Just ask citizens who live on Galloway Cr. and Carrying Pl. Their walls, which front the west side of Mavis Rd., north of Burnhamthorpe Rd., have long deteriorated.
They were at City Council yesterday to ask councillors to reduce their share of replacing the structures.
Currently, they’re being asked to contribute half of the costs, with the City picking up the rest. That's about $6,000 per household, which residents say they cannot afford. Instead, they'd be fine with paying 25 per cent, like in Brampton.
They have the support of Ward 6 councillor Carolyn Parrish, who moved a motion to that effect. The motion was voted down 7-5.
But not before harsh words were directed at residents.
“We’ve gone through this many times in the 17 years I’ve been on Council,” said Ward 9 councillor Pat Saito. “I’m always amazed that people buy homes — the biggest purchase they’ll ever make in their life — and they don’t read the fine print on their deed. It’s right there in black-and-white there’s going to be a noise attenuation barrier that is one-foot inside their property line.
“The issue is, why should the City or other taxpayers be expected to pay for someone’s private property? It’s a darn good deal that they have to pay only 50 per cent of the costs instead of 100 per cent.”
Ward 3 councillor Maja Prentice agreed. Her ward, she pointed out, has the most noise walls in the city and some residents have already contributed as much as 60 per cent. They'd have a right to demand reimbursement if the contribution level continues to be reduced, she said.
It’s estimated it could cost the City between $2.5 and $5 million annually should it decide to foot the entire replacement bill. That translates to a yearly property tax hike of one or two per cent. That notion was dismissed by most councillors. To drive home the point, they declined to refer the matter to budget committee.
“It’s not acceptable to the rest of the community,” said Ward 8 councillor Katie Mahoney, “that they share the cost. It would take away services from the larger community.”
Acknowledging that sections along Mavis Rd. have completely broken down, Martin Powell, the City's transportation and works commissioner, said his hands are tied.
“We have advised the residents that if there isn’t agreement (on the 50/50 arrangement), that we will move forward on enforcing property standards,” he said.
Meanwhile, the City is putting up makeshift fences as a temporary measure.
Parrish said she has met with residents four times in an effort to resolve the issue.
“It’s a really unfair policy that’s affecting a lot of middle-class people who can’t afford the charges,” she told The News. “The first few (wall replacements) were done in wealthier areas. Others were done in townhouse complexes where costs are shared by all the residents.”
Carlson concurred.
“It’s a matter of correcting what, in my view, was bad public policy. What it amounts to is establishing these walls on private property and then selling the homes with a small ‘gotcha’ clause in an 80-page document,” he said.
Carlson says noise walls mitigate sound for the entire community. The 25 per cent share residents are prepared to pay, he notes, is equivalent to replacing a standard wooden privacy fence.
jchin@mississauga.net
