Jackson's Point residents petition against redevelopment of public park

yorkregion.com
April 26, 2017
By Heidi Riedner

Bonnie Park is not for sale or swap.

That is the sentiment of a group of concerned Jackson’s Point residents who launched an online petition — bonnieparkisnotforsale.com - this week stating the historic public park or any portion thereof should not be used as a “bargaining chip” with developers under any harbour redevelopment master plan.

A 16-week, $90,000 process with The Planning Partnership at its helm was approved by council last week in reaction to the sale of Bonnie Boats earlier this month.

With the town-owned property situated between the Ramada Inn on one side and the former marine property now owned by MSR Holdings Inc. on the other, the town contends a redevelopment strategy with all interested parties involved and six opportunities for public input will allow it to “drive the bus” when it comes to any future development proposals.

Paul Brady, however, is one of many who doesn’t agree and thinks there is still time to turn the ship around before one of few remaining public access sites to Lake Simcoe is sunk.

“The town thinks it is a good thing to use a historic public lake access park as a bargaining chip, but we think the plan shouldn’t have been set up in the first place,” Brady said, adding the $90,000 would have been better spent cleaning debris off the park, filling in low areas, replacing rotten boards on the dock and a fresh coat of paint on the picnic shelters.

“If an entity has bought a marina, and it turns out that the land can only be used as a marina, then they have a marina,” he added. “If that entity can change it into what they want to do, more power to them, but it must be done under the same parameters and guidelines that everyone else must adhere to on their own property...Bonnie Park is not for sale. Period. It belongs to the people, not just the residents of Georgina, but to all who want to use it.”

Wayne Phillips agrees and hopes the petition will prompt people to get involved, make an informed decision and let elected officials know where they stand on the issue.

“I think we’re all smart enough to understand that change is going to happen and that we want to be collaborative with the process, but there is a feeling that there hasn’t been full disclosure up to this point,” Phillips said, echoing the sentiments of Cliff Williams and bait and tackle shop owner Donna Parsons, who were among those upset over unauthorized testing in the park conducted earlier this month and the fact redevelopment proposals concerning two private properties are being floated on the taxpayer dime.

While the group behind the petition may be at the “nucleus” of the situation, they point out it is not NIMBYism that is spearheading their cause.

“Most of us have lived here for years and we would adapt, just like we always have,” Larry Rudd said, just before Erin Campbell Rudd unveiled the online petition.

“This is not about us, this is about all of Georgina and anyone who comes, and has been coming here for years, to fish, sit by the lake and enjoy a swim, the dock or just the view.”

What MSR has in mind for the property has not been disclosed, but what is clear is that it has no intention of operating a marina, according to the town.

The town also confirmed Bonnie Park needed to be on the table so all three properties could be included in a comprehensive redevelopment plan for the entire area.

“I’m not saying you do it, but you have to look at it because that is part of the puzzle,” the town’s director of development services, Harold Lenters, said at last week’s meeting.

If condos are part of any proposed redevelopment plan, however, the resident group says only a small number benefit compared to the enormity of what would be lost.

“A couple dozen or so owners would benefit from something like condos or townhouses being built, whereas all of Georgina and everyone else who comes to visit this spot, and has been, for years, will lose,” Phillips said, adding there is also a public dock and wharf at issue.

What area residents don’t want is the town looking at the situation as a “cash cow to deal the park,” he added.

“We have a gem here in Georgina. It’s ours. Let’s keep it. Let’s not allow something that will destroy it without respecting the full history and heritage of the area,” Rudd said.

“Once it’s gone, it’s lost forever.”