BACK INTO THE FRAY, YET AGAIN

Tonight at 7 pm. we have a Woolwich Committee of the Whole meeting in Council Chambers. There are a ton of Delegations as well as Presentations. I and three others will be Delegates in regards to the proposed and Recommended (by Staff) Elmira/St. Jacobs Boundary changes. There are only two of us speaking in regards to the Boundary changes on the east side of Elmira. Essentially the Township want to expand the current east side of Elmira further east allegedly for use as Employment lands. In other words these are intended to reduce agricultural and residential land and have it available for industrial/commercial. The other suggested use of these east side lands are for the long awaited Elmira By-Pass. My understanding is that in the past the west side of Elmira had been scheduled for those purposes.

The problems with the east side being used this way are plentiful. There is a major floodplain and Creek (Canagagigue) right through the middle of it. Construction costs for both a highway and for Industrial/Commercial buildings will be higher than on the west side. Also there is the not insignificant problem of the current and ongoing soil and sediment investigations by Chemtura/Lanxess and their consultants GHD. The proposed rezoning will lower the criteria that the Ontario M.O.E. have for remediating contaminated properties. The M.O.E. and their clients (Lanxess) have more than enough loopholes and delaying methods without Woolwich Township stepping in and both muddying the waters and giving them lesser clean up criteria.