Aurora
October 09, 2008 11:38 PM
By: Sean Pearce
Talk of a new peaker plant fuelled debate among Aurora councillors Tuesday.
Some politicians wanted council to reaffirm its opposition to a proposed 350-megawatt natural gas-fired peaking plant in the community.
The Ontario Power Authority seeks to build such a facility somewhere in northern York Region, possibly on Bloomington Road in Aurora.
Council passed a resolution in June, stating it did not support such the plant at either of two Aurora sites that had been shortlisted. It also stipulated any transmission lines built through the municipality should be buried underground.
Of the two Aurora sites originally outlined by power authority’s search, only the one from Northland Power Inc. remains.
Now that Northland Power has submitted a complete application, the discussion Tuesday turned to what to do with it.
Councillor Evelina MacEachern suggested delaying planning meetings on the matter until after the OPA makes its decision.
Council can do so until the OPA chooses a preferred site, which is expected after Dec. 31, planning director Marco Ramunno said.
The town has a six-month window to process completed applications, he said, adding a two-month delay would have little impact.
“Processing the application might be premature,” Mayor Phyllis Morris said.
“We’re talking about undergoing a zoning review and making an official plan amendment for something that may never come to pass.”
This stance was sharply opposed, however, by Councillor Evelyn Buck, who cautioned Aurora may be in danger of overplaying its hand by dragging its feet.
She categorized the motion as more stalling.
“We are taking a considerable risk with this head-in-the-sand attitude,” Ms Buck said, noting she did not support council’s June resolution either.
Despite her opposition, the committee voted to delay processing the application until a preferred site is named by the OPA.
Brad Rogers, a planner with Stantec Consulting, the firm who put together the application for Northland Power, cautioned against more delays if the Aurora site is selected.
“Aurora has a completed application and should process it,” he said, noting King Township and the Town of East Gwillimbury have already processed similar applications.