Council not backing appeal of Country Day variance
By Bill Rea

Township council will not be backing an appeal of a minor variance granted to The Country Day School to the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB).

King's Committee of Adjustment approved the variance to erect an airsupported structure over a playing field. The structure approved in the variance is to be temporary; slated to be in place three years. It will be about 50 feet in height, and in addition to covering the field, it is to contain washrooms and an office. The plan is to put it on the school property about 70 feet east of Dufferin Street.

Area resident J. Robert Madronich has filed an appeal with OMB.

"The proposed location is not good planning," he declared in his appeal form, a copy of which was included in the agenda package at the Jan. 15 council meeting. He added there are ample locations behind the existing buildings, and stated there was discrepancies regarding the size of trees that would screen the structure, and there were no specifics about the noise of light emanating from it.

"This accessory airsupported structure will dominate the landscape and surrounding attractive buildings," Madronich stated, as he argued the variance is not minor.

Councillor Jane Underhill tried unsuccessfully to get her colleagues to support the appeal,arguing the proposal is not in keeping with the rules governing the Oak Ridges Moraine, but she was only able to convince Councillor Jeff Laidlaw.

Concerned Citizens of King Township (CCKT) have also voiced opposition to the variance. There had been suggestions that the structure could be moved to another location on the property, but CCKT Vicechair Debbie Schaefer said they were worried about it going anywhere on the site because it violates the Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Plan. She pointed out the school is in a natural core and natural linkage areas of the moraine plan, and contains wetlands. Her interpretation of the plan indicated low-intensity recreational uses would be permitted, but few, if any buildings.

Schaefer said Township planning Director Stephen Kitchen had told her the municipality would be vigilant when it comes to protecting the moraine. She also cited Kitchen has having said there are provisions in the plan for expanding existing institutional uses, and she thought this would be too significant a change to be permitted.

Kitchen countered there is no change of use proposed. "The use is a school," he said.

He also said the Township will have to approve the site plan, which will be reviewed by staff. He told Councillor Jack Rupke it will not address issues of height, since that was taken care of in the variance.

"I really don't believe this is a minor variance," Underhill declared, as she said she would back the appeal despite the site plan approval provisions.

Her motion called on staff to attend the OMB hearing in support of the appeal, but Mayor Margaret Black warned against forcing staff to take a position on something it hasn't even reported on. She added OMB would be critical of that.

Underhill countered it would be council's decision, not staff's, but Kitchen said OMB hears opinion evidence from experts. The motion was in effect telling staff what to think before such an opinion had been formed. "You can't tell staff what our opinion is," he told Underhill.

Rupke said he didn't want to express an opinion on this without a staff report, and Black said the matter had been delegated to the adjustment committee and there wouldn't be time to get a full report from staff.