Dear Editor,
On July 17, the mayor called a special meeting for a new vote on the Brookswood/Fernridge 2017 OCP which was rejected earlier.
The Township staff was given free rein to promote the 2017 OCP. However they were unconvincing in their hour-long, half-hearted attempt. Nobody was allowed to defend the 1987 OCP, but it still came out ahead after the vague and meandering presentation by staff.
Thanks to Councillor Richter鈥檚 questioning, staff had to admit, albeit grudgingly, that all development applications, whether applied under the 1987 or the 2017 OCP, would have to comply with the same, updated and rigorous standards of development, including environment, trees, aquifer, etc. So why not keep the better 1987 OCP which is preferred by many and hardly opposed by any?
The 1987 plan has 85 per cent single-family homes. the 2017 plan reduces this to only 70 per cent.
The 2017 plan increases the population by almost three times, from the current 13,500 to 39,000.
Most of this density increase in the 2017 plan will be in the central core around 32nd Avenue and 200th Street. You will constantly have to navigate through this mini-Willoughby everyday.
How will this preserve the look and feel of Brookswood/Fernridge?
Township staff didn鈥檛 seem too keen on the extra work the 1987 plan will create for them, but on the plus side, it will slow development down considerably to a manageable pace.
Don鈥檛 let the spin doctors mess with our heads. The beautiful area of Cedar Ridge was developed under the 1987 plan. That鈥檚 the way Brookswood/Fernridge was meant to be. They are trying to entice is by giving us the illusion of saving some trees by creating smaller 5,000 and 6,000 sq. ft. lots 鈥� the kind of lots that encourage one or even two basement suites. A poor trade off.
The 1987 plan is much better with its clear language and lower density. We don鈥檛 need the vaguely worded, poorly planned 2017 version. We don鈥檛 need another Willoughby.
B. Alderliesten, Fernridge
