Cook's Mill Road rezoning one step closer

Vern Vaillancourt doesn’t want an OMB hearing and says he can’t afford one.

But it may be the only option he and 15 other Cook’s Mill Road residents have to try to stop a rezoning on their street.

Dr. Larry Woodward, a North Bay physician, has applied to have 65 hectares he owns on Cook’s Mills Road rezoned so it can be converted into a seasonal camping ground.

City planners had recommended last month approving the request with certain conditions including limiting the number of campsites to 20.

But the request was sent back to committee, pending a further report from planning manager Ian Kilgour.

EVen more conditions
The matter, and Kilgour's report, were on the agenda again at Monday night’s committee meeting of council, and again the rezoning was recommended with even more conditions attached, including setting back the campsites 95 metres from Cook’s Mills Roads to reduce any noise generated by campers, building all necessary facilities to address fire protection concerns, and significantly reducing the amount of uses for the property.

Vaillancourt said he only received notice of the meeting by email around 11 a.m. Monday.

“I was told I wouldn’t even be allowed to speak so I didn’t feel I had much time to prepare,” Vaillancourt said.

Bent over backward
Committee chairman Dave Mendocino said he didn’t see anything wrong with Woodward’s proposal or any reason not to pass the rezoning request.

“There’s been a lot of thought put into this application and the applicant has bent over backward and has done everything the planning department has asked him to,” Mendicino said.

But Coun. George Maroosis, who is also a committee member, disagreed and voted against the rezoning, saying he didn’t think the campground idea was practical.

“If you go up and take a look at that road it doesn’t make any practical sense. People are going to go in there to do what?” Maroosis said.

“I can see if it was on a lake, some sort of major trail system, or on a stream, but I don’t get it. I can’t see why you’d want to go in there and put up a tent to do what? I don’t know.”

Moot point
But Mendocino said Maroosis was making a moot point.

“The request from a planning perspective meets all the guidelines and all the requirements,” Mendocino said, “and to say that type of business does not make sense in that are, well that’s not for council to decide, and I’m hoping to get a favourable resolution next week.”

Mendicino also said Vaillancourt would be able to speak at next week's council meeting.

In the meantime, Vaillancourt said, he has seven days “to make some noise.”

“I didn’t think tonight was the right place to do it, but I’m disappointed that the wishes of one person can go against the 16 people who live there,” Vaillancourt said.

Expensive proposition
And as for going to the Ontario Municipal Board should council approve the rezoning?

“I would like to but from what I’ve heard that’s a very expensive proposition that I’m going to have to bear the cost of whether I win or lose, or even just have my case heard,” Vaillancourt said.

“So realistically do I have the money for that? No. Would I like to attempt something like that? Yes.”
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PHOTO Vern Vaillancourt opposes a rezoning request on Cook's Mills Road, in North Bay, the street he and 15 other people live on.
Photo by Phil Novak