Raise the Hammer

Hi again Three,

I invite you again to click on the above link to get a fuller picture of the situation. The PC has been working with the city and doing everything it can right from the get go. The city has often been less than forthright, claiming their investigations were based on 'complaints', when in fact they were based on internal miscommunication between departments - a prime example of the dysfunction I was referring to. Staff have more power and discretion than you give them credit for. It's all too easy to hide behind the 'rules'.

You are correct that parking requirements have been waived in certain situations in the past. That's one of the things that makes this situation so maddening. The city has given no indication that it is willing to do that in this case, which is one of the reasons why a costly zoning application is a waste of resources.

You keep coming back to lobbying council, so I'll say it again. Council IS being lobbied, to little avail up until now. They will be voting on a new official plan that will make the zoning application redundant - again, redundant zoning applications are a tremendous waste of a non-profit organization's limited resources. It is completely unfair to characterize PC's reluctance to pursue it as "A real bother. Too much trouble", as though they were just being lazy. If as you suggest, an application must still be made after the zoning changes are in place (not sure why that would be), and they can be assured that the parking requirements will be waived, I'm sure they wouldn't have a problem proceeding at that time, but at the moment it would be pointless.

Easier to put a rant into Raise The Hammer, and get on to the next whine. Easier for city councillors to dismiss rants too.

Yes. Far more heroic to be silent and apathetic.

Balance wrote

I will guarantee that if the proponent submits the required application that the bureaucrats and politicians will have no problem waving this requirement.

Fletcher, is that you? Morelli? If not, I'd love to know how you can "guarantee" this. As I said above, the city has given no indication that they are willing to waive the requirements in this case.

The point is they need to apply instead of running to the media and crying poor me.

Their home and livelihood is at stake, and you begrudge them their democratic recourse to the fourth estate?