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6 economist suntribune thursday jan 20 2000 s stoufmle tribune a metroland community newspaper 37 sandiford dr suite 306 stouffville ont l4a 7x5 publishen ian proudfoot general manager alvin brouiver editor in chief brenda larson director of advertising debra weller deputy editor debora kelly editor julie caspersen production director cheri kay distribution director barry goodyear online publishing manager brian kirlik classified manager ann campbell retail sales manager stephen mathieu inside sales manager staceyallen business manager margaret fleming office manager vivian oneil editorial eyeopening report should spur mayors we cannot allow six people to decide the future of york region or the rest of the 905- area municipalities for that matter when vaughan mayor lorna jackson markham mayor don cousens newmarket mayor tom taylor burlington mayor rob maclssac mississauga mayor hazel mccallion and burlington mayor peter robinson gathered to develop their proposal for reforming the 905 municipalities and the greater toronto services board gtsb they demonstrated the kind of leadership thats been sadly lacking on this controversial issue but they were also taking a huge risk their project titled maintaining the momentum would replace the current 24 municipal and four regional governments with eight to 12 megacities in the 905 area not surprisingly their plan conveniently leaves markham vaughan richmond hill mississauga and brampton as separate cities their report suggests giving the gtsb greater powers to provide policy and service leadership across the gta on services such as regional roads social services social housing waste management infrastructure planning growth planning transportation planning economic development and tourism but whats lacking in the report is involve ment from anyone other than the six mayors and that opens it up to public criticism they do get top marks though for finally getting the amalgamation debate out of the starting blocks but realistically the mayors report should be regarded as nothing more than a launch- ing pad for discussion we certainly hope the mayors plan is not being given too much weight by municipal affairs minister tony clement that fear gained momentum this week with clements suggestion that novembers municipal elections could be delayed so that 905area amalgamations can be in place before voters go to the polls intended or not clements comment sends the strongest warning yet that chairper son bill fisch and other york region politi cians had better move quick to come up with a better amalgamation plan opinion letters to the editor scrapping regional government could improve wheelchair access i read with great interest the article about doing away with regional government alto gether i agree this would be a better alternative to just amalgamatingthornhill vaughan and markham the money saved having fewer politicians better transit social services police fire departments sewage and roads could pay for upgrading roads and buying muchneeded buses and vans the only letter i ever received from the york region office was from chairperson bill fisch he claimed the outlook for correcting worsening conditions of roads and transit systems would soon be better wheres the hard evidence ive phoned many times about unsafe walk signals for the disabled seniors with walking aids and mothers with tots in strollers the standard reply from regional council lors and engineers was that these intersec tions are timed and found adequate i challenged them to accompany a person in a wheelchair at two intersections and was refused are fatalities necessary before such con cerns are addressed perhaps if the nine areas involved were a larger region we would not be constantly told that these problems are in the jurisdiction of federal provincial or an indi- vidua municipality constantly passing the buck one large entity might have more clout marty shultz thornhill support of offtrack betting will haunt local councillor i think it was unconscionable that coun cillor jack heath would write to the jockey club and endorse a new gambling business that is to operate on main street markham did heath not consider consulting with the residents of ward 5 his ward on this seri ous matter lean well imagine what could escalate from this offtrack betting establishment it worries me as it should worry all the voters in ward 5 this is not the way to revive the towns main street surely there are other locations much bet- tersuited and with more accessible parking to accommodate this kind of business main street is not it the next election is not too far off and i hope that heaths faux pas is remembered at that time and place jshaw markham letters policy stouflville tribune welcomes your letters all submissions must be less than 400 words and must include a daytime telephone number name and address the newspaper reserves the right to publish or not publish and to edit for clarity and space write utters to the editor 37 sandiford dr suite 306 stouffvile0ntl4a 7x5 email letters9econsuncom stouffville tribune serving the community since 1888 b3e1d dde canadian circulations 1 audit board member ontario press council canadian publications mail product sales agreement m403419 subscription rates by mail i year 6955 ouesdays only stouffville tribune published every tuesday thursday and saturday is one of the metroland printing publishing and distributing ltd group of newspapers which includes the ajarpickering news advertiser alltston heraldcourier barrie advance barrys bay this week bolton enterprise brampton guardian burlington shopping news burlington post city parent collingwoodwasaga connection east york mirror erin advocatecountry routes etobicote guardian flamborough post georgtown independentacton free press kingston this week lindsay this week midlandpsnetanguishene mirror milton canadian champion milton shopping news mississauga news newmarket- aurora georgina erabanner northumberland news north york mirror oakville beaver oakville shopping news onllia today oshawawhitbyclaringtonport perry this week peterborough this week richmond hillthomhillvaughan liberal scarborough mirror stouffville tribune today seniors utbridge tribune and city of york guardian phone 905 6402100 fax 905 6405477 classified 18007433353 distribution 905 6402100 telephone 905 6402100 fax 905 6405477 email newsroomeconsuncom dave teetzel preserving moraine means declaring ownership richmond hill mayor bill bell wont believe this but while watching tv footage last week of his council meeting on the oak ridges moraine i felt sorry for him and his council there they were their backs against the wall listening to hundreds of people demanding they not change the zoning designation on the moraine to urban while eight of the nine councillors were convinced they had no choice its not easy to explain how declaring a stretch of woods lakes and farms as an urban area will actually protect the envi ronment which is what richmond hill did last week and what york region will probably do too it did so because before the town had taken a formal position on the moraine some developers took their plans to the ontario municipal board the town needed to take a position that position could have been the one the crowd that packed richmond hills town hall wanted that the area remain rural but bell has characterized that as a big gamble and like it or not he knows what hes talking about hes learned by bitter experience the municipal board operates according to its own rules one of which is that the will of the people doesnt mean squat developers go into these hearings with expensive lawyers and studies from the best experts money can buy because this is their business after all developers know the rules and general ly follow them to the letter but lets say the good guys win and the lands keep their rural planning des ignation that still doesnt mean they remain as they are remember that the govern ments powers to tell you what you can and cant do on your own property are limited and thats a good thing its still perfectly legal to build estate homes or farms which would require cutting down the trees or perhaps a golf course which could do more dam age to the rivers than a subdivision what richmond hill and york region councils are doing is approving a com promise that protects as much as they think is possible its not going to save the oak ridges moraine to do that the province has to adopt a formal strategy and its encouraging that oak ridges mpp frank klees has endorsed this idea and i still maintain that newmarket mayor tom taylors plan to start a land trust which would raise money to buy up moraine land holds out the best hope to save at least part of the forest whether youre a citizen a developer or a politician you cant preserve any thing until you own it m i i i i 4 i i 1 lllilll t t i 4 ft fr