Milton wall dispute heading back to OMB after more settlement talks

Milton Canadian Champion

A dispute over a wall built on a rural Milton property will go before the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) after a hearing adjourned indefinitely in May is now being rescheduled following several additional weeks of settlement talks.

At last weeks meeting of town council, Director of Planning Barb Koopmans said the Towns lawyer Hal Watson had asked for a new hearing date.

Staff has continued to endeavor to resolve this matter with the appellant, Koopmans said after being asked by Councillor Rick Malboeuf for an update on the matter.

We have not been successful to date, and as of this morning (June 30) our solicitor has requested that the board reschedule a hearing to proceed in the fall.

The six-year dispute came forward in late April when Tim and Marilyn Syer went public about the retaining wall and noise barrier that reaches almost twice the height of the Berlin Wall.

Peggy Hughes and her late husband Trevor erected the wall on their rural Milton property, which backs onto the Sixteen Mile Creek, to mitigate alleged noise from the Syers neighbouring backyard.

The wall runs almost 100 m along the Hughes and Syers mutual property line.

The Town has said the Hughes didnt have a permit to build the 3.8 metre-high concrete noise barrier atop the retaining wall, and maintains the structure is a fence and should be brought into compliance with zoning bylaws.

Hughes lawyer Denise Baker didnt return calls from the Champion for comment about the OMB hearing being rescheduled.

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Milton wall dispute heading back to OMB after more settlement talks