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A6 THE OAKVILLE BEAVER Wednesday August 22. 2001 T h e O akville B eaver Ian Oliver Publisher Ned Oliver Associate Publisher Norman Alexander Editor Kelly Montague, Advertising Director Steve Crazier Circulation Director Ten C asas OfficeManager Mark Dills Production Manager Riziero Vertolli DirectorofPhotography Metroland Printing, Pubfehing & Distributing Ltd., indudes: Ajax/Pickering News Advertiser. Alliston Herald/Courier, A rthur Enterprise News, Barrie Advance, Barry's Bay This Week. Bolton Enterprise. Brampton Guardian, B u rlin g to n P o s t, .B u rlin g to n S h o p p in g N e w s. C ity P aren t, Collingwood/VVasaga Connection. East \b rk Mirror. B in Advocate/Country R o u te s, E to b ic o k e G u a rd ia n . F la m b o ro u g h P o s t. G e o rg e to w n Independent/Acton Free Press. Hamston Review. Hurorua Business Times, K ingston This W eek, Lindsay This W eek. M a rkh am E cno m ist & Sun, M id la n d /P e n e ta n g u ish in e M irror. 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L6K 3S 4 (905) 846-3824 Fax; 337-5567 Classified Advertising: 845-2809 Circulation: 845-9742 C '/liZ /ft'lif I o a k v ille g a lle r ie s I OPINION S K Suburban New spapers ot Am erica o * £ o l Children's Choir w ag kb* U H T h e O a k v ille , M ilt o n a n d D istrict REAL E S T A TE BOARD Editorials All voices heard There is little doubt in anyone's mind that the Official Plan Amendment 198 that deals with thousands o f acres o f land north o f Hwy. 5, is important to the future well being o f the Town and its current and future residents. The issue has already seen countless residents In such an emotional, and groups put forward their views and both the meetings and these viewpoints have been exhaus issue as the planning \ of north Oakville tively reported in the Oakville Beaver without bias. However, there are some residents who don't lands, all viewpoints want to face the realities o f planning and see only must be heard. bogeym en when they see governm ent in action. They would have us report only their viewpoint of development and castigate any opposing view or explanation from the planning viewpoint. This is bias of the worst kind and we w on't be a party to that most bla tant kind o f misrepresentation. An Aug. 15 article in the Oakville Beaver detailed the Town planning depart ment's view on the OPA 198 issue. The piece was presented for what it was, the Town's view on the amendment, how they felt the process was going and what implications it held for the Town. The residents' views, as mentioned above, have been extensively covered and that will continue to be the case when hearings resume in September. We will be there to report on those meetings and to register citizen concerns and opinions as to how these lands develop. And they will be developed. As a newspaper, one o f our functions is to encourage citizen viewpoints and criticisms o f our local government. But for these same voices to try and silence comments from the other side with arguments that these residents' views aren't being heard, is a farce. Elsewhere in today's paper is a review o f the OPA 198 process and what will take place next month. We urge all residents to take note. Letters to the Editor The Oakville Beaver welcomes your comments. All letters must be typed, signed and include the writer's address and phone number. Send to: Letters to the Editor, The Oakville Beaver 467 Speers Rd., Oakville, Ont. L6K 3S4 Town has ignored growth criticisms After reading the article entitled, "Booming north keeping planners busy" in the Aug. 15,2001 Oakville Beaver, I thought perhaps that I was in a dream. Or maybe, the author, Angela Blackburn, was. A cc o rd in g to th e a rtic le , all appears to be bright and rosy as Oakville adds 7,600 acres of urban area to our town north o f Hwy. 5, Although Ted Salisbury, director o f planning believes they've "got things well in-hand," the last time I ch eck ed , OPA 198 (the g row th plan) was the subject of six nights o f turbulent and emotional public meetings. It was far from clear to m any' o f the residents attending these meetings that the Town plan ners "had done their homework." In fact, it was far from clear that the current version of the Official Plan A m endm ent 198 should be "the rule book for growth north of Hwy. 5" because o f all its problems and inadequacies. Ted S alisb u ry noted that the `Town has used die latest informa tion available to m unicipal plan ners." How is it then that when the representatives from the Parks and Recreation A dvisory C om m ittee described num erous exam ples o f towns that had progressive official plans and policies, none o f these ideas had been incorporated into our ow n OPA 198? W hat "latest inform ation" was our town plan ning staff using, I wonder, and why does it not show up in the plan? Ms. Blackburn w rites that "to provide balance, Oakville's heritage land in v en to ry th at ca te g o riz es woodlots and watersheds, enters the picture." The residents who attend ed the six nights of meetings know that OPA 198 does not commit to `preserving the woodlots and water- Letter of the Week Town Hall lawns escape water ban During the recent lawn-watering and car-washing ban imposed by Halton Region we all watched in dismay as our lawns, parks and other green areas turned gold and dusty. We saw thirsty trees losing their leaves at the beginning o f August. Shortly after the ban was announced a neigh bour of mine called to ask if I knew anything about it. She had known nothing o f the ban and innocently put her sprinkler out on the front lawn. One o f the neighbourhood kids had told her she would get into trouble and be fined thousands o f dollars. We joked about the Water Police com ing to get her before she hurried off the phone to go outside and turn her sprinkler off. With all o f this in mind I thought it was interesting to note that last Friday, the same day the Oakville Beaver ran a front page story reminding us that the "Water use ban will continue", I noticed that our very own Town o f Oakville Municipal Building was using their own sprinkler sys tem to water the huge lawn that borders on Trafalgar Road. No mistake they were not watering their flower beds, they were watering the grass with great proud arcs o f water. I guess the ban only applied to us peasants. All o f us "regular" people who, whether for fear o f being fined or for the com mon good, did the right thing and watched as their own little pieces o f the world dried up and blew away. As I write this it's Sunday morning and a steady rain is falling. Maybe I'll go wash my car now. In the rain. Do you think the Region will mind? sheds. The amendment talks about "p o te n tia l ...lin k a g e s w h ich attempts to maintain existing natur al environment and accommodate a sid e v ariety o f recreatio n al and planning functions." And what are the planning functions planned for these natural lands? And precisely what recreational functions will be accom m odated on these environm entally-significant lands? W ill forests be cut down to make room for more soccer fields? Residents who have attended the six public meetings or have read news articles regarding OPA 198 k n o w th a t th e re are n u m e ro u s issues still left unresolved. It con cerns me that Ms. Blackburn, has, in my opinion, written a one-sided and unbalanced article regarding growth in north Oakville. The truth is that OPA 198 is a contentious issue and all sides should be repre sented. Perhaps Ms. Blackburn should interview some of the residents who spoke at the public meetings and fin d o u t w hat the p eo p le really think about OPA 198. It may wake her up from her dream. Double standard during water use ban I have been aw are o f the w ater ban that is c u rren t ly on in H alton R egion for som e tim e. I h av e ju s t read the ad v ertisem en t that the R egion has p laced in y o u r n ew sp ap er d ated Sunday, A ugust 19, 2 0 0 1 . I q u o te in p a r t " H a lto n R e g io n h as im p o sed a m an d ato ry restric tio n s on o u td o o r w ater use. P le a se do n o t w a te r y o u r la w n o r w ash y o u r vehicle d u rin g the tem p o rary w ater ban." I m ay be w rong but the point o f w ater bans is to e n su re th a t th e re s e rv o irs m a in ta in a safe le v e l o f w ater in case o f fires and to en su re that citiz en s o f th e R e g io n h a v e w a te r fo r e v e ry d a y u se s to sta y alive. ^ T he q u estio n th at I have is, if the norm al every d ay citiz en o f the R egion ca n n o t w ash th e ir v eh icles or w ater th e ir law ns, w hy can m any, m any b u sin esses th ro u g h o u t the R egion still w ater th eir law ns through a u to m a tic s p r in k le r s y s te m s a n d w h y c a n m an y , m any ca r w ashes still o p erate? T h ere seem s to be a d o u b le stan d ard here. I pay for my w ater to get it and to d isp o se o f it-at a h ig h co st fo r th a t m atter. W h ere a re th e b y -law o fficers, has any o n e b een fin ed o r is all th is a b lu ff w h y c a n 't I w a te r m y la w n an d b u s in e s s e s g e t as m uch w ater as they w ant and m ake m o n ey ? I think a ll o f us h a v e h e a rd th e s a y in g 'm o n e y s tic k s to m oney'. If all o f us d o n 't assist in co n serv in g w ater, it is a u seless by-law . W ill it o n c e a g a in ta k e a tra g e d y o f so m e o n e d y in g in a fire fo r the T ow n/R egion to be sued and to take actio n o r d o es the ev ery d ay citizen ju st sh o u ld er all the resp o n sib ility o n ce again? S o m ething to th in k ab o u t...... M alcolm Reid Renee Sandelow sky Questions on northern growth remain unanswered Ed. note: the following letter was sent to Mayor Ann Mulvale and members o f Oakville Town Council - a copy was also filed with the Oakville Beaverfo r publication. On my recent return from vacation, I became aw a re o f tw o in itia tiv e s o n O ffic ia l P lan Amendment 198 (OPA 198). 1. A letter advising that Sept. 11 and, if nec essary the 12th, had been set aside to obtain input on OPA 198. T his indicates to m e that you, the M ayor and councillors who must ulti mately make the decision on this subject, are open to obtaining additional input - both pro and con _ from the public on this important issue. I commend you for this. 2. A front page article in the Aug. 15th edi tion o f the O akville B eaver on the northern development which quoted both the CA O and the D irector o f Planning and Development.on OPA 198. To m y dism ay, my conclusion on reading this article was that the staff responsible for this issue has not changed their direction one whit from what it was in the beginning o f the process. In short, they seem to have ignored all the questions and input w hich the concerned public has presented on this issue. This apparent lack o f response by staff to genuine concerns has led me to pose these ques tions to you, our elected representatives. 1. Will the planning and development staff provide answers to the many questions raised in public meetings to date? Are they researching these issues now and when will they provide answers? 2. How will the answers be made available to all o f the members o f the public? I believe that the planning and development department should produce a report that will be made avail able to the public before this issue comes to a vote. T his step co uld lead to additional public input. 3. M ayor M ulvale, in a recent CBC inter view, stated words to the effect that the "legal language" w ould be researched to determ ine how the concerns of the environmentalists could be con sid ered . W h at has been done on this issue? As the elected representatives o f the public, it is your responsibility to ensure that the staff has been diligent in considering all aspects o f the issues. Regrettably, this is not my impres sion. M a r k R ip c o W a te r an issue in n o rth The recent announcem ent o f tough w ater use regulations for O akville raises another issue concerning OPA 198 that needs to be addressed, nam ely "W ater Supply and Quality." As it now stands, OPA 198 is projected to bring another 80,000 people, together w ith m ore industrial plant to the town... the population increase alone represents a ju m p of 60% over present levels. The tow n's planners, no doubt, think we have an unlim it ed supply o f w ater in Lake O ntario to meet such a popula tion increase, however, I beg to differ: 1. M any m u n icip alities su rro u n d in g O ak v ille -- e.g. M ilton, C am bridge, K itchener, etc. -- are eyeing L akes O ntario and Erie for their future w ater supplies. This can only accelerate the drop in lake levels seen o ff O akville this summer... we are presently one metre low er than last year! 2. G lo b a l w arm in g w ill c o n tin u e d e s p ite o u r p u n y attem pts to arrest it through the Kyoto Accord, so we can expect the inflow o f w ater from w inter run-off, w hich nor m a lly b o o s ts la k e le v e ls to c o n tin u e to d e c lin e . Furtherm ore, it is likely that the frequency o f hot dry w eath er will increase as well. 3. The building-over o f valuable w ater sources/filters, such as the Trafalgar M oraine and other sim ilar geological structures are another threat to our w ater supply. T hese com m on sense observations added to the many other issues already raised at tow n m eetings w ill, I hope, m ake O ak v ille T ow n C o u n c il se rio u sly re c o n s id e r the aggressive growth they are proposing for north Oakville. Barbara Dubrule Pud MAX RAN RI6HT UP TO A Y" Bfe PQ6AT THE RfrRK J r ' v X HAP TO P ® ? TALK "K> HIM ABOUT ` BEI M S M ORE C A U T IO U S / by Steve Nease HE J ust Assumed ,, A l t D06s ARE A FRIENDLY J WOHDER W H E R E ^ HEGCJT7WIDEA? Patrick Keenan