NVCA regulations haven’t stagnated growth

Letter Simcoe.com Sept. 2 2010
Shawn Bubel, Archie Duckworth and Dave Guergis are all singing the same tune. Certainly there is not a clear consensus among council members regarding the NVCA, given that Mayor Dave Guergis is advocating that the county take over the duties of the conservation authorities.

Like Duckworth, Bubel points his fingers at “two members of council who sit on the NVCA board” who apparently “did not consult council,” regarding the flood plain mapping (one of these members is contesting Guergis for the mayor’s position.)
Wayne Wilson, CAO of the NVCA states that NVCA and Essa planning staffs worked together on the mapping, which “was done by professional engineers using the best science of the day.” Wouldn’t Mayor Guergis be privy to the work of his planning staff? And Bubel, if he does his political homework, should know this fact as well.
Bubel finds fault with the NVCA dealing with residents’ property on a “case by case basis,” but doesn’t it make perfect sense to consider the variations encountered at different sites?
Bubel echoes Duckworth  and Guergis’ unfounded warnings about stagnated growth, depreciated property values and increased taxes. At an information meeting held earlier this month, both Bill Forsyth of HomeLife Emerald Realty, and Fred Nix, NVCA board member for Mono Township, cited evidence that property values along the Nottawasaga flood plain have done anything but depreciate.
A 2006 community profile on Essa Township’s website gives Stats Canada data that  Essa’s population between 1990 and 2001 grew by close to five per cent more than the overall population of Ontario. Building permits doubled in 2006 compared to 2002.
“The housing boom shows no signs of slowing down,” states this profile. According to Guergis, the flood plain mapping came out in 2008 but still Angus keeps on growing. Why then the fear factor from Bubel, Duckworth and Guergis?
Bubel’s platform calls for “responsible conservation, not cash grabs stifling growth.” We all know  that we pay a fair wage for skilled labour, such as electricians or plumbers. We must also pay for well educated scientists and engineers, with the skills and knowledge to responsibly monitor the health of our watershed, forests and wetlands. I wonder how many Essa residents actually know the extent of the work conservation authorities do to monitor these ecosystems? 
There are residents who have been upset by fees from the NVCA, but Bubel would know that Wilson proposed a joint process to determine how to streamline NVCA services and fees to address legitimate complaints.
I want to believe that Bubel is truly interested in responsible conservation and not simply jumping on a bandwagon to dissolve the conservation authorities, that may leave the real cash/land grabbers indiscriminately driving the direction of growth.
Rosslyn Danby, Angus