Ontario Municipal Board(OMB) wants more Urban Sprawl in Kitchener-Waterloo

I would like to start off by thanking everyone who strolls past my blog and hopefully gets something out of it.  This post will push me past 1000 page views, more then I thought I would have after 20 posts. Thanks for taking the time to read.

This past week we learned that the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) over turned the Region’s smart-growth planning policies.  This was reported by Sustainable Waterloo Region.

"The recent decision by the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) to overturn the Region of Waterloo’s smart-growth planning policies has put our community at an important crossroad: to continue supporting an increase in urban intensification or to repeat the failed policies of the past and allow the expansion of outlying suburbs. The OMB decision to open 2,593 acres of previously protected farmland for suburban development limits the economic, social and environmental potential of Waterloo Region. Sustainable Waterloo Region recommends that the Government of Ontario support the Region of Waterloo’s smart-growth planning policies to strengthen our community."

The idea that we have to make future planning decisions based on past events really frustrates me. We have to work to preserve the farmland that surrounds our region and continue to intensify the land we have already covered up.

Our Region is amazing and we have amazing minds and amazing people. The Intelligent Community Forum has named Mike Lazaridis as 2013 Intelligent Community Visionary of the Year.  Mr Lazaridis has been a leader in our community for a long time and we have many other visionaries and leader here in our region.  It is our responsibility to other communities to lead the way in sustainable development for the future.  This is how and why the Region of Waterloo developed the smart-growth planning policies in the first place.  The OMB is dead wrong here and we need to tell the OMB that they need to start learning from us instead of trying to block us.

We have a culture of high thinking and global impact yet 2 of our government run organizations, the OLG and the OMB want to put us back.  I have been a staunch liberal supporter for a long time but this next provincial election my vote may not continue with this current government until they start looking past the length of their noses and start seeing the sustainable future that we and all of our children will require.

Do you support OMB sprawling growth plans? So you support revenue gains from casinos? I support those who produce our food!  I support sustainable methods of revenue collection that do not harm those who need our help! We have to stop this short term thinking and look to the future and believe that we can accomplish it now.  We are an amazing and brilliant community let us bloom and flourish!