Have your say about your community, local groups urge
Attend Ontario government’s Growth plan meeting
News release from AWARE Simcoe and Midhurst Ratepayers Association
Local citizens’ groups from around Simcoe County are urging residents to attend an upcoming meeting hosted by the provincial government that will discuss growth and development.
“It’s vital that residents speak up loud and clear about what they want for their neighbourhood, their community,” says Margaret Prophet of the Midhurst Ratepayers’ Association.
“Otherwise, the only voices to be heard will be those of corporate interests. Another opportunity such as this isn’t planned for another 10 years.”
The meeting is to be held on Wednesday April 1, 2015 at the Barrie Army, Navy and Air Force Club from 7-9 pm. More details
Sandy Agnew of AWARE Simcoe says this is a chance for residents to voice their opinions about traffic congestion, farmland preservation, smart growth and real job opportunities.
He adds: “The Growth Plan made a good start at curbing sprawl in the GTA, but unfortunately, it has left communities beyond the Greenbelt at risk. As a result, city-sized developments have been leapfrogging into Simcoe’s backyard. It is putting our foodland, our water and the very nature of our communities at risk.”
With Ontario losing roughly 350 acres of foodland per day and a new report from the United Nations stating that on average, the world has roughly 60 years of growing capability left, the need to preserve farmland is of prime importance. Carl Cosack of the Food and Water First group points to research that shows the constant loss of rural life and viable farmland isn’t necessary to accommodate growth.
“Land for new developments is not in short supply and in fact there is already enough land slated for development around the GTA to meet growth projections to at least 2041.”
Controversial Toronto-style development plans that will destroy the character of the communities where they’re being pushed through highlight how growth and planning in Simcoe County has gone wrong.
In Midhurst, a proposed development would increase the population of the village over 850% without any significant job market to justify the surge in growth.
“This is about manufacturing a new city the size of Orillia for one purpose – profit to developers that don’t even live in our community,” says MRA president Sandy Buxton. “Local builders and developers have been shut out of the community that they helped create. It’s nonsense.”
Buxton noted that the Midhurst expansion could not have been approved without a special exemption from the province.
“This Special Rule allows the destruction of some of the best farmland in Canada. This review offers the province a chance to repeal its special exemptions and enforce its own rules. Those rules were put in place for sound planning reasons, they should not be abandoned.”
In Everett, the frustration of another small community is running high.
Chantale Gagnon, president of the Everett Ratepayers’ Association, outlines what Toronto-style development will do to her community.
“It will certainly increase the cost of living for our residents, while drastically changing the lifestyle they currently enjoy. There are few jobs around here and all the newcomers will be forced to commute long distances.”
Gagnon said the Growth Plan needs to be tightened to prevent speculation in Ontario’s prime farm land. Even when proposed developments don’t meet the spirit and intent of the Growth Plan, residents often end up having to defend their communities at the Ontario Municipal Board, incurring hefty legal costs.
“This state of affair is a farce,” Gagnon says. “There should be no place for such a warped system in a true democracy. It’s time for residents to have their say.”
And in Bradford West Gwillimbury, the high rate of growth that has been seen by the community has come with a price.
“There is all this talk of the benefit of growth and development and here are the benefits our town has seen as a result: higher taxes, higher municipal debt, increased congestion and pollution, loss of our farmland, further pollution added to Lake Simcoe, loss of our sense of community, existing infrastructure and existing residents’ needs are ignored to pay for servicing new residents and new infrastructure,” laments Meade Helman a BWG artist and local activist.
“The only benefit that existing residents can see is that we don’t have to move to sprawling cities in the GTA like Mississauga because they’re bringing Mississauga to us. The fact that the community doesn’t want this type of environment is irrelevant.”
The groups encourage residents not to be intimidated by what seems to be a complicated process. “The province is seeking feedback about what you want and is doing its best to make it accessible to people who may not know about the existing policies,” Prophet says.
“There will be small group discussions with questions that are really straightforward. Really, if there is something you care about, something you want preserved or saved or ideas on how to build better communities, now is the time to speak up and get involved. Even just showing up, will make an impact and show that Simcoe County cares about its future.”
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