Disappointed that the Glenway OMB vote was unanimous

The outcome of the long awaited Glenway vote was a foregone conclusion.  We have known for years that this council was determined to waste hundreds of thousands of dollars at an 8-week OMB hearing. 

Faced with the dilemma that growth was being shoved down our throats by the Province and York Region, many sane residents recognize that single family homes are preferable to condo high rise towers. 

If we have to choose between them, Glenway and its 750 homes should be developed but we would like give a pass on the Slessor Square and Clock Tower developments please.

I have often heard council members speak about the need to allow Newmarket to control development, yet I have never heard any explanation why the highrise residential towers are preferred by this council. 

It doesn't go unnoticed that the developers who build single family homes sell out their inventories within days while lots approved for high rise condos remain barren and desolate for a decade or longer.  Families moving to Newmarket overwhelmingly choose houses over apartment style residences.
 
Newmarket taxpayers are going to pay approximately $30 per household towards the legal costs to keep Glenway "green space"; a luxury for the very few people whose homes back on the old golf course to continue to enjoy their view, (keep in mind that not one single resident will actually be using the Glenway lot because it is still private property). 

And for the rest of us, enjoy your idling time, stuck in gridlock traffic along Yonge and Davis as more and more cars and construction snarl our major thruways. 

 With Mayor Van Bynen's bloc remaining standfast behind Glenway, we had no hopes of winning the Glenway vote. The best that any of us could have hoped for would have been a split decision. It would have been nice to see this vote break 5-4 to show residents that members of Council actually gave this matter some serious consideration.

I am disappointed with the unanimous vote. 

If a 5-4 split vote was the best we could have hoped for, I expected at very least an 8-1 vote. 

I recognize that Councillor Di Muccio has been on record for supporting Slessor and being against Glenway.  But I also know that she and Councillor Twinney  have been publicly wary of the high-risks associated with Tony Van Bynen's "no negotiations" stance with the Marrianeville developer. 

With Councillor Twinney, her past voting record would indicate that she wouldn't break from the pack.  Her vote is obvious because she has never publicly displayed the fortitude it takes to stand on her sole convictions. 

Councillor Di Muccio, on the other hand, has stood alone on principle many times before. 

Why did she go along with Tony Van Bynen's hard line approach? 

Anyone who plays poker knows that the difference between winning and losing is knowing when to hold 'em and when to fold 'em.  Glenway residents have been dealt a bad hand.  The best course of action would be to negotiate and see if you can't get your parks, school, and a reduced size for the condo tower.  Instead, the Glenway are going to get a front row seat to the original Glenway proposal when they lose their stakes at the OMB. 

Maybe it is wrong for me to take umbrage with Councillor Di Muccio's vote while letting the 8 others who voted similiarly off scot-free.  But it wouldn't be honest of me to say that I am not disappointed with her vote. 

There will be no honour in losing this high stakes game at the OMB.  And make no mistake about it, losing is the only outcome that I expect when the 8-week OMB hearing wraps up.