by the Mississippi RiverWatchers
Councillor John Edwards has put for a motion to be debated this Tuesday night (Feb 3 at 6:30pish) to yet again try and rescind the Heritage Conservation District (HCD) moratorium bylaw.
The following is our understanding of the “standing “of the HCD moratorium with regard to Enerdu:
The HCD moratorium bylaw is the only “legal” thing holding back the issuing of a building permit to Enerdu to start construction.
Without the moratorium – as long as Cavanagh satisfies all of the conditions set out in August by the town, the town would have to issue the permit. Else they would be sued. This summer, Cavanagh applied to a building permit to start construction, and town staff did an excellent job of setting out the steps to be resolved before issuing a permit (see The Millstone, Sept 7 2014:Town rejects Enerdu building permit application).
HOWEVER – Nobody but Cavanagh & his team knows exactly where the satisfying of those conditions stands. It was quite a lengthy list, but for all anybody knows they may have worked through all of the conditions by now. There is no evidence in the public domain either way – We simply don’t know! However, if they have sorted all the conditions, then Cavanagh would undoubtedly apply for the permit the minute the moratorium is lifted (remember – they already tried just before the moratorium was put in place) and the town would have to issue them the building permit. Game over.
If the moratorium stays in place, then it will be lifted only when the HCD rules are passed into law (via town bylaw), or the HCD is defeated. This is slated to happen in 2-3 months, after the study is completed.
If no HCD is established in 2-3 months, then we are in the same place as before and Cavanagh can then get a building permit any time subject to the conditions set out by the town.
If the HCD is established, then Cavanagh will have to get a Heritage permit as well. Presumably the heritage rules in place will be such that the town will have a reasonable measure of control over the project to be at least palatable to the majority of the population. The community’s job is to make sure those rules are decent enough to do that.
So most importantly – if you agree – come out on Tuesday night wearing red!
(6:30 PM, Tuesday Feb 3, and the MM Town Hall on Old Perth Rd.)
See the Council Committee of the Whole (CoW) agenda item F2 at: http://www.mississippimills.ca/en/document/document.aspx?param=seeo1ScdiOQpX2xIonJnbQeQuAleQuAl&_mid_=16029
