Just to clarify about the open house this Wednesday….
The Council meeting about property rights was last week, when council discussed whether and under what circumstances town bylaw staff can enter your property without your permission. The majority though not all of Council agree, that resident’s right to privacy and protection of their property should be the primary consideration.
On Wednesday night, The Town is holding a meeting about Stable Neighbourhoods and rights of all residents to ensure that development that occurs in our community is in line with our zoning bylaws and our Official Plan. It’s an opportunity for residents to express their concerns and voice their opinions on how we as a community can protect the integrity of our stable neighbourhoods.
Personally, I think all residents should have the right to expect that when it comes to development in our community, everyone should know the rules and everyone should play by them. No one should expect that the rules don’t apply to them. Can there be exceptions to the rules? Absolutely. I think everyone can agree that appropriate development is good for the community. But, changes to zoning that are in the best interest of the community as a whole are not what are at issue. Over-development is the issue, development that is completely outside what is allowed under our Official plan or zoning is the issue. Residents have every right to be concerned about over- or inappropriate development within stable neighbourhoods. That isn’t NIMBYISM. The Town has zoning requirements and I think that the majority could agree that building within that framework of zoning requirements is and should be allowed. The problem lies with the fact that Councils have before it application after application after application that looks for often substantive amendments to the current zoning… asking for what is not allowed under the current zoning….more height, more coverage, smaller setbacks and more density. And on and on it goes. It’s planning by pieces. A little change here, a bigger change there, until at the end of it all, our official plans would not be worth the paper they’re printed on.
.. As I have said before, it’s not about restricting development “rights”, it’s about respecting the Towns zoning and Official Plan.
