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economist suntribune whitchurch stouffville saturday dec 7 2002 away in a preschool manger photojason chow jamie risi and briar gornall in purple appear in the mother goose academy preschool christmas pageant at springvale baptist church in whitchurchstouffville on tuesday citizens want slower development by hannelore volpe staff writer a new group calling itself the concerned citizens of stouffville wants to make sure that the small town they moved to keeps its coun try flavour and doesnt become an extension of markham keeping that country close to the city atmosphere the towns motto for stouffville is what moti vates chairperson eleanor rudner and secretary donna topping we are asking whitchurch- stouffville council to hold a public meeting to address our current concerns before development is approved and not to approve any development that doesnt adhere to the stouffville secondary plan said mrs topping population to boom within the next five to 10 years stouffvilles population will likely increase by around 15000 people said tom parry the towns director of development services that will happen once approximately 5000 new housing units are built for which draft plans have already been approved there are now about 12000 people in stouffville when other lands designated for residential housing are also devel oped that could push the popula tion to around 38000 however that is over a 20 year time frame mr parry added the new group wants to see lot sizes maintained in new subdivi sions keep densities similar to what they are now and make new hous ing consistent with adjacent neigh bourhoods we want to maintain the country close to the city image mrs topping added the group whose executive includes zig kusatz and art and martha robertson has gathered about 550 signatures over the past two months on petitions outlining these concerns group members went doortodoor in various neighbourhoods of stouffville the residents they talked to were concerned about trees being taken down for new subdivisions and that highrise apartments might be built they were also worried that there wouldnt be enough green space and asked about adequate water supplies schools and medical cen tres for such a rapidly growing pop ulation very few people have turned us down mrs topping said the concerned citizens of stouffville are planning to bring their petition and make a presenta tion to whitchurchstouffville council early in the new year we are not against develop ment it is healthy mrs rudner said but we want to make sure development comes in a bit more slowly so the towns infrastructure is set up so we have enough water the groups members are currently researching the secondary plan members of the group had attended some of the meetings organized by local resident randy mole to discuss the rate and type of development coming to stouffville before deciding to form their own group mayor promises mayor wayne emmerson said there will be public information sessions regarding the subdivisions draft plans when they are brought back before whitchurchstouffville council early in the new year lots backing onto existing yards will be the same size and infrastructure will be put into place as soon as possible he said the concerned citizens of stoujfuille can be contacted at ccstoujfvillehotmailcom no break on fees but rink builder receives donation by hannelore volpe staff writer christmas came three weeks early for ian boyd the stouffville merchant came to whitchurchstouffville council on tuesday to ask for a reduction in building permit fees for the outdoor skating rink he built behind his store and the roof he recently built to cover it he didnt receive a reduction but he left with a big smile and a 2000 donation mr boyd has raised funds for the outdoor rink by selling advertising boards to various businesses in town council which was told it couldnt reduce the fees instead gave 2000 for one of the rink boards more than 40000 has been raised with the communitys sup port for the approximately 52000 rink the rink is free for anyone to use both winter and summer the owner of boyds source for sports on ringwood drive in stouffville had already paid around 3700 to the town in building per mit and site plan fees he is building something for the town our leisure services department doesnt have to build a rink in supporting mr boyd councillor peter dobrich said he is building something for the town our leisure services department doesnt have to build a rink town staff will now study how site plan security deposits can be adjusted for similar situations preschoolers play at council could be given newspace a preschool play group that has been meeting at st james presbyterian church in stouffville might find additional space in town facilities after janet johnson came to council asking for a permanent site tuesday small kids played with puzzles and gurgled happily in the council chambers as mrs johnson made her presentation mrs johnson is one of about 30 people who had been taking close to 50 children and grand children to the morning play group at the main street church twice a week a lack of funding from a markhambased organization has cancelled the tuesday morning meetings but the group still meets wednesdays the church now wants the group to be insured but insurance isnt available for an informal group such as theirs mrs johnson said the church welcomes the group said the rev don muir and is exploring whether a rider can be added to its insurance currently only church groups fall under the insurance policy the group provides early child hood development and a forum for grandparents mothers fathers and caregivers to receive mental physi cal and emotional support mrs johnson added a place to meet every weekday is needed by local families space in vandorf councillor steve pliakes offered the community centre in vandorf a 20minute drive away but distance is a problem since many partici pants walk to the meetings mayor wayne emmerson noted that a number of places were avail able in town such as latcham hall the upstairs room in the stouffville arena and rooms in the indoor pool and library building council agreed that the group should meet with town staff to review the list of facilities hannelore volpe barry cox veh i g le leas i n c ohestop shopping new boused chicles any make or model btry level to pifstiimporfs leases tailored t i specific heeds bcoxlandmarkleasingcom blty whcttctp i for quote or information call barry at 9053054783 8920 woodbine ave iviarkham 3 lltjhts norls of ik 7 at hooper st