Haunted by suburbia in Tiny Township

Letter from Bobby and Steven Kasgaard AWARE Simcoe February 19 2011
Over 40 years ago, my parents purchased a couple of wooded lots (in Lafontaine/Penetanguishene) with not even an assumed road yet in the vicinity by which to reach the property. Only a child then, I remember carrying lumber, food, coolers, blankets, tents and well … basically everything we needed through the deep woods. As immigrants to this country it was a dream come true … after many, many years of working hard in the city, my family had saved up enough money to build a retreat in the country. 

My father a farmer and naturalist from Denmark did everything the ‘green’ way, as his father had done, and his father before him. Ready to start building our wooden cottage, we carried all of the lumber and supplies in from the main road. My father explained to my siblings and I, “This way we save as many mature trees as possible from being cut down”. It was a labour of love, completed on weekends and holidays. Upon reflection I now understand it was also an excellent example of forestry stewardship, which displayed a concern for plant and animal life. My father’s environmental values left a lifelong example upon me. As an adult I became a forester and have led a life committed to environmentalism.

Municipal By-Laws & Zoning

As the years passed, other cottagers arrived and started to build larger cottages, fortunately the suburban dwellings were slower to arrive. Once upon a time, it appears that regional and municipal governments did more than cater to the wants of developers; they also listened to the concerns of ordinary citizens. I recall that by-laws protecting people’s investments into cottage country including keeping lots treed, limiting the size of homes, and the nature of construction were enforced.

However, more recently in the past 10 to15 years all such by-laws appear to have vanished and we are increasingly feeling as if our cottage doesn’t even belong on our once rural street. People quip comments such as, “Why do you want to live in a forest? … So when are you gonna upgrade to a proper home? …

The animals that remain and the diverse plant life that remains cling to our property for refuge. We are proud of that and not ashamed! The animals and plants are integral to human survival in the near future. With the ‘end of oil’ looming we hoped that some people might recognize the value of preserving the natural environment, but that obviously was a misguided hope. Keeping up with the Joneses is the order of the day propped up by the local government.

What prompted us to send this letter to you is that we found an advertisement in one of the local papers that left us feeling confused and upset. The ad read:  Want to save money and the environment? Plant trees.

What???

The government is subsidizing tree planting which is not a bad idea, but what about subsidizing people who have maintained treed properties despite the costs and the odds.

Why pay people to plant trees, when we can save ‘mature trees’ approximately 60 years old on undeveloped, treed lots. All that is required is ACTION by the local municipal government. STOP the denuding of forested lots for development that is based in greed, and does nothing to enhance or maintain cottage country.

Nature Deficit Disorder

My partner and I are permanent residents of Lafontaine. We have chosen to live here because we want to raise a family in a natural setting, according to the ‘green’ values that my father adhered to, and which are part of my Danish-Canadian heritage.

Monster homes, that belong in Suburbia, not a rural, cottage zone, are popping up everywhere in my neighbourhood. The worst part is that every time one of these monster homes gets approval to be built, every tree and shrub in sight is savagely cut down.  All of what initially made the property attractive in the first place is removed. The detrimental effects upon bio-diversity in Lafontaine are horrendous.

The types of homes that we are protesting are the type that one would expect to find in suburbia – McMansions.

Why doesn’t city council do anything to stop this? If we wanted to live in suburbia we could just move to ‘natural disaster zones’ such as Mississauga, Brampton, Woodbridge, Maple, Markham or Milton where every piece of farmland has been paved over. We choose to live in Lafontaine and hoped to not acquire ‘nature deficit disorder’ – (the one diagnosis that the DSM-IV got right). 

Where are our rights to protect our property from being encroached upon by the needs of lot owners who want to reproduce suburbia right here in Lafontaine?

We have heard the snickering behind our backs for many years as people laughed at us and judged us for taking the time to maintain a treed lot, and for keeping our home in a manner which does not take over the natural environment, but rather we try to live in harmony with nature. It is arrogant and selfish to think that this earth is only for humans, and that all humans wish to live in cities or suburban hell zones.

We suspect that developers, from areas such as Michigan have sent workers to Lafontaine to build homes on lots that they have purchased. It is no secret that the housing market in the United States is belly up, due to the mortgage crisis, and in part due to over-development. Meanwhile, they appear to be sending small construction crews up here to build homes which there appears to be limited demand for. These homes are McMansions and do not belong in cottage country. It is our belief that the same American developer has purchased many treed lots in our neighbourhood and plans to remove all of the trees to build more McMansions this spring and summer.

The formula works something like this, people purchase a lot, denude it of all things natural, build a monster home, and then live for 6 months to a year before flipping it for a higher price, and moving on. These people make no investment in the community they just rape the land, disrupt animal travel routes and pathways, and profit off of it. Meanwhile, the long time property owners are left to deal with the ruination and destruction of the natural, local environment.