The Province is in charge. The town is a creature of the Province. Various tasks are assigned to the municipality to be carried out under provincial legislation.
Ontario is responsible for how her cities, towns and villages grow; how they are governed and financed. They are also responsible for education. If they were to provide our children with an understanding of how their community is governed, they might have less trouble implementing laws they adopt and pass on to municipalities to carry out.
In 1971, Regions were created around Metro to plan for orderly growth and development.
Much like Metro was created in 1954.
The private sector builds homes and develops industrial and commercial facilities.
Government supports development by providing hard services; highways,water supply, sewage treatment, hydro and transit.
The Federal government controls population growth through immigration.
Economically, growth is perceived to be a good thing.
When Regions were created, the numbers of municipalities within were reduced . Urban boundaries were expanded into the countryside to allow for orderly planning and contiguous servicing.
It's a deliberate fallacy by some and misunderstanding by others to claim development outstrips services.
People like things to stay the same. Facile politics suggest we can live and work next to a burgeoning city, receive half the country's immigration and resist the pressure to grow.
In the 60's under Premier John Robarts, hundreds of thousands of dollars and several years went into a study to avoid making the mistakes of other world megalopolis and keep Toronto
a city of governable human dimension.
The Metro Toronto and Region Transit Study anticipated Green Belt parkways surrounding Metro to hedge in growth. From Port Hope/Cobourg to Niagara, hard services and transit were to follow lakefront to accommodate necessary expansion.It was completely logical.
York Region's role was to serve as the agriculture, recreational and lungs of the megalopolis.
We welcomed that plan.
It never happened.
Political will was overwhelmed by exigencies.Opposition to government re-organisation was growing fast. Regions around Metro were completed in haste. Regions further out were abandoned. MTARTS lies gathering dust somewhere on a shelf in Queen's Park
In 1971,Aurora's boundaries were extended into King on the west and Whitchurch to the east.
Almost forty years ago, it was decided by the Province, Aurora would grow out to her new boundaries by the year 2020.
Our town has grown slowly and carefully. Slower than our neighbours. We have not outstripped services. Neither have they. It is not within our control to do so.Authority to approve development has been transferred from the Province to the Region. Rigid control is exercised.
Aurora's new residents quickly become accustomed to her face. They assume nothing will change. Why is that?
When land changes hands within an urban boundary,there is every reason to expect the purpose is development.
An Official Plan designation has legal status.
There is no turning back. Millions of dollars, public and private, and years, have been invested to bring the property to that point.
The only questions left are the nature and geophysical aspects of the development proposed.
For urban residential the question is... are there sufficient unit allocations of urban servicing available?
A single unit, represents a single family. However many units have been allocated by the Region dictates however many permits can be issued.
It's horrendously costly to achieve this kind of control. It is a deliberate misrepresentation, totally futile and a complete waste of tax dollars to try to frustrate the process at the lowest level of the totem pole.
Ontario is responsible for how her cities, towns and villages grow; how they are governed and financed. They are also responsible for education. If they were to provide our children with an understanding of how their community is governed, they might have less trouble implementing laws they adopt and pass on to municipalities to carry out.
In 1971, Regions were created around Metro to plan for orderly growth and development.
Much like Metro was created in 1954.
The private sector builds homes and develops industrial and commercial facilities.
Government supports development by providing hard services; highways,water supply, sewage treatment, hydro and transit.
The Federal government controls population growth through immigration.
Economically, growth is perceived to be a good thing.
When Regions were created, the numbers of municipalities within were reduced . Urban boundaries were expanded into the countryside to allow for orderly planning and contiguous servicing.
It's a deliberate fallacy by some and misunderstanding by others to claim development outstrips services.
People like things to stay the same. Facile politics suggest we can live and work next to a burgeoning city, receive half the country's immigration and resist the pressure to grow.
In the 60's under Premier John Robarts, hundreds of thousands of dollars and several years went into a study to avoid making the mistakes of other world megalopolis and keep Toronto
a city of governable human dimension.
The Metro Toronto and Region Transit Study anticipated Green Belt parkways surrounding Metro to hedge in growth. From Port Hope/Cobourg to Niagara, hard services and transit were to follow lakefront to accommodate necessary expansion.It was completely logical.
York Region's role was to serve as the agriculture, recreational and lungs of the megalopolis.
We welcomed that plan.
It never happened.
Political will was overwhelmed by exigencies.Opposition to government re-organisation was growing fast. Regions around Metro were completed in haste. Regions further out were abandoned. MTARTS lies gathering dust somewhere on a shelf in Queen's Park
In 1971,Aurora's boundaries were extended into King on the west and Whitchurch to the east.
Almost forty years ago, it was decided by the Province, Aurora would grow out to her new boundaries by the year 2020.
Our town has grown slowly and carefully. Slower than our neighbours. We have not outstripped services. Neither have they. It is not within our control to do so.Authority to approve development has been transferred from the Province to the Region. Rigid control is exercised.
Aurora's new residents quickly become accustomed to her face. They assume nothing will change. Why is that?
When land changes hands within an urban boundary,there is every reason to expect the purpose is development.
An Official Plan designation has legal status.
There is no turning back. Millions of dollars, public and private, and years, have been invested to bring the property to that point.
The only questions left are the nature and geophysical aspects of the development proposed.
For urban residential the question is... are there sufficient unit allocations of urban servicing available?
A single unit, represents a single family. However many units have been allocated by the Region dictates however many permits can be issued.
It's horrendously costly to achieve this kind of control. It is a deliberate misrepresentation, totally futile and a complete waste of tax dollars to try to frustrate the process at the lowest level of the totem pole.
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1 comment:
Ontario is "responsible for education. If they were to provide our children with an understanding of how their community is governed..."
Couldn't agree more. I would add that any explanation of how local government works should be easily available to people of any age at any time.
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