Kudos to Clarington Council

... and ever bigger kudos to Clarington Planners for their excellent report and recommendations...

So, last night at the Clarington GPA meeting (council chambers) saw quite a number of Clarington residents who had something to say to Council about the Greenbelt and Durham Region's slap in the face to Clarington Council and Clarington residents. To their credit, the municipality decided to go through with a Public Meeting on Durham Region's decision to try to have two areas in Courtice removed from the Greenbelt, and a large area between Bowmanville and Courtice (called the "urban separator") added to the Greenbelt, even though Durham Region has already voted on the issue. Both would be bad moves for Clarington, but what does the Region care about Clarington? If they can get what they want -which is more development - then why not take advantage of Clarington, stuck off in the hinterland of the Region (or that's what some seem to think).

Roger Anderson's attitude toward development is blatantly apparent at any Regional Council meeting you might care to attend. His lack of understanding and/or lack of concern for environmental issues is deplorable. Just one more reason why the position of Chair for the Region should be, no must be ELECTED. This is a man who is not even elected to any position at all. He is handed the position of Chair with all that entails on a silver platter by some Councillors who may fear him or feel they owe him their support. If the position of Chair was chosen from elected Councillors/Mayors on the Durham Region Council, then that's one thing. But to be appointed because everybody knows you or you have an "in" but don't have to answer to the electorate - that is a beastly way to get a position. And Durham Denizens are realizing that fact more and more as time goes on.

But back to the meeting last night. Clarington Planning Department recommended that the municipality of Clarington should advise the Minister of Municipal Affairs & Housing, the Greenbelt Council and the Region of Durham that it does NOT support amendments to the boundaries of the Greenbelt Plan at this time (amendments Durham Region voted to send to the Province). The report details the many reasons for this position, and the great majority of people who came to speak at the public meeting were in support of the Clarington Planning Report.

After everyone had a chance to speak, some of the Councillors gave their opinions too. Then the vote - and it was unanimous. All the Clarington Councillors and the Mayor voted to support the recommendations of Clarington Planning Department. All except Councillor Schell, one of our two regional councillors for Clarington, who did not vote as he was chairing that portion of the meeting. However, he did vote at Durham Region on May 10th to support the Region's resolution to ask for adjustments to the boundary, and includes designating these lands as "future development area". And he should vote next week at the regular Clarington Council meeting, so we'll have to see whether he supports the municipality when the vote comes up for ratification at the Regular Council Meeting (Clarington) on May 29th, or whether he'll vote against Clarington and continue to support Durham Region's stand. We hope he will vote as the others did last night.

We also hope that none of the Councillors or the Mayor will change their mind/vote next Monday night. It's been known to happen in the past, but since this is an election year, we're hoping they continue to support Clarington Planning recommendations and the residents of Clarington on this issue. Having a unanimous vote will send a clear message to the Province and to Durham Region. We hope there will be just as many (or more) Clarington voters at Bowmanville Town Hall on May 29th at 7:00 pm to watch.

If you didn't have a chance to get to the GPA meeting last night, you still have another chance. Write to your councillors or speak with them and let them know you don't want them to cop out or surrender to any pressure they may encounter from some of their peers at the Region, including the Chairman. This is an important issue that will affect the face of Clarington for years to come. And show up at the meeting on May 29th to lend your support or just to see how things work at municipal council meetings. It can be interesting, frustrating, fascinating, offensive, enjoyable, objectionable.... But it certainly is an education, especially in an election year.

See "comments" below.

Development Hungry Councillors

More coverage on the Greenbelt debacle from the Toronto Star - Durham councillors love look of sprawl - and from Durham Region News - Durham wants lands out of greenbelt.

Both articles mention how developer-friendly our councillors are, and they certainly deserve that label as they've worked hard for it over the years. They have fought residents at every turn when concerned locals have tried to protect environmentally sensitive lands, preserve wildlife corridors, fisheries and forests, and keep urban sprawl to a minimum.

Now Durham is the only region in the entire GTA where local councillors are openly fighting greenbelt boundaries. And Clarington is right at the forefront. The Star calls Durham Region a "retrograde council". We couldn't have said it better.

"The behaviour of Durham's concrete-friendly councillors exemplifies why Ontario needs a greenbelt plan that is enshrined under the authority and force of provincial legislation. Were it not for that, efforts to chip away at the belt and erode its protections would likely be more widespread." This is exactly why the Greenbelt Plan was enacted - because some local municipalities couldn't keep their paws off sensitive recharge areas, wetlands, prime agricultural land, etc. They wanted it for development, and we have already lost much of our prime land to developers with more slated to be paved over in the future. Even the Province realized there needed to be some protection from these developer-friendly councils, some of whom go overboard when it comes to approving developments; who seem to think that all development is good, no matter what.

The Durham Region Official Plan tells us that we do NOT need more urban lands within Clarington before at least 2026, so why the rush to remove these areas from the greenbelt so they can be designated for development now? And why THESE lands? There is plenty of land in south Courtice that is undeveloped that is not environmentally sensitive. And more land in other parts of Clarington, that is not within the greenbelt. Why THIS particular area, if not for pressure from certain development interests? It just doesn't make sense. And that is precisely why our Council and Regional Council (the majority, with a few notable exceptions) have such a terrible reputation with Durham residents as well as in the GTA as a whole. This is not a new thing.

And it's also one more reason why we still think the Chair of Durham Region should be elected by the residents of Durham, not chosen by the small group of development-hungry councillors. Mr. Anderson (current Chair) is known to be quite pro-development too. Why not give residents a chance to put in someone who might be a little more willing to listen? Why can't we vote for Regional Chair?

"Concrete-friendly, retrograde council". Not terribly flattering, is it? We think it's time for a substantial change to the composition of our council. We need some new faces and new leadership. We need people who can understand the wisdom of controlled development and preservation of agricultural and environmentally significant lands. We need a council who is not afraid to reverse some of the ill-conceived direction this council has taken and go forward on a more sensible path. We need a council who will actually listen to residents and what they want, rather than pretending to listen and then pushing forward with their own agendas nevertheless.

Let's ask the difficult questions of those running for office, and demand answers on questions such as the greenbelt issue, development, transportation issues, 407, tax increases, and more. Remember that these politicians do NOT always know best, as they like us to think. We have had some who have come to run for office because it pays better than their previous job (if they had a job). Some come to run because they truly feel they can make a difference. Some run because of ego. Some turn out to be excellent and others end up being an embarrassment or worse, causing lasting damage to our municipality. We have had some of those in the past and are still dealing with the fallout from some terrible decisions they have made regarding "paving over paradise".

Here is one good example to illustrate how this sprawl happens. Clarington added what is called "the finger" in North Courtice, which should never have been added in to the urban boundary in the first place. (See 4, 3 on map) That section was added because two Regional Councillors from Courtice at the time (Mary Novak and Larry Hannah) pushed hard at the local and regional level to have the area added. There was no "need" for the added land, and it encompasses some of the most environmentally sensitive land in the municipality. It is the large green area to the left of the white #4 area, south of Pebblestone and all the way west to Townline Road (left edge of map) that is one of the two areas in Courtice where Regional Council wants to remove the greenbelt designation so it can be added for future development. You can see the two areas on the map in the previous blog article.

Both areas (3 & 4) are still "special study areas" and a stipulation was made that development could only take place if a full, comprehensive watershed study was completed and if that study allowed for development of some of the lands. Local residents worked hard to get that designation and they should be commended, particularly Mrs. Racansky, who was treated so badly by the mayor recently. To date there has been no watershed study done, and it's been at least 10 years. Piecemeal studies are not good enough - the stipulation was for a complete, comprehensive watershed study of the entire Black-Farewell watershed, which we understand is very large. (Thanks to Mrs. Racansky's hard work for information on "the finger").

So why not remove "the finger" from the urban boundary since it never should have been added in the first place. Allow that area to be added to the greenbelt which would make the Province happy, rather than continuing to fight them. Why not add other areas that are more suited for development and intensification. Talk about "urban sprawl". Just look at the map. What would you call "the finger"? You won't find a better example of it than that.

So lets really get involved in this election. Learn about the candidates, ask questions, and make a point of voting. They say we get the government we deserve. We don't think we deserve this.

Greenbelt a Goner in North Courtice???

Durham Region will be making a submission to the Minister of Municipal Affairs to request changes to the Greenbelt Plan to delete certain lands near the Courtice Urban Area in north Courtice. The effect of such a change would allow for urban development in these environmentally sensitive areas - not a good thing for the area and not needed according to Official Plan Review reports.

The Provincial Greenbelt Plan was developed to provide clarity and certainty about urban structure, where and how future growth should be accommodated, and what must be protected for current and future generations. It identifies where urbanization should not occur in order to provide permanent protection to the agricultural land base and the ecological features and functions occurring on this landscape.

A Public Notice on page 2 of the May 10 Canadian Statesman says that Clarington will be considering its position on the proposal to adjust the Greenbelt boundaries through a report being prepared by the Planning Dept. This will be considered by the GP&A Committee on Tuesday, May 23 at 7:00 pm in Council Chambers (40 Temperance St., Bowmanville), and if you wish to speak to this matter at the meeting, you must register with the Clerk's dept. by Wednesday noon, May 17th (clerks@clarington.net). It will then be considered by Council on Monday, May 29 (same location) at 7:00 pm. You must register with the Clerk's dept by Wednesday noon, May 24 if you wish to speak at that meeting, and I sincerely hope people will do so.

Now, the funny thing about this (or NOT so funny) is, Regional Council has already voted on the matter, and no one from Clarington council (the Mayor or our Regional Councillors) asked that the matter be deferred until after Clarington had a chance to consider it and have public and planning dept. input on it.

On May 10, Regional Council voted 16 to 8 to exclude these lands from the Greenbelt area so that they can be developed, with John Mutton leaving the meeting prior to the vote, Jim Schell supporting it and Charlie Trim voting against. The motion passed, so it will be sent to the Minister and the Greenbelt Council, who hopefully will dismiss it for many reasons, which I'll go into later.

What good will come of the May 23 and May 29 meetings in Clarington, since the Region has already voted to send this to the Province? Why didn't the Mayor or our Regional Councillors (Jim Schell and Charlie Trim) ask that this vote be deferred until AFTER the Clarington meetings, since it was dealing with Clarington issues?

Someone commented that this is democracy in action - Clarington-style. Our Clarington Regional Councillors (Schell & Trim) voted on this matter at the region, without asking that it be deferred, BEFORE receiving the report from our planning staff (so how well informed are they?) and before the advertised public meetings on the issue for local residents (and local councillors).

I sincerely hope people will comment on this very important issue. And remember that it's an election year...