Forty years of gridlocked debate over the future of Oshawa’s waterfront came to an end Friday afternoon, as the City, federal government and Oshawa Harbour Commission announced details of a landmark agreement.

The City didn’t get everything it asked for, but Mayor John Gray said that’s to be expected in any negotiation.

“You’re never going to get 100 per cent, I think this is the best possible deal we could get,” he said. “I’m very, very pleased. This is something we’ve been waiting for decades.”

Friday afternoon’s formalities kicked off with a federal funding announcement at the Oshawa Port, where access to the invitation-only event was guarded by police and security officers.

Durham MP Bev Oda, Oshawa MP Colin Carrie, Mayor Gray and Harbour Commission chairman Gary Valcour posed for photos under a cloudless blue sky, as more than $19 million was announced for clean-up and revitalization.

That was followed by a public information session at the Jubilee Pavilion, where more than 200 people gathered to hear details on the settlement agreement.

After a PowerPoint presentation, many in the crowd expected Mr. Carrie and Mayor Gray to take questions from the audience, while on stage.

The two politicians, however, ended up fielding questions from audience members one-on-one on the floor, resulting in a chaotic scene.

“The public is being completely shut out,” a frustrated Councillor Nester Pidwerbecki yelled, as people jostled to get close enough to ask Mr. Carrie a question.

City officials said the meeting was organized “entirely by Colin Carrie and the federal government” and that Oshawa had no control over the format.

The full wording of the final deal has not been formally released.

Highlights from Friday’s presentation, however, indicate a mixed bag of wins and concessions for Oshawa.

- Oshawa gets 29 out of 61 acres of caveated lands returned, representing 47 per cent of the total;

- Oshawa receives 19 acres of additional Crown lands described as having “excellent development potential”;

- The City is looking into building a marina and has applied for upper level government funding to cover some of the costs; a private sector partner would pay for the rest;

- The City gets part of the west wharf; industrial uses will be moved to the east wharf to allow people-friendly development on the west wharf;

- The agreement is silent on the matter of a proposed ethanol plant. Mr. Carrie says a plant in Oshawa now seems unlikely because federal funding for biofuels has already been allotted;

“That’s a good outcome,” said City Manager Bob Duignan, who was at the negotiating table. “People need to understand, we had no land to bargain with, we weren’t in a position to demand much.”

Under the agreement, the City is required to spend about $1 million to build parkland on the former marina lands and part of the west wharf and provide $30,000 a year in tax relief to the port, for 15 years.

The feds have committed to spend $9.2 million on environmental remediation at the harbour, with up to $5 million of that focused on land conveyed to the City. Another $10.2 million is earmarked to transfer the port’s industrial uses from the west wharf to the east wharf.

City staff and Transport Canada officials started negotiations in July 2009, in an effort to resolve an ongoing lawsuit and end decades of dispute over land use and land ownership.

A confidential City report issued to council in April urged politicians to accept the terms of the deal, saying the offer “may be the only option available to the City at this time and in the future.”

via durhamregion.com | Landmark waterfront deal includes wins and losses for Oshawa.