not. If Minto makes a mess in Manotick, its homes will be difficult to sell. Perhaps more important for this family-run company, pride is on the line. The company has said that its Mahogany community will be special. Now it has to deliver.
Contact Randall Denley at 613-596-3756 or by e-mail,
[email protected]
© Copyright (c) The Ottawa Citizen
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) and the type of place that doesn't want much government interference in how people go about their day to day lives.
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