Tell York Region to protect North Gwillimbury Forest

Email from North Gwillimbury Forest Alliance March 24 2012

It appears that Regional Municipality of York and Metrus Developments may be about to sign a deal that could water down the environmental protections in the new Official Plan for the Regional Municipality when it comes to the North Gwillimbury Forest.  

 From what we can discern, it appears that Metrus is once again arguing that a close to 25-year-old approval for a mobile home park (Maple Lake Estates) should take precedence over modern environmental protection requirements, including the protection of significant woodlands and wetlands.  But we don’t know for sure, because neither the Regional Municipality of York nor Metrus has made the details of their agreement public.

Next Monday and Tuesday, the Ontario Municipal Board will hold a pre-hearing with respect to the proposed new Official Plan for the Regional Municipality of York.  At this pre-hearing the Region will ask that most of the Official Plan be approved without a full hearing, including introducing deals whereby some developers will withdraw their appeals.  This may be our first chance to see if a deal has indeed been struck between the Regional Municipality and Metrus and what compromises have been made.  The North Gwillimbury Forest Alliance has hired a lawyer with deep experience in municipal planning issues to represent concerned citizens at this hearing.  This could be a make or break moment for protecting the forests, wetlands and wildlife of North Gwillimbury Forest, so we need your help with two things:

Please immediately send a letter to York Regional Councillors calling on them to act to fully protect the important woodlands and wetlands of the North Gwillimbury Forest. Click here to send a letter right now.

Please help us with the costs of legal representation and awareness-raising so we can continue to fight to stop a 1,073 home subdivision in one of the ten largest forested areas in the Lake Simcoe Watershed. Click here to make a secure online donation or for contact information.

It is time for Regional Municipality of York to stand up for nature in one of Ontario’s most rapidly developing urban areas.  We simply cannot afford to lose areas like the North Gwillimbury Forest if we are to have any hope of restoring water quality and protecting wildlife around Lake Simcoe.

Please pass this message on to your friends.