AWARE Simcoe: It’s time to elect councillors committed to sustainable development

Simcoe County development slows but lowering provincial environmental protection is no solution
AWARE Simcoe news release – October 13 2010
Development in may parts of Simcoe County has slowed to a standstill. But the solution is not to throw sound planning practices out the window, says AWARE Simcoe interim chair Don Morgan.
“There has been too much poorly planned growth in the County and our natural resources are under stress”, he said. Morgan took issue with the views expressed by Warden Cal Patterson and other politicians who look to the provincial government to relax its rules in protection of watersheds, agriculture and the beautiful settings that make Simcoe County a desirable place to live, work and play.
“I hope the province stands firm on protecting the environment and regulating orderly appropriate development,” Morgan said.
“There’s a price to be paid if that doesn’t happen”, he said, pointing to the preliminary findings of the South Georgian Bay Lake Simcoe Source Protection Committee that has sent out 22,000 letters warning owners that their properties could pose a risk of contaminating municipal drinking water supplies because of activities like fuel storage, pesticide use or the use of a septic system..Another 5,000 letters went out to owners whose properties could pose a significant risk to drinking water.
“We have to proceed cautiously – and the way forward is not more of the same,” Morgan said. “It’s time to elect councillors who are committed to sustainable development instead of the runaway growth that threatens the environmental support systems upon which we all depend.” Many of the politicians who are responsible for the depletion and pollution of our water resources are also those who subscribe to the view that growth will pay for growth, he added.
As the 2008 study undertaken by Hemson Consulting for the County pointed out, growth does not cover the initial capital cost of municipal infrastructure and current taxpayers must bear the burden.
That’s not acceptable, Morgan said. “The solution is to bring budgets under sound fiscal controls and work within a sustainable framework.”
Hemson report (page 66)
Waiting game – Simcoe.com  
Growing pains – Simcoe.com  
Source Water report