TWhile applauding council’s commitment to getting the official plan approved, lawyer Patrick Little politely cautioned them at Monday’s meeting “to get it right.”
Representing SORE (Save Our Randwood Estate), Little said his clients are concerned about the omission in the official plan of any reference to 2011 site-specific zoning for property on John Street that had been approved for a hotel.
The 2011 amendments to the official plan were approved when the Romance Inn was being proposed by then-owners Trisha Romance, her husband Gary Peterson and a third business partner.
The property, purchased from them by Benny Marotta of Solmar and Two Sisters Resorts, is now the subject of some legal actions, with Marotta asking for an amendment to allow a six-storey hotel, taller than what is allowed in the 2011 amendment.
Little said with the amount of time spent and input from the public, staff and the experts involved in the 2011 amendment, that decision should continue to be reflected in the current draft official plan.
“I expect it’s an inadvertent error,” he said, that specific policies were omitted.
He also drew council’s attention to some inclusion of what should be agricultural property he pointed out is now shown on mapping in the official plan, without any consultation, as residential development. And he called for some buffering to be included to protect agricultural land bordering a site to be developed as a subdivision.
He spoke of land use compatibility, asking for criteria for change to land uses be made clear in the official plan.
Little said he would be making a more complete written submission to the Town regarding changes to the official plan this week.
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