Tomorrow was supposed to be the big day when Council makes its final decision about TSMV’s Village Centre Area Structure Plan (ASP). Maybe it still will be, but a letter from TSMV to the Town last week throws that into question. TSMV asked Council to delay its decision so it can explain why the amendments Council made at Second Reading won’t work for them. If you’re interested, you can find the letter in the agenda package for tomorrow’s meeting here.
So what will Council do? Your guess is as good as ours, but from a process standpoint, Town Council is not supposed to accept substantial new information after the public hearing ends. In other words, the opportunity for TSMV to make their case has passed. There is a reason why the Bylaw approval process is structured the way it is. The developer presents their case, the public provides their input, and then Council makes a decision based on this information. But now this process has been upended.
If Council does want to hear what TSMV has to say, then they need to reopen and re-advertise the public hearing so other parties can equally respond to this new information.
So what will Council do? Will they acquiesce to TSMV? Will they listen to the more than 1,600 people who signed our open letter to Council that stated Council’s amendments didn’t go far enough to address widespread community concerns? Or will they chose another option? We’ll find out tomorrow and you can tune in to the live webcast at 9am.
Have a great night!