Oak Ridges Moraine ‘very important’ to residents at open house

June 6, 2014
YorkRegion.ca
Sean Pearce

About 40 people came out to Tuesday evening’s open house at the Whitchurch-Stouffville municipal offices to learn more about and provide feedback on the provincial Greenbelt and Oak Ridges Moraine conservation plans.

Hosted by York Region, the session was one of three slated for June to gather input ahead of the province’s review of both plans, which is scheduled to occur at some point in 2015.

Those who attended represented a fairly even mix between those curious about potential opportunities for development in and around the environmentally sensitive areas and those wanting to ensure the lands in question remain protected, senior planner Sandra Malcic said, adding many of the comments received touched on topics the region is looking into.

The Greenbelt legislation was enacted in 2005 as a way of shielding certain areas, such as farmlands, forests, wetlands and others, from development and urban sprawl, while the Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Act arrived in 2001 as a means of preserving and improving the ecological and hydrological functions of the vital environmental feature that stretches across the GTA and touches eight of nine local-tier municipalities in the region.

Recently, York’s long-range planning director Val Shuttleworth described the pair of laws as being two of the most important since the Planning Act itself.

Generally, the plans should be viewed as successful, although some challenges, such as the managing of fill and providing of infrastructure have arisen, Shuttleworth said.

Allowing for agricultural viability and a strong rural economy and reconciling provincial legislation and interpretation of the policies are also identified as issues, she said, as is the need to permit the development of strategic employment lands along the 400-series highways.

Although she cautioned the finer details will be worked out as the process moves forward and feedback is received from various stakeholders.

Stouffville’s Dominick and Wendy LaValle are two such concerned citizens. Originally from Toronto, they’ve lived in the area eight years and wanted to learn more about the challenges facing the plans and do what they can to make sure both fulfill the purposes for which they were created.

“The Oak Ridges Moraine is very important to us,” Mrs. LaValle said.

“We bought our home on the protected lands, because we wanted to contribute to the stewardship and to ensure the watershed, forests, animals and rare plants are protected.”