Strawberry Island development issue headed for Simcoe County Council
SOON TO BE DECIDED: The Strawberry Island Development and OPA 18
From the Friends of Strawberry Island AWARE News Network
Since the two Ramara Township public meetings, the developer Trans America Group Inc (now renamed TAG Developments) has made almost no changes to the proposal, despite our concerns. A petition against the proposal was signed by over 1700 people. The developer initially wanted to have 80 condo/cottage units, then increased it to 120 units, then the contract planner at Ramara set the maximum at 80. This is still way too many for this small island. The proposed development will destroy much of the significant woodland, some wetland, damage significant wildlife habitat, remove Species at Risk from the island, likely harm critical, cold-water fish spawning grounds and increase phosphorus loads around the island from levels that exist today.
At a Council meeting in July 2015, Ramara Township Council voted and adopted OPA 18, based on what we see as blatantly incomplete and incorrect information provided to Council. All Council members voted for OPA 18 except for Mayor Clarke, who was concerned by its size and impact. It is now in the hands of Simcoe County Council and planners, who have the final say. We have communicated our concerns to Township, County, Conservation Authority and Provincial politicians and staff. We think we have made some progress, but we are not sure.
Simcoe County Council now has the authority to: 1) approve OPA 18, 2) not approve it, 3) approve it with conditions, 4) request more studies. We think the planning report will be discussed at the March 8 Simcoe County or Committee meeting, but we do not know for sure yet. It will likely happen before March 16, 2016 because that is the deadline by which the developer can appeal to the Ontario Municipal Board. When we know the date and time, we shall post it on our Facebook page: Save Strawberry Island in Lake Simcoe.
If you want to join us in protecting Strawberry Island from the detrimental effects of over-development, you can email, write a letter or call your Mayor or Deputy Mayor (who sit on Simcoe County Council), communicate your opposition to this destructive development of Strawberry Is. You can find us on Facebook: Save Strawberry Island in Lake Simcoe, or Email: friendsofstrawberryisland@gmail.com Provide your email address and we will send you more detailed information and updates as we go along. It would be extremely helpful if you could join us at the Simcoe County Council meeting in Midhurst. We shall post the time and date on Facebook, as soon as we know. The meeting will be held at the Simcoe County Admin Centre, 1110 Hwy 26, Midhust, On, L0L 1X0.
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