MINUTES - Special Council - 20020130
TOWN OF AURORA
SPECIAL COUNCIL - PUBLIC PLANNING MEETING
MINUTES
NO. 02-03
Council Chambers
Aurora Town Hall
Wednesday, January 30, 2002
ATTENDANCE
COUNCIL MEMBERS Deputy Mayor West in the Chair; Councillors Griffith,
Kean, MacEachern, Pedersen, Timpson and Wallace.
Mayor Jones was away on a business trip.
Councillor Vrancic was absent.
STAFF MEMBERS Deputy Town Clerk, Director of Planning, Planners
and Council/Committee Secretary.
I DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
There were no declarations of pecuniary interest under the Municipal Conflict of
Interest Act.
II APPROVAL OF AGENDA
Moved by Councillor Griffith Seconded by Councillor Timpson
THAT the content of the Agenda be approved as presented with the
addition of correspondence from the following residents in opposition of
(item #1) PL02-008 - Official Plan and Zoning By-law Amendment
application T. Ntoulas (The Red House) 237/253 Old Yonge Street:
• Mrs. Angela Grattage, resident of 49 Attridge Drive
• Mr. Robert M. Grattage, resident of 49 Attridge Drive
• Christine and Mike Valentini, residents of 94 Old Yonge Street
• Jaye Campbell, resident of 543 Tara Hill Circle
• Carol & John Williams, resident of 559 Tara Hill Circle
• E. Rudder, resident of 563 Tara Hill Circle
• Doug and Maria Manson, resident of 47 Attridge Dr.
• Katherine Dee, resident
and correspondence from the following resident regarding (item #2) PL02-
004 - Zoning By-law Amendment and Draft Plan of Subdivision Minto
Residential Inc. 15,625 Bayview Avenue Part of Lot 23, Concession 2
EYS D14-15-01 and D12-01-4A:
• Owen Steele, Ducks Unlimited Canada
CARRIED
Aurora Special Council – Public Planning Minutes No. 02-03 Page 2
Wednesday, January 30, 2002
III PLANNING APPLICATIONS
Deputy Mayor West outlined the procedures that would be followed in the
conduct of the public meeting. The Deputy Town Clerk confirmed that
appropriate notice had been given and that signs had been posted on the subject
properties in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Planning Act.
1. PL02-008 - Official Plan and Zoning By-law
Amendment Application
T. Ntoulas (The Red House)
Lot 3, Registered Plan 461
237/253 Old Yonge Street
Files: D09-05-01 and D14-17-01
Planning Staff
The Planner, gave a description of the application and summarized the contents
of the Planning Report No. PL02-008. Mr. Filipetto indicated that staff have no
objections in principle to the application and indicated that many issues such as
parking, traffic concerns, and public input received have been addressed by the
new arrangement of removing any access to the proposed restaurant off of Old
Yonge Street. It is the anticipated that concerns raised by residents and from
comments tonight can be addressed and dealt with in the site plan proposal. Mr.
Filipetto suggested to Council that they approve the recommendations in order to
continue to deal with the application.
Applicant/Agent
Mr. Richard Harrison of Malone Given Parsons introduced Mr. Tom Ntoulas, the
land owner and applicant and Mr. Tony Adessie, the Architect for the project. Mr.
Harrison and advised that the applicant, Mr. Tom Ntoulas has agreed to remove
all access ways onto Old Yonge Street from his property except for a fire route
for emergency vehicles, which will be inaccessible to the public, and that Mr.
Ntoulas is taking measures to amend the Zoning By-law as well as the Official
Plan to include clauses which will prevent the building of an outdoor patio,
prohibit take-out facilities in the restaurant and ensure that no access will be
available to Old Yonge Street. Mr. Harrison advised that the clauses being
located within By-law as well as the Official Plan, will prevent the possibility of a
future application for this land to include any of these features without formally
applying to The Town of Aurora to change the existing By-law and Official Plan.
Mr. Harrison also noted that the original seating capacity was not accurate and
clarified that the current seating plan allows for 83 seats in the downstairs
restaurant and a maximum of 22 seats located upstairs in the upper bedroom
which would only be used for private dining and only occasionally. Mr. Harrison
advised that Mr. Ntoulas intends to make this establishment very tasteful and will
take every measure to preserve the beauty and ambience of the existing home
and surrounding grounds. It was noted that these decisions were made with the
intent to alleviate concerns and allow residents and staff to feel more at ease in
regard to the application.
Public Comments
Comments were made from the following people who were in opposition of the
application:
• Ms. Clarissa McClaren, resident of 668 Millway Avenue.
• Mrs. Orianna Brodbeck, resident of 220 Old Yonge Street
• Mr. Ben Kestein, resident of 90 Old Yonge Street
• Mr. John Currie, resident of 537 Tara Hill Circle
• Mr. William Francey, resident of 194 Old Yonge Street
• Mr. Michael Valentini, resident of 94 Old Yonge Street
• Ms. Susan Dickson, resident of 1 Twelve Oaks Drive
• Mr. Buttler, resident of Tara Hill Circle
Aurora Special Council – Public Planning Minutes No. 02-03 Page 3
Wednesday, January 30, 2002
• Ms. Branda Babcock, resident of 240 Old Yonge Street
• Mr. Brenden Heaslip, resident of 557 Tara Hill Circle
• Ms. Barbara Stokeland, resident of 210 Old Yonge Street
• Mr. Doug Stewart, resident of Tara Hill Circle
• Mr. John Buckley, resident of 6 Pittypat Court
The following residents spoke in favour of the application:
• Ms. Barbara Downey, resident of 193 Downey Circle
(Former occupant of "The Red House")
• Mrs. Brenda McFee, resident of 39 Twelve Oaks Drive
• Mrs. Beth Egan, resident of 15900 Yonge Street
• Mrs. Dorothy Clarke McClure, resident of 1 Cousins Drive
• Mr. Dick Illingworth, resident of 1 Cousins Drive
• Mr. Marc Neeb, resident of 99 Brookview Drive
Many of the residents raised concerns regarding additional strain on traffic and
parking demands along Old Yonge Street, which has no sidewalks, possibly
becoming a safety hazard for residents. Residents also raised concerns in
regard to potentially excessive lighting, noise from air conditioning units and
garbage pick-up, strong odours and possible damage to trees around the
property to allow for visibility from Yonge Street. Some residents were
concerned about the possibility of run-off from the proposed parking lot seeping
into the wetlands nearby which could have a negative impact on the
environment.
Other concerns raised involved potentially negative effects on the neighbourhood
from letting a business come into a residential community, along with the
possibility of this owner moving on to another location leaving the opening for a
less desirable business to move into the area.
Those residents who spoke in favour of the application raised points including the
fact that the "Red House", which was built in 1804, is filled with history and has
never been officially recognized for its historical value. It was noted that the
applicant has committed to apply for this house to be plaqued and designated as
a heritage home. It was also noted by a resident and former occupant of the
"Red House" that this house and property requires a tremendous amount of
ongoing maintenance work and upkeep which would be better managed by a
high-end restaurant business than by family living in the house. Other points
raised included the opinions from several residents that the applicant himself is
trustworthy, intelligent and a highly reputable businessman with a long and
successful history in the gourmet restaurant industry. Finally it was suggested
that a distinguished restaurant and Bed & breakfast of this quality would be a
great asset and welcome addition to the Town of Aurora.
The public portion of the meeting closed at 9:00 p.m. and Council’s deliberations
began.
Moved by Councillor Timpson Seconded by Councillor Wallace
THAT Staff report back to Council to address issues raised respecting,
scale of the project, traffic, noise, parking and public concern prior to
preparing an official plan amendment and implementing by-law; and
THAT Staff and LACAC report back on the timing of an application for the
existing “Red House” building being:
• designated under the Ontario Heritage Act;
• plaqued by the Aurora Heritage Committee, Ontario Heritage
Foundation or Parks Canada; or
• listed on the Canadian Inventory of Historical Buildings,
through Parks Canada
CARRIED
Aurora Special Council – Public Planning Minutes No. 02-03 Page 4
Wednesday, January 30, 2002
2. PL02-004 - Zoning By-law Amendment
and Draft Plan of Subdivision
Minto Residential Inc.
15625 Bayview Avenue
Part of Lot 23, Concession 2 EYS
D14-15-01 and D12-01-4A
Planning Staff
The Planner, Mike Mallette outlined the purpose of the application and briefly
summarized the contents of Planning Report No. PL01-018. Mr. Mallette
explained that there are a number of issues to be resolved therefore staff is
recommending that Council direct staff to continue to work with the applicant to
resolve the various issues.
Public Comments
Concerns were raised from the following people in regard to the application:
• Mrs. Margaret Shearman, resident of 15385 Bayview Avenue.
• Mrs. Lauralei Heggie, resident of 285 Hollandview Trail.
Concerns were raised regarding the use of pesticides and herbicides within the
proposed development, which may lead to contaminated run-off spilling into
nearby wetlands and also have negative effects on children and pets. Also noted
was that the lack of drawings to help visualize what the proposal will look like and
the potential for an increase in traffic flow for commuters.
Applicant/Agent
Mr. Jack Sterling of Minto Developments advised that the plans for the proposed
units will be brought to Council at the site plan application stage, and indicated
that he is in full support of the recommendations in the report.
The public portion of the meeting closed at 9:55 p.m. and Council’s deliberations
began.
Moved by Councillor Griffith Seconded by Councillor Wallace
THAT, given the broader conformity of the proposal with the land use
designations and policies contained within Official Plan Amendment No.
30, Council direct Staff to prepare conditions of draft approval and an
implementing zoning by-law for the subject lands, subject to the resolution
of the outstanding issues and concerns, including those raised by the
public.
CARRIED
IV ADJOURNMENT
Moved by Councillor Griffith
THAT the meeting be adjourned at 10:00 p.m.
CARRIED
______________________ _________________________________
T. JONES, MAYOR K. SMYTH, DEPUTY CLERK