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Midhurst Secondary Plan – The People Speak

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In Springwater
Apr 27th, 2012
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Special Report by Bill French Springater News April 26 2012
A crowd of about 200 to 250 people overflowed the council chambers on Monday April 16th to have their voices heard. They were residents of Midhurst along with many other Springwater residents concerned about the direction of recent township councils to, not only allow, but support unbridled and extensive residential development as never before seen in the small township of 18,000 people.
 A ten minute delegation was made to council with many good facts and information gathered by the organizers and executive of the Midhurst Ratepayers Association. The group presented a petition of over 1400 signatures which represents about one signature for every home that currently exists in the community. 
The main concern in Midhurst is the proposed mega developments in three areas surrounding Midhurst, which if allowed to fully develop, would bring another 10,000 homes and 28,000 people to an existing community of about 1,400 homes and 3,500 residents. As was pointed out in the delegation to council, this would represent an annualized rate of growth of 30% while Barrie which is a designated Primary Settlement growth area will see a growth rate of about 2.8%. Springwater has no Primary Settlement Area identified by the province. The impact of servicing such a large development was also a concern as the demand for water on wells and the discharge of sewage treatment plants into the Willow Creek causes a concern and possible long term environmental impact which may not be easily reversed. The concern is real as all local drainage ends up in the Minesing Wetlands an internationally recognized sensitive ecosystem area. The impact of a tenfold increase in traffic on the existing village, based on engineering reports, is a great concern by the residents both from an enjoyment of their properties perspective and the safety of their children.
On checking with former councilor Paul Fleming he informed me that the area now proposed for these developments was deemed a study area not a designated growth area when discussed in the late 90’s. According to Mr. Fleming, at best the council at the time imagined in the next 20 years it might grow to 5,000 people. Based on what has occurred to date that makes sense and everyone has seen and supported the progressive and orderly developments that have complimented the existing character of the village. When the settlement area was identified, it was never imagined it would see high density and a large population as part of its future according to Mr. Fleming. The Midhurst group agrees that even though fundamentally good guiding development documents, the Provincial Policy Statement and the Places to Grow policies were subject to interpretation and the large developers were successful in convincing small councils such as Springwater that these large developments are good for everyone. It appears that the flaw is that most planners working for municipalities studied urban planning which in itself suggest building cities. Most planners do not appreciate or understand rural municipalities such as Springwater. High density housing makes a lot of sense in Primary Settlement Areas like Barrie but make no sense in rural settlement areas such is found in Springwater. This would require a planning paradigm shift in the thinking of planners as it would require them to think from the rural perspective when planning rather than from a “how do I build a nice city” point of view .
The residents of Midhurst have asked the council to do a number of things. They have asked them to amend or revoke the current Midhurst Secondary Plan. Since the province has appealed the Midhurst Secondary Plan, as it does not meet the intent of the guidelines of the provincial policies, the residents are asking that this council do not spend taxpayer’s money defending the plan at the OMB. They have also asked to start over and engage the residents to develop a plan that will continue the orderly development of not only Midhurst but all areas in Springwater threatened with overdevelopment. Centre Vespra and Hillsdale are two other areas that will see large developments occur over the next few years based on existing plans. The delegation also referred to section 448 and 450 in the Municipal Act that provides immunity to council if they reversed their decision and developed a new secondary plan. This was in response to Council recently suggesting that their hands are tied and that they must support the decision of the previous council which approved the Midhurst Secondary Plan. 
The residents of Midhurst also ask all residents in Springwater to pay close attention to these mega developments as the long term tax implications on everyone can be significant as typically the development charges can never keep up with the added services once the ball gets rolling. Mississauga and Barrie both who experience tremendous growth have found that development charges are not fully offsetting new services and continue to invoke significant annual tax hikes. 
If you want more information on Midhurst go to www.friendsofmidhurst.ca or www.iLoveMidhurst.ca .

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