decis1on delayed The fate of a condominium development proposed for down- town Whitby is still in limbo, awaiting further changes to the building design. At Monday night's meeting, planning and development com- mittee deferred the application by Nor-Arm Development Inc. until the Sept. 5 'meeting at which time they areto come back with changes. The property under discussion is at the corner of :Colborne and Hickory streets where the owner wants ta build a six story con- dotiinium, Loft space and one story have be.n removed from the original plans for a seven-story building, and.-the central portion of the building has been accentuated. The ground floor is intended for retail space. The condominium would have 115 units, combination of 59 bachelor apartments and 56 one- .bedroom apartments. The price of these apartments are expected t 0range from $122,000 ta $200,000 Per unit. In response to t he revised design, Lynda Buffett said, "The other one has far more character. This present one looks, in my mind, like a penetentiary." «The other building was more Victorian," said councillor Ross Batten. "I don't Think this one blends into the downtown area. The other design added some- thing different to the downtown area. Square buildings are passe." Regional councillor Marcel Brunelle asked what market these condominiums were trying to reach and was concerned that the intent was to market them as condominiums and not as tax shelters. Heinz Vogt, representing the applicant, said the market was seniors and younger, profes- sional, singles and couples. He assured the committee he knew of no intention by the owner to use this property as a tax shel- ter. Whitby planning director Bob Short said that there have already been anumber of im- provements made ta the plan and that they will be looking at the fine details. THE FLAG GOES UP at Region headquarters in Whitby last Thurs- day as Durham Regional Police run- ners make a stopover during the Torch Run to raise money for the Ontario Special Olympics. Free Press photo Stevenson, Chamber favor sales tax By Mike Johnston The federal government's pro- posed nine per cent sales tax is the fairest for Canadians, says Durham riding MP Ross Steven- son. A member of the Conservative government, Stevenson said the tax, which is to replace the federal manufacturers sales tax (FST) in place since 1924, is not another tax grab by the govern- ment. "The old manufacturers tax enalized companies and wor- ers in Canada. This tax is the way to go," said Stevenson. The new goods and services tax.is also favored by the Whitby Chamber of Commerce. "The Chamber of Commerce is in favor of this form of 'consump- tion tax,' as opposed to the manufacturingtax which we pre- sently have. However, its administration looks like it is going to be very cumbersome, from the point of view of the average business in Canada," said Chamber president Bob Richardson. The tax, unveiled by finance minister Michael Wilson last week, will be applied to almost everything Canadians buy. Expected to take effect Janu- ary 1, 1991, the tax will hit items such as homes, goods and ser- vices, fast foods and airline tick- ets. Exempted from the tax will be basic groceries (for instance, a pizza deliverd to a home would be taxed but a frozen pizza picked up at a grocery store would be exempt), education, da; care, fish, residential rent, pre- scription drugs and most finan- cial institutions. Stevenson said the GST will help businesses, especially manufacturers, and he predicts the prices of such items as tele- visions, cars and fridges, should drop. "When the tax drops from 13.5 per cent to nine, I hope the savings are passed on to the consumers," said Stevenson. He said the new tax, expected to raise $24-billion for the government in 1991, compared to $19-billion had the old manufac- turers tax been in place, is expec- ted to boost provincial economies by one per cent. Wilson has stated, however, that the additional $5-billion will be repÃaid to Canadians through sales tax rebates and payments such as old age pensions and family allowances. Wilson also had some good news for families earning less than $30,000 annually. Adults .iould be able to claim a credit of $275, triple the amount available now, while children's claims would double to $100. In a prepared statement, John Patte, Whitby Chamber of Com- merce treasurer, indicated that while the new tax may cause an "administrative nightmare" for Canadian businesses, it will remove flaws caused by the FST SEE PAGE 8 Plaza design criticized The design ot a 31,494-sq. ft. commercial plaza to be located on Dundas St. W., west of Annes/ Cochrane St., looks like a long Beckers store, according to north ward councillor Ross Batten. Batten was commenting on a plaza proposal by Park Lane Developments which he said had no character. "There is no thought process to this. No talent has gone into this at all," said Batten. "I could designthis and that's not saying much." Committee agreed to table the application for two weeks to give the developer and planning department a chance to make renovationsto the building. The two' parties will also be looking at. the location, of two garbage containers which tAie devloper said would be located at the back of the plaza. Dave Underhill of Calais St. complained, however, that his house is just behind one of the garbage containers and he was concerned about an aroma. Shawn .Sinclair of Traugott Construction, which is building the plaza, said the containers SEEPAGE 16 BUSINESS Pages 13 to 15 Mr. Grocer has new owner See page 8 North residents form association See page 22