City settles most zoning appeals during OMB pre-hearing

The city’s new comprehensive zoning bylaw will finally be in effect as early as next week.

The city has settled all but one of the appeals to its zoning bylaw after an Ontario Municipal Board pre-hearing Friday. A closed door mediation session settled a holding concern from property owners on John Street Road Friday afternoon.

The one outstanding appeal, regarding several residents on Mountain Road, has a teleconference with the city and OMB scheduled for June 14.

The new zoning bylaw, which was approved by city council in October, will be in effect once the OMB has officially approved it and will be retroactive to October. City solicitor Rosalie Evans said the agreement is good news.

"In the mean time you had to work with both the old and the new and it’s very complicated," Evans said. "It’s had for the chief building official to issue permits and it’s just a mess so it’s much nicer now that it will be approved it will be much smoother."