1 I>A(,G2.W;UI. J ANt- ý\RYý 7. 1981S . Wl IITI3Y FREI. PlRESS Plan needs upgrading: Drumm says The .'own of Whitby's of- ficiai ,lan no longer reflects the economic conditions of the day according to East Ward Councillor Joe Drumm and he wants coun- cil to update it. Last week Drumm said that the seven-year-old official plan was "okayed at a time when everything was beautiful". "We're in a different economie situation now where obviously things are different," Drumm said ad- ding that when council ap- proved the plan in 1973 development was on the in- crease and all available economic predictions were good. While he said that the plan was basically a good one. the councillor added that it could become a mammoth task taking up to one year to complete. However, he pointed out that the official plan is the only thing that the town has to create a better economic climate in Whitby since they do not have the financial capability to give tax incen- tives to industry as do the provincial or the federal governments. "We need to encourage development in the town, all kinds of development," the four year veteran of council said. "And the only tool we can work with is the plan." He pointed out that the of- ficial plan, as it stands has some major flaws. As an example, he cited the population forecast in the plan that calls for Whitby to have a population of 100,000 by the year 1990, residing south of Taunton Road. "That is so far out now," he said. "There is no way we're going to reach those figures." Other items that need to be reviewed are the designation of hazard lands, road allowances and the dedication of public park land (which presently stan- ds at five acres for every 1,000 people). Another item of concern is the housing mix. Drumm pointed out that council had to delete a number of townhouses iii the Otter Creek plan because there was no market for them. While he said that "'1m not trying to be soft on developers," he did re- emphasize the need to en- courage new development. "We have got to look at the thing in the reality of the day,"he said. "Its one thing the town has got to look at" in this council term. Drumm was also quite adamant on how it should be done saying that it should be done by staff without the use of outside consultants. "I'm not for getting con- sultants in at all," he said. "Let's keep it within our own Joe Drumm realm." He will also propose that some money be set aside in the budget to carry out the review. The long time opponent of theBrooklin development scheme also believes that the review should have been carried out before the proposal wasapproved by council. As the plan stands now, Drumm said that it is "right out of whack" with the town's economic situation and that "we have to revamp our thinking". The official plan, he con- tinued, "has to be flexible and has to portray what the economic conditions are. "It's out of touch right now. I think that after seven years, it is time to look at it."1 CLOCA to purchase land The Central Lake Ontario Conservation Authority will attempt to extend the Lynde Shores Conservation Area north of Victoria Street. According to authority general manager Bill Cam- pbell, CLOCA intends to purchase a 54 acre site across the road from their facility at Lynde Shores. It will cost approximately $54,000 to buy the land, Campbell said. The Sayle property, as the land is known, is a mar- shland through which flows the western branch of the Lynde Creek. However, the purchase will require the approval of the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and a separate authority resolution since the land is outside of CLOCA's master plan. In addition to the ap- proval, the authority will request a grant of up to 55 per cent of the cost of pur- chase of the property. This purchase can be sup- ported with grants that are still available in the 1980 budget. Schilling made Q.C. A Whitby lawyer was named Queen's Counsel on the New Year honor list announced by Ontario At- torney-General Roy McMur- trey. Nigel Schilling is a partner in the firm of Schilling and Evans located at 121 Brock Street North. He is also the legal counsel for the Whitby Free Press. 1 683-19