Further to James’ “Rambling Man” post, I wanted to supply everyone with the audio I took from the Planning Advisory Committee meeting that night.

I think this meeting, and the developers reaction to a simple, temporary moratorium on greenfield commercial development (read: Big Box), is going to spark a prolongued campaign in support of Windsor’s “Main Street”. Word on the street is that the unfettered access to suburban development that Windsor’s development community has enjoyed to this day is now under scrutiny, and our local independant retailers are fed up. It’s a long time coming, and I hope that whatever city councillor who votes in favour of continuing to support suburban sprawl is prepared to face the wrath of these silent, but increasingly pissed-off, rocks of Windsor’s local economy.

This issue, as most ScaleDowners will attest, will prove to be a major litmus test in establishing Windsor as a sustainable, livable community.  We’re going to need to put aside some time and make this campaign a priority, as it is going to be a long, drawn out affair.  And as an community group that has ever gone up against developers and their lawyers can attest: we are heavily out-gunned!

Unfortunately, the batteries in my field recorder died about an hour and 45 minutes into the meeting, so I wasn’t able to record everything, but I think that if you make it through these two clips you will get a fair idea of how the meeting went.

Clip number one is from the beginning of the meeting, with the Official Plan Review’s Project Manager Chris Aspila fielding criticisms of the reports, most notably from the Development Commision’s Patrick Persichilli.

Clip number two begins the developers critique of the reports, and he offers a long laundry-list of problems they have with “the wording” of the reports.

Hopefully, you can make it through them. You’re lucky I wasn’t able to post the entire 4+ hour meeting! I would suggest that you read through the reports (Land Needs Analysis Report, and Commercial Land Use Policy Report) and then listen to the criticisms offered. The developers and development commission say that these documents scream at potential investors that Windsor is “Closed of Business”. I offer that these documents scream to investors that Windsor is a forward thinking community that is ready to deal with a new, uncharted reality head-on. 

You be the judge…