To the Editor,
I have no intention to tell Council to vote to keep the current process approved by the previous Council, or to withdraw it. That’s their decision to make after considering the facts and listening to all delegations.
I feel compelled to speak though, given what I’ve heard and read during the elections and that continues today via flyers being posted and shared around the county, letters to the editor, and even full-page ads.
In my view, there are three camps of people on this issue.
We have those who resist change and who fear the loss of their rural way of life to urban sprawl should the MZO be approved. While I don’t like MZOs, my concerns and by extension their concerns, are mitigated by the conditions attached to the request forwarded to the Province by the former Council. The fact is the County will remain in control of all aspects of the development through the planning and approval process.
In the second camp are those who recognize, as JFK famously said, “change is the law of life and those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future”. This camp realizes the cost of running the County continues to grow, with inflation driving a large part of that, and unless we grow the industrial, commercial, and residential tax base, that cost will be absorbed by existing taxpayers. It won’t be long before some people – i.e. seniors on fixed incomes and young families, to name two groups – will be taxed out of their homes. We need smart assessment growth, and the conditions attached to the MZO should guarantee a smart development over decades and not overnight as the opposition would have you believe.
Then there are the undecided. People who have been subjected to the efforts of those in opposition to paint the potential development in a certain light, but know better. Unfortunately, they have not heard in detail from the Council or staff on the actual motion that went to Queen’s Park. On this point, if the MZO request proceeds as it is presently approved, the County has, in my view, some public relations work to do. I might suggest taking the conditions that formed part of the MZO request and send them out, perhaps in the next tax bill mailings, so people understand the controls in place.
It is critical for people to understand the facts about the lengthy and important conditions the former Council approved and sent to Queen’s Park in support of the MZO request. Here they are:
The MZO request by the County has been predicated on the incorporation of conditions requiring technical evaluation, financial impact analysis, public consultation, and subsequent Council support of detailed plans.
More specifically, the MZO – if approved by the Province as submitted – would be conditional upon the completion and local approval of:
A master plan, which is fully informed by public consultation, that lays out the series of streets, residential/commercial/institutional blocks, leisure and recreation areas (trails, parks), protected natural environment areas, and significant servicing blocks (stormwater ponds, pumping stations);
Detailed technical studies, including land use compatibility (i.e. air emission – noise, dust, odour), archaeology, environmental impact, hydrogeological, stormwater management, servicing, traffic impact and geotechnical; plan(s) of subdivision; and, refined site-specific zoning that is informed by the master plan details.
The above conditions would seek to ensure that:
All stakeholders (Provincial, local and Indigenous communities) have an opportunity to be involved through stakeholder and public consultations and be heard before any final design is approved.
Specifically, that measures to ensure compatibility and the long-term prosperity of existing heavy industry is maintained;
all required technical review studies and analyses are undertaken to demonstrate that the proposal is functional and that any infrastructure improvements required (water, sewer and roads) are identified and incorporated into any approvals and that archeological investigations are completed;
all municipal community design criteria to provide for well-designed, complete and attractive communities are met and that appropriate community amenities are provided;
all necessary agreements and other mechanisms including fiscal tools are in place to require that all development conditions are satisfied.
Ben Tucci,
Dunnville
