OMB Rockfort Hearing for January 20, 2010.

Continuing Cross Examination of Mr. Sheinman and Ms. Marshall on Cultural Heritage for the Town:

By Mr. Tzekas (JDCL):

• Did the Greenbelt Plan influence your work?
  --In an overarching way, but we had been working on the cultural heritage for the Town for sometime before that.
  
• Were you aware that an agreement was signed between the parties that the Greenbelt is not applicable to Rockfort?
  --No I was not
  
• Looking at Rockfort's significance of cultural heritage, there seems to be a diverse number of opinions about its significance?
  --There is disagreement, yes.
  
• Would you say that there has been quite a bit of controversy in the community about the cultural heritage?
  --There was some attention,
  
• Are you aware that the plans are to preserve the house and barn?
  --Yes.
  
• If the proposal is approved, the difference is that people would be looking at lakes rather than fields?
  --It's more about the loss of the greater context in the cultural landscape, it's not just about the buildings, and it’s about the entire context.
  
• Looking at the Westerveld site, is it your opinion that the site is reasonably intact?
  --Yes.
  
• And you think there is a significant amount of integrity on this site?
  --Yes.
  
• If that house and shed are restored, do you think that the meaning of the Westerveld site would be better or worse?
  --It would be worse. To my mind it's much better to retain in place "in situ".
  
• If there is no other choice, isn't it better to move it than destroy it?
  --Agreed.
  
• Do you think that the mitigation efforts on the fencing were reasonable?
  --We think there would be a loss of context, but the proposal of the fences themselves seemed adequate.

Reply to Cross Exam by Mr. Barnett of the Town:

• Mr. Tzekas asked about the value of the Rockside area, what value do you see for the community?
  --I think there have been many documents and writings about the area for many years. Many residents showed interest, plus the restoration of the Melville Church indicates a committed interest over the years.
  
• Are there Rockside pioneers still living in the area?
  --Yes I believe so.
  
• Looking at the Bernice Trimble book on the history of the area, and the story of William Lyon MacKenzie hiding in the Rockside caves, what number of men was referenced in the piece?
  -- Fifteen men in total.
  
• And in the Life and Times of W.L.M. how many men were mentioned there?
  --Sixteen men.
  
• And is there anything in his diary that would preclude him spending time in the caves of Rockside?
  --No.
  
• Looking at the Farmers Union in Caledon (The Grangers), there is reference to the Caledon contingent?
  --Agreed

Evidence in Chief of Eha Naylor on Visual Impacts for the Town of Caledon:

• Ms. Naylor was retained by the Town of Caledon in 2008.  Her conclusions were that she was surprised that the proponent's material indicated no regard for the broader landscape and the connections to the Niagara Escarpment. In the mapping exercise of the NEP 1976, it shows that the site and the area surrounding the site is ranked as "attractive". The Mapping was updated in 2005.
  
• The scenic character is a layered attractiveness of landscape, agricultural mosaic and cultural heritage features.
  
• The proposal would degrade the scenic properties of the site and potentially degrade the overall landscape character of the area. The quarry proposal removes some of the cultural heritage, plus it builds large berms which would significantly impact the scenic quality of the area.
  
• The impacts would increase with the advancing phases of extraction.
  
• She was concerned with the impact of the processing plants and the acoustical berms. Information from JDCL showed there would be visual impacts, especially for those living along Winston Churchill.  Ms Naylor did a visual analysis and modeling on the phases and which homes would have a site line into the industrial area.
  a) Phase 1 will have a small window to see into the plant and material stockpiles. Plus a number of the homes will have views.
  b) Phase 2 and 3, more is seen.
  c) In Phase 4 and 5 the views into the quarry will diminish because of the increase in berming.
  
• The Decina Property and the Slack properties on Winston Churchill will definitely be impacted. The berm is approximately 7 meters high and it will be right along back their property line. We concluded there would be site lines into the operation in the early phases. In her opinion it is a high impact and of significance and concern. Her opinion is that those impacts for them and the views along the roadways are unacceptable. The scale and extent of the berms are of concern.
  
• Along the haul route, the visual impacts on the roads (scenic quality) related to the entrance and road widening could be significant, especially since it is along the Niagara Escarpment and the natural heritage features will be lost because of the widening and the berms. JDCL report that the existing natural heritage won't be impacted and she disagrees. Planting on a steep berm will be difficult and the degree of visual change of construction of large industrial landscape will be a significant change. She feels this is an unacceptable impact.
  
• The roadside vegetation here is located along the fencerows and along the right-of-way. The roadway of Olde Baseline is narrow and the vegetation has grown into the right-of-way. Then how do you protect the roadside vegetation when you move the equipment in, construct the berm and shape the berm in order to landscape it? It's a very shallow distance to the edge of the property, so it is problematic. Ms. Naylor is concerned that the vegetation will be lost, that it is very difficult to maintain the 2:1 slope and hydrating the landscape is very challenging. The other concern is that the impact of such an imposing structure on the visual impact on Baseline is very significant and unacceptable. No setback from the road is also a concern.
  
• Looking at the Cheltenham Brick quarry, how would you compare the view shed to Rockfort?
  --From the South there are a lot of other landscape features going on and the quarry itself is barely visible. Coming from the north there are no berms in place and you can't see that there is a quarry there at all.

Cross Exam By Mr. Tzekas (JDCL):

• You were hired in the fall of 2008?
  --Yes.
  
• Mr. Parkin's planning justification was being written concurrently with your work?
  --Yes.
  
• Looking at your impact map, site line may only see the top of the stockpile?
  --Correct, but you also have equipment that could be on the top of the pile.
  
• You are concerned about the visual impacts along Olde Baseline, but what about the Richardson home at Winston Churchill and Baseline?
  --They have views from the second floor when the trees have no leaves, but the view of the berm will be significant.
  
• Looking at the entrance, doesn't the curvature of the driveway prevent site lines?
  --Actually there will be a site line.
  
• Isn't it unusual to have screening on two sides?
  --My opinion is that the views from the north and south on Winston Churchill and along Olde Baseline it will be a significant impact.
  
• If you compare this to pits along Charleston are you looking into pits sometimes?
  --Yes.
  
• In the Plans, armor stone is to be placed at the drip line of trees?
  --My witness statement is skeptical that that would work and my experience with the MNR standards is that the berms often end up being unsuccessful.
  
• Looking at the CCRS process with the Citizen's Advisory Group, Rod Symmes was attending. There was not as much concern about vistas on the brow of the Escarpment? --My opinion is a vista is a longer view. My analysis is a more immediate view in the area itself.
  
• How were the elevations estimated?
  --We used not only the plan notes but also the cross sections to input the elevations into the model. 
  
• How was the vegetation evaluated?
  -- We used data from the visibility mapping. We took the conservative heights of the vegetation.
  
• Looking at Vito's home with all the trees there, how does he see out?
  --The driveway allows site lines. 
  
• If any stockpiles are visible, then they will be shown on the map as having a site line?
  --Yes.
  
• Owners can build privacy screens?
  --Yes.
  
• In your evidence you said there would be a large industrial structure; you are meaning the acoustic berm?
  --Yes, It is the loss of the visual context by placing the berm that is significant.
  
• If this quarry were in the NEP it would have to be screened?
  --Yes.
  
• If you don't have screens, how is it that you can ever have a quarry?
  --I think that is a design question, as there are setbacks and the scale of the screen that would make it more compatible. 
  
• Is it fair for me to say that every quarry has a screen or a berm?
  --The Cheltenham quarry does not have a berm. If the berm along Olde Baseline was setback, it would make the visual impact considerably less. 
  
• Once the rehab is over and the lakes are there, would you agree with me that the site will be very attractive?
  --I can't predict how it will look, plus the scale of these photos is not necessarily similar to Rockfort.
  
• You know JDCL will be removing the berms at the end of the process?
  --Yes, but of course you will have to make that area safe and planted again.