Jessups Falls review begins
The Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) held its first pre-hearing session in counties council chambers in L’Orignal Nov. 2, dealing with appeals to the OMB from the PrescottRussell area concerning the parts of the Official Plan (OP) centering on the Jessup Falls Escarpment.
Richard Makush of the OMB chaired the Wednesday morning session, listening to legal counsel for both the United Counties of Prescott-Russell (UCPR) and others listed as participants and interested parties in the case.
“It seems obvious that we need another pre-hearing conference,” said Makush, after the first hour of listening to various legal counsels bring up concerns about both their clients’ issues and also questions from the gallery about legal procedure for the OMB review.
Both Makush and all the lawyers agreed to adjourn the pre-hearing to April next year. During the time in between legal counsels for all involved in the appeal will confer, through emails, by phone, and/or in person to try and consolidate the lists of issues filed in the case. That consolidated list will then be La semaine dernière, les bureaux des Comtés unis ont servi de lieu pour l’audience préliminaire avec la Commission des affaires municipales de l’Ontario au sujet de l’escarpement de Jessups Falls.
the subject of the April pre-hearing session. Following a brief recess, Makush
announced that he was able to schedule the appeal case for a confirmed five-week hearing date next fall, in L’Orignal, from Oct. 2 to Nov. 3. He dismissed a suggestion for a teleconferencing option as part of the OMB review process.
“With this number of parties (involved),” he said, “it’s just unmanageable.”
The Jessups Falls Escarpment is the centre of the controversy over the current UCPR Official Plan. The previous plan had the area listed as an aggregate mineral source, which is important for a local developer who wants to build an asphalt plant there.
During the mandatory review process for revising the Official Plan, counties council, in response to a grassroots lobby effort, removed the aggregate resources designation from the escarpment.
This also blocked the proposed asphalt plant development.
The provincial government, when it reviewed the revised-and-approved OP, restored the aggregate resources designation for the escarpment.
Several area residents objected and filed appeals so the matter is now before the OMB.