Developer says 1935 covenant no longer applies to west Mountain property
Mark Newman, Mountain
Sep 21, 2007)
Residents living near the Chedoke browlands are hoping a document from 1935 will force a Mississauga firm to de-intensify plans for browland development.
Deanlee Management is looking to erect 750 units in a combination of low rise and townhouse condominiums on 9.6 hectares (24 acres) of browland property north of Scenic Drive that it purchased last spring from the Chedoke Health Corporation. The sale is expected to close in December, 2008.
After pouring through a large pile of title search documents supplied by Deanlee, city officials recently came across a land transfer document dated Aug. 31, 1935 regarding the sale of a piece of browland property to the Hamilton Health Association (forerunner of the Chedoke Health Corporation) for what appears to be $1,200. The sellers were Hamilton lawyer Cecil V. Langs, his wife Edith Langs and a New York City resident.
According to a photo copy of the faded document obtained by the Mountain News, the sellers put in some covenants or restrictions that the property be used for “park and/or residential purposes only” and that no buildings other than single family residences worth more than $6,000 shall be built on the site.
If the document still has any legal application to the property it could affect Deanlee’s plans for development.
Ward 8 councillor Terry Whitehead has asked the city’s legal department to see if the covenants can be enforced.
“Do we have a legal recourse to ensure the covenant is adhered to and not lifted and does the Chedoke (Health Corporation) have a moral responsibility to let the (public) know there was a covenant in place and do we have a moral high ground in pressing them to abide by the spirit of the covenant that was in place,” Mr. Whitehead said.
The councillor said his staff are trying to track down descendants of Edith Langs to see if there are family members who wish to pursue the land restrictions or have an agent (such as the city) do it on their behalf.
“It’s another piece of the argument in the context of trying to push or force Deanlee to understand the concerns of the community,” Mr. Whitehead said.
Colleen Morrison, one of a group of area residents opposed to the proposed development, is hopeful the document will help them in their battle.
“I believe it does, saying that this land was intended for parkland or single family homes and when you say single family homes, to me I think of individual houses, I guess that is open to interpretation,” Ms. Morrison said.
Other browland area residents remain vehemently opposed to the development.
“I’ve always regarded (the browlands) as a park,” said Willi Wald. “All of a sudden it has been sold to a speculator to build vertical slums in there.”
“The project proposed for this area goes against every common sense,” said Constatin Lacatus. “Destroying such a beautiful area here doesn’t make any sense.”
Chris Robertson, who is running for the Progressive Conservatives in Hamilton Centre (which includes part of the west Mountain), said he supports the residents in their opposition and urges Hamilton Health Sciences (a beneficiary of monies from the Chedoke Health Corporation raised through land sales) to do what it can to ensure the browlands becomes parkland or only detached single family homes are built on the site.
Deanlee director Ron Starr said the old land document has no bearing on the proposed development.
“As far as we’re concerned it doesn’t apply.” said Mr. Starr, who noted that under the land registry system, restrictions like the ones in the document expire after 40 years.
Mr. Starr said Deanlee would not have gone to all the trouble and expense of purchasing the land and making development plans for the property if there was anything that would have stopped the project from moving forward.
“We’ve done our homework,” said Mr. Starr, who noted no one from the opposition group has come to the company with an alternative development proposal.
Mr. Starr said he was going to discuss the matter further with Deanlee lawyers this week and send a letter to the city and the community in the coming weeks to clarify the covenant matter.
Chedoke Health Corporation planner Don May also said the 40 year rule applies to the browlands.
“Our lawyers are satisfied (the document) has no status,” Mr. May said.
He added the parcel of land the document refers to is about an acre in size on the west side of the browlands.
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