KAREN BEST
Dunnville Chronicle
Wednesday, July 11, 2007 - 05:00
Local News - A trust fund proposed at a closed meeting was considered an option that might open the door to housing development and fair land claim resolutions.
A suggestion arose from the floor, said realtor Bruce MacDonald after over 30 developers met last week with county officials and councillors and representatives of the Ontario Provincial Police and the governments of Ontario and Canada.
One developer suggested the federal government assess the value of the 27 unresolved land claims in the Haldimand Tract and then deposit that dollar amount into a trust fund, said MacDonald. Then development can continue and the government can pay out claims as they are resolved, he continued.
"If we messed up 200 years ago, fix it," said MacDonald.
He described the situation as frustrating for all sides. Twenty-seven claims left unresolved for 27 years is not acceptable, he added. "It's a government issue. If it was a private enterprise issue, it would be solved," he said.
MacDonald, who now had a better understanding about policing this issue, joined dozens of others with an interest in development in Haldimand County at the meeting where attendance was by invitation.
Held in the Cayuga Kinsmen Hall, the meeting drew Archie Merigold, Fred Moodie, Richard Schilstra and Albert Postma.
Michael Corrado, whose York development was approved for zoning and official plan amendments, and Rick Shaw for Coscorp, which has asked for a Caledonia boundary expansion, were in attendance. A representative of Calloway Real Estate Investment Trust attended. The trust owns the Dunnville Shopping Centre property at the corner of Taylor Road and North Shore Drive where Wal-Mart is interested in locating.
Senior county managers joined council members. Coun. Lorne Boyko was away on holidays. On the government side, representatives of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada and Ontario's Aboriginal Secretariat joined the panel as did Haldimand County OPP Inspector Dave McLean and OPP Western Region Superintendent John Cain.
Senior executives from the Ministries of Municipal Affairs and Housing, Small Business and Entrepreneurship, and Public Infrastructure Renewal also participated.
One developer said he appreciated receiving information from authorities rather than from rumours on the street.
Mayor Marie Trainer later said nothing was offered at the meeting that would help developers. She said another meeting is to be held in a couple of months.
Coun. Tony Dalimonte, who iniated the meeting, said developers found it informative and useful.
When it got underway, it was made clear that this was a private and confidential meeting, said Dalimonte. "Developers have a very important stake in the community and have a direct stake in the information given out," he said.
Development is at a standstill because of the unknown, said one developer after the impact of Six Nations assertion of title was discussed, among other topics, at the July 4 meeting in the Cayuga Kinsmen hall.
Shaw, who represented Coscorp, said the Ontario government guaranteed title on the company's land holdings.
"We have a Crown patent," he said after hearing first hand what the provincial and federal governments are doing. "We want to be part of the solution but we need to know what the problem is."
"It's going to take a long time," he told The Chronicle. "This isn't going anywhere quick."
Months ago, Coscorp asked county council to expand Caledonia's boundary to accommodate a 215-acre signature waterfront community on the southeastern edge of town. Boundary expansion requests were forwarded to the Ministry of Municipal Affairs in conjunction with the county's official plan.
Land title was one of the developers' main concerns. Dan Valentini, whose 85-unit Hagersville subdivision was shut down by Six Nations members in May, said the Ontario government guaranteed his land title last year. If there are land claims, the provincial government has a responsibility to put notice on property titles so buyers are aware, he added.
Currently nothing is happening on his property. "It's going to be like that for a long time," Valentini said. "We can't do anything. No one will finance the project including the government because they can't solve this in a reasonable manner."
Valentini said he cannot even sell the property because everyone knows there is a problem.
Fred Moodie said the issues were complex and without any easy answers. This not just Caledonia as it affects development throughout Haldimand, he added.
Ready to begin Meritage Landing in the northeastern quadrant of Dunnville, Archie Merigold took a positive point of view. In his mind, the Town of Dunnville is really not in a disputed situation with any land claims.
The proposed Taylor Road site for Wal-Mart is in Moulton Township, he said. The 30,800 acre Moulton claim is under discussion at the main negotiating table which includes representatives from Canada, Ontario and Six Nations.
"I feel very positive about Dunnville and where it's going," said Merigold. The town's distance from the Six Nations issues puts Dunnville in a better place than any other for development, he continued.
He also emphasized the county's need to provide its own tax base. "We need resolution to this very quickly because it has a big impact on development," said Merigold.
When two members of Six Nations came into the meeting room, Merigold found it intimidating.
Wes Elliott and R.D. King, who are Six Nations members on the consultation side table set up by the main negotiating group, entered the hall when the door was left open. Inside, county chief administrative officer Bill Pearce asked King to stop video taping and told them the meeting was closed by a motion of council.
"They left peacefully," Pearce said later.
Elliott has attended other council meetings to comment on development projects. "We attended in order to try to make contacts with all the developers interested in developing in Haldimand County," he said later.
The meeting's content was of interest because of the developers' relationship with Six Nations which has an interest in the Haldimand Tract, he continued.
He also pointed out that land issues and rights are currently at the negotiating table.
Outside the Kinsmen hall, King videotaped licence plates and Elliott left DVDs on several windshields. The DVD was a short documentary of what transpired last spring and summer.