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20 stoufjville suntribune thursday feb 23 2006 many farmers could use cash from sale of land from page 20 a report presented to york politicians last week warns despite an expected surge in population across the region the area only has 13 years of housing land available currently there is a 122- year supply for single detached homes a 10year supply for semidetached and a 128year supply for row house units some of the best land in the region has already beeri used for development in the markham area mr smalley said and as long as prime fer tile farmland isnt the first to you need to know latest provincial test results trustee contact information full list of addresses phone numbers com it clicks home go the decision likely wont be too detrimental gerald kellington presi dent of the york region fed eration of agriculture says while he doesnt like the fact more greenspace is being used for housing farming is no easy undertaking and not as lucrative as it once was but that has to be weighed by whats best for the com munity he added i cant see it as a good thing for the agriculture com munity they talk about sus tainable living in york region when they talk about that do they want food produced in the region mr kellington asked mr kellington admitted however hardpressed farm ers need to secure a future over the last few years the only way to have retire ment money is from selling their land mr kellington explained farmers farm because its what they want to do but it gets to the point where they cant make a living there are three significant areas north markham north vaughan and north east gwillimbury where land is available but using it for housing would require changes to the regions official plan and local official plans mr waller said york region has always been blessed with good farm land and weve seen it disap pear from toronto up mr kellington said its a very good area thats why people settled here in the first place asof2004yorkregionhas lost 16 per cent of its farms to urban sprawl while the hunt for hous ing land is acute planners need about 10 years to plan new communities land supply for apartments is ade quate for the next 18 years to gather public input town hall meetings will be held through march and april allowing residents to give input into how the region should manage growth over the next 25 years no dates have been scheduled york regions population is 920000 and under the provinces growth plan an additional 600000 people will be living and working in the region by 2031 iiqeodem eodui psieift- lmdem 1eidta tzeadeni 6cee fe foic 6yice atee i rftiuvid iwwtd rfuvicl tfcvwzct icmhct ficuwirf icvond thank you for voting us visit our newly decorated showroom showcasing all our high efficiency air conditioning heating lines rand reopening m february 25 12pm4pm jk lfojolnms for beverages appetizers be orders e february high efficiency doesnt have to mean high price goodman thank goodness for goodman heating air conditioning ltd 9054791290 www u n i on vi 11 e h eat in gcom