Elisabeth Heslop
ALBERTON—Alberton’s council chambers were filled to overflowing Wednesday night at a public meeting regarding a proposed zoning bylaw amendment.
Of primary concern to the roughly 170 township residents on hand was the proposed purchaser of the property, should the amendment be approved: Weechi-it-te-win Family Services Inc.
“Council is clear on its responsibility,” said Alberton’s chief administrative officer, Dawn Hayes, noting that responsibility is to render a decision on an application from Alberton resident Gayle Arpin to rezone a portion of her land from “Business Park” to “Institutional.”
But while Alberton council may be clear on the issue, many of the residents who attended Wednesday evening’s meeting were not. Many questions were raised—most not about the rezoning itself, but about the intended use of the property should Weechi-it-te-win purchase it.
According to the application for zoning bylaw amendment submitted by Arpin, potential uses of the property by Weechi-it-te-win primarily would be the relocation of its Training and Learning Centre (TLC) from its current location in Watten Township.
Residents’ concerns ranged from safety issues to financial ones.
In a letter submitted to Alberton council on June 14, William and Bernice Kempf expressed concern the designation of the TLC facility as a school, under the zoning bylaw, is not accurate.
Rather, the letter, which was read aloud by Coun. Peter Spuzak, stated that “we believe that the TLC is a group home with a school component,” and as such would be home to “troubled youth” who might be prone to going “AWOL” from the facility.
Several other residents echoed this concern about runaways, citing related issues such as the property’s closeness to both a busy highway and an active rail line, as well as fears about potential trouble and petty crime.
Clint Calder, legal counsel for Weechi-it-te-win, said concerns about young offenders and group homes are unfounded.
“None of the students at the facility are young offenders, none of them have been put there because they have broken the law or any thing like that,” he stressed at Wednesday’s meeting.
“They are actually children who have been designated ‘in need of protection’ . . . under the Child and Welfare Act.
“It’s not a group home,” Calder added. “We feel that it’s best described as a private school.”
Another concern raised by residents last night was the loss of tax revenue should the property change hands since Weechi-it-te-win is a non-profit organization.
Residents also wondered about the potential that a facility such as the TLC might lower property values in the surrounding area.
An e-mail from Darlene Morgan, with the Municipal Property Assessment Corp., stated “MPAC does not have a ‘preset’ adjustment for group homes that decreases the assessment values of neighboring properties.”
When the three-hour meeting ended around 10 p.m., some residents appeared to be dissatisfied with the discussion while others commented the evening had brought clarity for them on several issues.
The rezoning decision now rests with Alberton council, which has until early September to make a decision before the matter can be taken out of their hands and passed on to the Ontario Municipal Board.
Council’s decision will not be on whether or not to allow Weechi-it-te-win to relocate the TLC to Alberton, but only on whether or not to rezone the property in question.
The earliest council might make a decision would be at its next regular meeting scheduled for Wednesday, July 8.
(Fort Frances Daily Bulletin)
