Barrie is stoking the fires of boundary expansion again.
City councillors will consider a motion tomorrow to create a working group to co-ordinate, develop and implement a strategy to address Barrie`s need for new employment and residential lands.
Mayor Dave Aspden, Couns. Mike Ramsay, John Brassard, Barry Ward and Jeff Lehman, as well as senior city staff, would be in the group.
"Barrie still needs expanded boundaries, especially in terms of employment lands and to fulfill our role under the province`s Places to Grow (policy)," Ward said. "It is also one of our strategic priorities."
Residents of Old Ottawa South have won some concessions from a developer in the form of cosmetic changes to the design of two massive townhouses set to replace a 1,200-square-foot house.
However, the changes by Campanale Homes do not address neighbours` central concern -- the sheer size of the buildings. At a total of 6,752 square feet, they are more than five times the size of the existing house at 35 Brighton Ave.
1008KWCG Home prices will rise with development cost
CAMBRIDGE
New home prices will have to rise to cover the soaring cost of new roads and sewers in Cambridge.
City staff want to increase development charges on homes by 25 per cent immediately -- to $12,151 from $9,743. Including Waterloo Region and school board fees, the total development charge would hit $20,933.
The money goes into a reserve fund to pay for growth-related costs, such as widening roads or building new trunk sewers. Developers pay for roads and pipes as part of building subdivisions.
The City of Guelph`s `AA` long-term credit rating has been confirmed by Standard & Poor`s Ratings Services.
The rating reflects good past economic performance and promising long-term prospects, manageable debt, sound liquidity and adequate operating performance.
The credit crisis and slowing economy are frustrating real estate developers` planning and could derail some Toronto condominium projects currently under way, prominent Canadian developers say.
"I think we`ve definitely oversold the market," said Brian Johnston, president of home and condominium developer Monarch Corp. and a past president of the Ontario Home Builders` Association.
1008ONTR Top realtors criticize housing `fear attack`
Fears of a major real estate downturn are overblown and the Canadian market is still performing well, say top executives from the country`s largest real estate companies.
"We are being overwhelmed by the negativity, the market has not slowed down that much, it`s like you`re going from 150 kilometres per hour to 120 kilometres, it feels slower, but it`s still healthy," Michael Polzler, executive vice-president of ReMax Ontario Atlantic Canada, told more than 1,000 realtors yesterday at the annual general meeting of the Toronto Real Estate Board.
In the battle over how London grows, combat reached the street level last night as politicians, developers and planners fought over the design of future city neighbourhoods.
The city`s planning committee was split down the middle, leaving the crucial issue to council when it meets next Monday. When it comes to designing subdivisions, city hall has made sure the streets drain and the toilets flush -- but that`s not enough, city planner John Fleming said.
1008YVGN Vaughan city council affirms subway support
Vaughan city council affirmed its support of the Yonge Street subway extension yesterday, the second underground foray into York Region with six proposed stops north of Finch Avenue that culminate in Richmond Hill.
Councillor Alan Shefman, who sits on the Yonge Street Subway Advisory Task Force, said the extension has progressed at a remarkable pace, given how many years it has taken plans for its older, sister extension, along Spadina Avenue, to become a reality.
When it opens in August 2009, Niagara College`s new Wine Education and Visitor Centre will do more than teach aspiring winemakers the intricacies of vineyard management and grape fermentation.
The $3.2-million centre at the college`s Niagara-on-the-Lake campus will give wine country tourists a central location where they can learn about Ontario wine.
Administrators hope the new building, to be nestled into the college`s 40-acre vineyard, will be a hub for Niagara`s wine region, giving visitors one-stop access to information on all wineries in the province.
City council will allow the demolition of Christ the King church and rectory, to make room for a new South Windsor retail plaza.
Local developer Joe Graziano has purchased the former church property at 2930 Dominion Blvd. and will build a new commercial centre at the corner of Dominion and Grand Marais Road.
"Not a single representive from the neighbourhood has come forward with an objection saying this is not good for the area," said Coun. Fulvio Valentinis. "It`s gone through the planning process, conforms to zoming bylaws so I`m supportive."
OTTAWA - With Ottawa`s history of failed Canadian Football League franchises, many residents and politicians are not particularly thrilled about a new plan for the redevelopment of Lansdowne Park that rests on the return of football to the city.
From Bernie Glieberman to Horn Chen, the city has seen franchises that promised glory, but ended in failure.
But the four businessmen promising a new era of football at a redeveloped Frank Clair Stadium want Ottawa residents to take a big leap of faith and trust them to succeed.
1008ONTR McGuinty leads Ontario companies on `speed-dating` mission to China
Updating the old Team Canada concept, Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty was in China on Monday leading 30 companies from the province`s growing environmental sector on a "speed-dating" mission.
Corey Diamond, president of Summerhill Group in Toronto, laughs at the handle, but not the concept.
"It gives us the opportunity to meet as many people as possible," he said in an interview. "The way they are doing it is kind of like speed dating. That`s what they are calling it."
1008DAJX Ajax targeting three per cent tax increase
AJAX -- Property owners are facing a three per cent increase in taxes.
Ajax Town Council set the target for the Town`s portion of the tax bill, which covers 27 per cent of the total bill. "In a very dicey economy, a lot of people are feeling the pinch in a lot of ways. The last thing they need is anything less than an absolutely minimum tax rate increase," Mayor Steve Parish said during a meeting of council`s general government committee last Thursday.
1008ONTR
Auto-parts industry seeks $1-billion in loans
TORONTO AND OTTAWA — Canada`s auto-parts makers need up to $1-billion in immediate short-term loans to help them survive during the liquidity crisis or the country`s largest manufacturing industry could disappear, the federal and Ontario governments have been warned. "Assistance is required immediately if our country has any hope of salvaging a once-vibrant and prosperous industry that is experiencing a temporary but very serious financial crisis," Gerry Fedchun, president of the Automotive Parts Manufacturers Association of Canada, said in a letter to federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty and Ontario Finance Minister Dwight Duncan.
Mr. Fedchun said in an interview on Monday that it is difficult to assess the amount of money needed, but it could be as much as $1-billion.
Some large industrial water users have been enjoying discounted water rates that they don`t deserve, the city`s auditor general has found – at the same time residential customers are facing a 9 per cent hike in their water rate for next year.
Under a city council policy passed in 2007, about 350 large water users get a 20 per cent break on their rate if they comply with the sewer use bylaw governing discharges and pollution prevention plans. They must also submit water conservation plans.
1008ONTR Power plant needed to meet energy demand, province says
Energy Minister George Smitherman says that a gas power plant located in the southwestern Toronto region will be far healthier than Mississauga`s coal-burning plant that the province recently closed.
Smitherman spoke to a crowd of several hundred last night in a Mississauga town hall meeting to discuss Ontario`s plan for a new natural gas power plant it will locate in Oakville, Mississauga or Etobicoke.
Is the Toronto Dominion Centre worth a cool $1.48 billion, or a paltry $1 billion, even?
Can tenants of BCE Place boast that they inhabit a billion-dollar complex, or must they admit their pile is worth just $650 million?
Lawyers for Toronto`s biggest office towers squared off in court yesterday to argue for lower property tax assessments against lawyers for Municipal Property Assessment Corp. and the City of Toronto.
1008CATH City OKs plan to raze landmark Q-Way Motel
A St. Catharines travellers` landmark may be coming down to make way for a new drugstore.
City councillors this week approved plans to replace the Q-Way Motel on Lake Street with a new Rexall Pharma- Plus drugstore.
Most of the 2 1 /2-acre property on the east side of Lake Street at the QEW was already zoned for commercial development, but about half was residential and needed to be rezoned.
Mike Thindh, who has owned and operated the Q-Way with his family for 20 years, said the property has not been sold, but the rezoning was sought to pave the way for a possible sale.
