Port Hope council denied a heritage permit application from Southbridge Health Care for demolition of buildings at 65 Ward St. at a special meeting Thursday night.
The vote was 4-3 to reject the application, but the case is expected to head to the Ontario Land Tribunal.
Southbridge plans to build a seven storey, 192 bed facility on the property to replace two other retirement homes - Hope Terrace and Regency Manor. In total, the new building would add about 30 new beds than are currently available. The plan does not meet building regulations in Port Hope, which limits builds to five storeys, but can move ahead following a recent Minister’s Zoning Order (MZO) recently issued from the province, overriding municipal zoning restrictions.
Following about two hours of delegations and verbal submissions from citizens - for and against the project - each council member also later made a statement Thursday. The full meeting is available on the municipality's YouTube page.
Coun. Les Andrews said denying the application would mean taking the case to the Ontario Land Tribunal and council has been advised by its legal counsel they are likely to lose that appeal. Andrews also said Ontario Minister of Long-Term Care Paul Calandra and Northumberland-Peterborough South MPP David Piccini have both told council that if they don't approve the demolition, they will expedite an Ontario Land Tribunal meeting and get it passed through.
Coun. Claire Holloway-Wadhwani said she didn’t feel it was appropriate for council to be worried about whether their decision would be appealed and said there were some concerning comments referencing of information from a closed meeting that other councillors could not respond to.
Andrews later introduced a motion to consider option one, which was to approve the permit application. Joining Andrews in supporting that motion were Mayor Olena Hankivsky and Coun. Chris Collins, while it was voted down by Deputy Mayor Todd Attridge and Couns. Holloway-Wadhwani, Vicky Mink and Adam Pearson. The same four supported the motion to deny the application.
In accordance with the Ontario Heritage Act, Southbridge will now have the right to appeal to the Ontario Land Tribunal within 30 days of receiving notice of council’s decision.
On Friday, Minister Calandra issued a statement, expressing disappointment in Port Hope council's decision.
“I am deeply disappointed by Port Hope council’s decision yesterday to vote against building a new long-term care home. I want to thank the mayor for articulately laying out why this project is needed and for her leadership and support on this file," he stated.
“Since 2017, a handful of NIMBY city councillors have blocked the delivery of this critical project," he continued. "These councillors would rather keep residents in an aging building than build a brand-new, state-of-the-art home. They would rather move their elderly community members out of town than provide the care they need close to home. These councillors are so blinded by their ideology they said no to an over $60 million investment from the province to tackle a years-long waitlist."
Calandra stated the Ontario government "will use every tool to ensure Ontario’s seniors get the quality care they need and deserve.”
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