UPDATE: This motion passed at the Council Meeting on April 14th
Voted in Favour
Acting Mayor Joe DiPaola, Regional Councillor Carmine Perrelli, Councillors Tom Muench, Greg Beros, Godwin Chan, Castro Liu
Voted Against motion
Councillors David West and Karen Cilevitz
What was passed?
1. Support the future of traditional farming by evaluating the current farming situation in the Northeast area of the City through its Municipal Comprehensive Review (MCR) by studying the re-designation of Oak Ridges Moraine Countryside lands around and including the Gormley GO Station MTSA;
2. Request that York Region do the same evaluation during its current Municipal Comprehensive Review; and
3. Provide input to the Province related to the Provincial Consultation on Growing the Greenbelt by requesting that the Province study the redesignation of Oak Ridges Moraine Countryside lands to Oak Ridges Moraine Settlement Area and where appropriate Natural Linkage and/or Natural Core; and
4. Encourage the Province of Ontario take the input from these MCR’s and carry out a proper evaluation of the Greenbelt Policies as provided for in its Question 6 related to “Other priorities that should be considered.”
5. Ask the Province of Ontario to assist wherever possible to link designations and consider collaborative approaches including creating a provincial park to create a linear park system within the Oak Ridges Moraine and Greenbelt.
6. Send a copy of this resolution to York Regional Council, Members of Provincial Parliament (M.P. f Finance, and the Ministry of Transportation.
Under the guise of "support for responsible farming and growing the greenbelt" and the threat of "marijuana crops", Councillor Tom Muench has been sending letters to Leslie/Stouffville area residents seeking support for his motion however the motion says quite the opposite.
The Member Motion that Councillor Muench is bringing forward on April 14th is a request that the Province study the re-designation of Oak Ridges Moraine Countryside lands to Oak Ridges Moraine Settlement Area around and including the Gormley GO Station and where appropriate Natural Linkage and/or Natural Core areas.
This is very similar to the rhetoric that was contained in the Leslie Stouffville Landowners Association (LSLA) recent advertisement in a Chinese newspaper and petition including the threat of marijuana crops taking over the lands. Read CAG post here
The re-designation to Settlement Area will open the lands for potential development permitting a range of residential, commercial, industrial and institutional uses.
York Region Council has stated that "In accordance with Provincial policies, urban uses are not being proposed within the Greenbelt Plan or Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Plan (beyond existing settlement areas)." Click here for more information on York Region's Proposed 2051 Forecast and Land Needs Assessment
Questions to ask Councillor Muench
You were elected to represent the Ward 2 residents so why are you spending all of your time working in Ward 3?
Why are you, an elected official, actively lobbying for a landowner/developer association?
Why are you misleading residents saying this motion is about growing the Greenbelt?
The province and York Region do not support the re-designation to Settlement so why are you pushing this? What's in it for you?
Public Comments: The public may submit written correspondence regarding agenda matters by email to clerks@richmondhill.ca. Written correspondence must be submitted by 12 p.m. Tuesday April 13th.