WITH DUE RESPECT

My friend Councillor Mrakas has updated us on Facebook onthe status of the United Church rebuild 

proposal. The town's decision is not yet made but the item has been referred to the 

next general committee meeting. 

The Councillor is supportive and provides his rational. 

Tom is in  his third year serving of his first term on Council. He works hard and  provides a channel

for communication with constituents. Also offers information and his position on issues. It's. A mark of respect for those  he serves. 

In response I have to say on some issues, mais non, mon ami, Je suis disagree .

There is little about the United Church site that lends itself to senior living. 

At the time Seniors can be expected to be out and about, traffic is heavy on Yonge Street.  

Exhaust fumes are not good for health. Traffic lights barely provide enough time to cross.  

Amenities are few . Public green space is sparse and the site even less adequate. 

A retirement centre is the last thing likely to revitalize the core. It is not a better use of retail space. 

Seniors are not shoppers. 

The need cited  is not there . Retirement centres are probably second in growth only to the construction industry . It's a lucrative business and resources come from sale of seniors' homes.

What happens in York Region when seniors outlive their stash and York Region has to provide 

beds for the outcasts ? 

Council  is being coy about designation under the Official Plan. Completed in 2010 ,the Promenade Study ,was adopted in the Plan during the last Council term. The area is designated as a "Culture Precinct".  I'm fairly sure the "culture" referenced is not a community of elderly. 

The Planning Director has budgeted millions for fancy sidewalks,heritage lighting and street 

furniture. Build them , they will come and  shop and sit to rest from their  frenzied efforts of 

shopping in the block , wave to drivers and breathe in pollution. 

 

We've heard much about the sacrosanct Official Plan. This proposal requires a change in 

designation with  little to commend  it. Certainly no municipal interest. 

The library was built on Yonge Street twenty years ago. The library got busier the downtown did not.

Stores continued to close. 

Park Place Manor , with a huge presence, was built thirty years ago and still the downtown is moribund.

 Density Intensification  has been referenced . 

The purpose of provincial policy is to bring people on or near public transit routes to cut down on vehicular traffic and reduce urban sprawl. 

Seniors are not commuters . Crossing Yonge Street at the lights is a time challenge . 

There are no  good arguments for this proposal .

Council would do well to review the recent application for a Montessori  school in the vicinity with 

all the same details and difficulties. Thousands of hours were spent seeking ways and means to realise the project.In the end, it came to naught. The last thing mentioned were  soil tests.  

Construction is possible in most soil conditions. The question is one of  feasibility of cost and returns.

Furthermore, an Official Plan designation for high density multiple residential, is exactly what it says.

Nothing in the Plan designates a particular proponent.