Please Sign Our Petition Against the Midhurst Secondary Plan (MSP)

From the Midhurst Ratepayers Association June 6 2013

The Midhurst Secondary Plan is a mega-development plan which seeks to turn a small rural village of 3,000 people to a small city of 30,000!  There are many downfalls to this plan that deserve your attention and support.

Threatens environment. Due to the high density development and waste water treatment plant that needs to be built, the internationally significant Minesing Wetlands which will be roughly 2 km upstream from the effluent discharge site is under a severe pollution threat. How will the discharged chemicals and pharmaceuticals affect the largest intact wetland in Southern Ontario?   The small creek that will be the initial receiver of the effluent is a small body of water and may not be able to properly cope with the potential 10.6 million litres of effluent daily.  The ecological impacts that this will have on sensitive and rare species in these wetlands could be disastrous.

Prime farmland is being sacrificed for housing. Although there are non-agricultural lands available for development, the MSP selected almost 1,900 acres (only roughly 400 acres less than the Mega-Quarry) of Class 1 and 2 farmland – the best in the country.  Farmland is key to our community and having such a huge development in Midhurst virtually kills the farming community that exists and puts farms in surrounding communities under an urban threat.  If mega-developments allow to go unfettered, where will our food come from in the future?  Local food will shortly no longer be an option and by then it will be too late to turn the tide.
We are facing formidable opponents as three levels of government (township, county and Province of Ontario) have approved this plan despite it not meeting key planning policies as outlined in Places to Grow and other key provincial planning policies.  Due to the province creating a “special rule” that allows developments such as the MSP to proceed, we are counting on the power of the people to help us put a stop to this mega-development.  Please take the time to care.
Sign our Petition