Good Morning Mr ,
I have received your letter to the Mayor
and Council. I note your appreciation for all of Council's original support for
the resolution to review the tree by-law.
I have to tell you after the depositions
made at the public planning meeting, I am having second thoughts about
supporting the proposed draft bylaw.
Your letter does little to shift me from
my revised position.
I have lived in Aurora fifty years and
seen a vast increase in the town's tree inventory and urban forest cover. A
number of wood lots have been acquired by the town and dedications have been made to other agencies. Vast
expanses of ravine lands have come into public ownership.
I regard the number of golf courses
established in such a small urban area as Aurora, a benefit to the community.
Though not in terms of financial returns ,
certainly in land left uncovered by roads and houses.
I do not accept your argument property
values have decreased over the years with the growth of the town. No evidence
supports that contention. I simply cannot believe you would use an argument of
decreased property values to support the more restrictive tree bylaw on a golf
course that existed before your home was built.
Having lived here as long as I have, I must
tell you I am aware of the reduction of "the last vestige of Carolinian
forest " to permit your home to be built.
The town allowed only sufficient trees to
be removed to provide for driveway access to a house site
.
Mr. ,,,,,,,, few if any developers or real
estate agents fail to recognise the material value of mature trees on a
building site. They use it to promote sales.
The same can be said for public
officials,only theirs is not about material advantage.
The municipality has a
different perspective . It is awareness of the negative environmental aspect
of removing trees without cause.
I am not aware of the desired ratio of
trees to population you reference.
I am only aware that as our town has grown,
the urban forest has more than kept pace. Golf courses have contributed
substantially to improvement of our living environment.Simply by the fact of
maintaining open space,tree and vegetation cover and a wild life sanctuary. I
have seen bird species multiply in my garden over the years. I have yet to see
an owl.
Many people deplore the loss of farmland. I
do myself. But if the value of land makes it ridiculous for
farmers to continue farming, I
certainly welcome a golf course here and there to compensate for and break up
the pattern of urban development.
From the perspective of protecting the
environment from human critters, they surely are an acceptable option.
Your argument about deteriorating value of
your real estate has helped me make up my mind Mr. ..........
I will wait to see how much more stringent
the bylaw is, to protect your real estate value and as a result of the
depositions we heard at the public planning meeting.
I must tell you however I am leaning in
favour of democratic rights in the process.
If Mr So-and-So wants to take on the Region about the tree by-laws, he can do so on his own dime. It is not Aurora's fight but another little entitlement squabble initiated by bored well-to-do people who want to use Aurora as their cash-cow.
ReplyDeleteProof again of what really is the underlying problem in this town. Mr Anonymous has a class envy problem. He thinks that anytime someone goes to council with a complaint or cause it is because they have a lot of money and they like to get what they want.
ReplyDeleteGet over it, the NDP did not run this province long enough for it to become a communist state. There are different classes in the Town.
I hope someone has asked the town solicitor about the advisability of becoming involved with a difference of opinion with the Region over the proposed by-law. The lesson learned during the over-long struggle over West Hill should be to select battles with care. The Regions' policy is quite clear - we are looking at interfering in their jurisdiction.
ReplyDelete1:42 PM
ReplyDeleteMoney does not equate to class. Nor do the actions of one individual reflect upon all of those in the same economic bracket. Aurora is made up of all sorts of people from all types of backgrounds and it is sad to see you pigeon-hole them into solitudes.
The NDP inherited an economic mess and did not survive. Since then we have had many different governments who created the current economic situation. You are stuck in some time-warp.
To return your own pet phrase: Get over it.