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County moves ahead with costs application from AWARE Simcoe

October 22, 2015   ·   0 Comments

Simcoe County council will move ahead with a request for costs from the citizens’ group, AWARE Simcoe, for the legal expenses resulting from the group’s application for a temporary injunction on tree cutting permit issued to the owners of a Beeton area property
The injunction was requested until the hearing of a judicial review application later this year or early in 2016.
County councillors spent two hours last Tuesday morning with its lawyer Will Thomson of HGR Graham Partners discussing its options before voting in favour of allowing the cost submission to Justice Margaret Eberhart. The owner of the property, Tecumseth Estates, is also seeking legal costs against AWARE Simcoe.
New Tecumseth mayor Rick Milne put forward a motion for the county not to seek costs but was unsuccessful in gathering much support. “It seems that we are just pitting taxpayers against taxpayers in trying to retrieve our legal costs in this case. The Rizzardo family, New Tecumseth and area residents have been meeting to reach some sort of solution in his case. The owners have already agreed to save between 700 and 800 trees,” he said.
Milne’s motion was seconded by Bradford West Gwillimbury mayor Rob Keefer who said that he felt that the county seeking costs in this matter would establish a precedent in dealing with citizens’ groups.
“We should encourage public participation. Something like this puts a chill on our residents who take a side and do things with good intentions,” he said.
Other members of county council argued that the seeking of costs was nothing out of the order.
Oro-Medonte mayor Harry Hughes argued that “AWARE Simcoe is also addressing the issue of costs with us in court. What are we going to do with the next citizens’ group? Municipalities can be faced with serious costs through frivolous actions.”
Ramara mayor Basil Clarke told council that his municipality always sought costs if it was taken to court. “It’s the taxpayers’ money that has been spent in this matter. I think that we should leave the decision on the amount of costs to be left up to an expert – the judge in this case.”
Council voted on four motions during the morning session which included deferring any decision on requesting costs which was defeated in a recorded weighted vote, 83 to 26. Another motion which would have bound the county to accepting the costs awarded, by the judge, and not deciding whether to accept all or part of the costs was also defeated as was Milne’s motion to not ask for costs from AWARE Simcoe.
The final motion to allow the judge to award costs and then for council to review the amount of award, if any, passed by a margin of 87 to 22 in a weighted voted.
Don Morgan, Chair of AWARE Simcoe, said in an interview after the vote that AWARE Simcoe’s seeking of an injunction at court was a result in a failure in due diligence by both New Tecumseth and Simcoe County in passing the bylaw to allow the cutting of the trees.
He cited the county allowing additional evidence on the withdrawal of development plans for the property after the initial hearing as one error as was allowing two county councillors who had not heard the meeting at the hearing on the bylaw to vote on the matter a subsequent meeting.
Morgan also emphasized that certain e-mails, which members of AWARE Simcoe had sent to members of county council, were not “the opinions of individual members and not the opinion of the whole group.”
Innisfil deputy mayor Lynn Dollin said that she was angered when some of the e-mails which insinuated that members of county council were going to personally profit from any awarding of costs.
Morgan said that AWARE Simcoe’s future existence could be impacted if the judge awards a large costs settlement to the county. “We only have a $1,000 in the bank at the present moment,” he said, adding that the group has always been focused on benefiting the citizens of Simcoe County. “There are ongoing issues with aggregates and water issues through the county which the group is involved. There is a certain amount of expertise that we can bring to the process.”
AWARE Simcoe prepared a response on the request for costs by Tecumseth Estates and the county. They had until October 15th to do so.

By Richard Blanchard

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