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st weekender november 12 1994 p 15 decision 94 mayors respond to group editors note the whitchurch- stouffville citizens association exec utive presented a series of questions to the mayoral candidates this past week here are the questions and their responses dear mayoralty candidate wsca would appreciate your written response to some of our concerns we are a nonpolitical association and will make the questions and answers avail able to our members and the public this is our way of getting to know you and your commitments 1 stouffville is rich in heritage resources that remain poorly protected what is your stand on ownership rights vs heritage preservation 2 do you feel stouffville council can plan responsibly for the future and address needs and concerns of present residents using an official plan dating back to the 1970s 3 do you support the crombie com mission report for future development elaborate your stance 4 farmgate sales in york region made more than 152 million dollars in york region 1991 spinoff indus tries increased that to one billion dol lars a will you actively support farming as a viable business in whitchurch- stouffville b will you actively prevent the exploitation of class 15 agricultural land for commercial developments such as tack shops and antique outlets which claim they are accessory uses to farm ing 5 the effect of the ballantrae-mus- selmans lake communal water system on the aquifer in our area must be con sidered a what protection can you offer our water supply b how will you deal with this issue at the regional level 6 please comment on your opinion of whitchurchstouffvilles image at regional council 7 bylaws concerning the dumping and burying of garbage and lack of weed control on personal properties are not being enforced in our area how would you deal with this as mayor 8 are you interested in working with our association dougalles 1 the protection of heritage resources can only occur if there is suf ficient public protection and the identi fication of the danger of these resources when a conflict arises between the need to protect these her itage interests and property rights of the owner it often appears that there are only two courses of action ie side with the owner or with the concerned public i believe that there can be alter natives which take into consideration the rights of both parties the best approach is to be openminded with respect to potential solutions 2 the official plan does not date to the 1970s it was first adopted by council on october 14 1980 it is an ongoing document which has been con tinuously updated by council since that time i suspect you are really referring to the town zoning bylaws some of which date back to january 1972 my understanding is that the town could not reach an agreement with the property owners in the area included in this by- law as a consequence bylaw 727 remains in effect today 3 it has been sometime since i reviewed the crombie report i recall that i was favorably impressed with most of the report and agreed with many of the findings however there are some areas of disagreement dur ing this election period there is insuffi cient time for me to review it so i can not be more specific 4 a yes b these uses are permitted by the current bylaws we can be more pro ductive working with the owners to per suade and ensure that i farmland remains in production ii uses are compatible with a rural lifestyle 5 the water supply is controlled by tfte region atthe regjpnaljevel i will t vawfctottalctsures- w u- m a that it proceeds on the basis that the aquifer can support the existing users as well as the new development b that the region understands and accepts its responsibilities to all users of this aquifer whether on public or private water systems we all rely on the reports of the experts who were hired by the region to study the effects of a communal water system on the aquifer i will thorough ly scrutinize the credentials of these experts to make sure we can be confi dent of their assessment 6 in my opinion we are regarded as a junior partner this is demonstrated by the wording in the proposed official plan for the region which suggests the amalgamation of smaller communities into the larger municipalities a strong voice from our community can make a difference 7 increased fines signage and stricter enforcement 8 i am interested in meeting and working with all associations for the betterment of our community wayne emmerson 1 i feel that we need to preserve our heritage but that we cannot put an undue burden on our residents i will work with both sides to ensure that our resources are protected 2 i think that the official plan needs to be reviewed with all residence of whitchurch stouffville 3 i would like to reread the crombie report before giving you my response 4 a i have and always will support the farming community b i do not feel that these uses are accessory to the farming community class one to five farm land should be used for farming 5 i will do my best to protect all res idents water supply in whitchurch stouffville 6 i feel we have had no respect at the region in six years we nsed a profes sional approach at the region 7 i will deal with this issue on a com plaint only basis we will enforce our bylaws 8 i will be happy to work with all groups in whitchurch stouffville i hope your group is concerned with the welfare of all of whitchurch stouffville and dont have the attitude not in my back yard i wish one of your members had considered running in the election the farming community has always been a large contributor to the quality of life in whitchurch stouffville and i hope it will always remain so execu tive member vivienne gornall knows my feelings and can relate them to the rest of your group i care for this com munity and am looking forward to attending a meeting as mayor of whitchurch stouffville ken prentice 1 first i agree with your initial state ment sadly the heritage resources are poorly protected in whitchurch-stouf- fville with no apparent will no direc tion from the current council to estab lish a lacac with powers to designate heritage sites to answer the question portion how ever one has to refer to the ontario her itage act it is my contention that the ontario heritage act oha if fol lowed to the spirit of the law does in fact work at allowing a community to preserve its heritage resources while respecting the rights of the property owner the value of a heritage piece of architecture in the oha is that value assigned by the community at the grass roots level the community decides respect for private property rights are provided by only allowing a 180 day delay in any demolition permit of a her itage structure following this council would have the option to compensate the private property owner for restoration projects on heritage structures the province recognizes the rights of private property owners by in the past permitting grants for certain types of approved renovations to build ings we have a great resource with our heritage structures in whitchurch- stouffvilie and rather than see them as please see page 16 elect wayne emmerson mayor your future is here my future is here with wayne emmerson as mayor we all have a future your support is important vote on monday november 14 for a ride call 905 6402987 authorized by cjfo for candidate wayne enunersbft fact 69 of the property tax we pay goes to pay for education fact 170 greater increase in qjzs education tax in 1994 compared to the regional a vfrahf increase fact 325 increase in the york region board of education tax compound over the past 15 years with our taxes out of control concern for our childrens safety in school parents concerned about lack of input lack of information the direction of the curriculum limited resources for study and sports its time for a change elect george blake for trustee for your input information to be part of our election team to attend a neighbourhood meeting or to have one please call george at 90s 8889966 authorized by the cfo for the committee to elect george blake a brief message from harry bowes i apologize if i have not been able to contact you personally you know that personal attention to your concerns has been my main attribute you may have questions about the ontario tax reform commission and the educational development charges which should decrease the mill rate within the next year you may have questions what the board did to decrease the budget this year and what it is doing for next year you may have have comments on the inferences about lack of input and lack of information i know the answers to slashing the budget and you will as well when you talk to me the expertise and commitment from an experienced trustee is needed for the next three years reelect harry bowes for board authorized by cfo for candidate harry bowes re5tv4vvl p