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Webers owner faces charges over work done on Oro-Medonte property

Tom Rennie charged under Conservation Authorities Act; court date set for Monday

The owner of Webers has been charged under the Conservation Authorities Act for work undertaken on his Oro-Medonte property.

Tom Rennie, through his Crestwood Park Holdings Inc., has been working toward establishing a gas station, community facility and two restaurants — including another Webers — on 8.5 acres of land at 99 Mount St. Louis Rd. in Moonstone, next to Highway 400.

According to court documents, Rennie was charged by a Nottawasaga Valley Conservation Authority (NVCA) provincial offences officer for work done on the property between Aug. 23, 2017, and Nov. 13, 2018.

It is alleged Rennie committed the following offences:

  • Undertake development or permit another person to undertake development in or on the areas within the jurisdiction of the NVCA that are river or stream valleys that have depressional features associated with a river or stream, without permission in accordance with Section 3 of Ontario Regulation 172/06
  • Straighten, change, divert or interfere in any way with the existing channel of a river, creek, stream or watercourse, or change or interfere in any way with a wetland without permission in accordance with Section 6 of Ontario Regulation 172/06

Noting the matter was before the court, NVCA spokesperson Maria Leung would not comment, other than to say, “I would advise that this property remains an active non-compliance matter including ongoing dialogue with (the) landowner on addressing NVCA areas of interest.”

Rennie did not respond to a request for comment.

The land he wants to develop is zoned rural/agricultural and environmentally protected.

In 2013, Rennie took the Township of Oro-Medonte to what was then called the Ontario Municipal Board to appeal the township’s decision after it denied a request to have the zoning changed to commercial. He lost that appeal.

“This panel concluded on the evidence that the proposed development would have an unacceptable adverse impact on both the local community and the natural environment and should not be in any event approved,” the board’s Colin Hefferon wrote in his 2013 decision.

Rennie then sought a ministerial zoning order in the summer of 2020 to speed up the process of changing the zoning.

A court date for Rennie has been set for Monday.

With files from Jessica Owen


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Nathan Taylor

About the Author: Nathan Taylor

Nathan Taylor is the desk editor for Village Media's central Ontario news desk in Simcoe County and Newmarket.
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