Today I presented again to WECEC about my position on rezoning agricultural land to commercial with no population or job growth.

I have attended two meetings where the chamber maintains that they do not want the planning department to change the intent of the Commercial Land Use Policy. That they only want some of the wordings changed.

However that is not what their adopted policy says that is on their website. A policy that was voted on by their board. Now there was the chance that they could changed positions, however, that is why I presented to them asking them to rescind or change this particular policy before Christmas. They told me they would take my request to the executive the next day. Well its a new year and the policy still stands. Here is the most disturbing part of the policy

Chamber Recommendations:

Include single long-term planning horizon for all development categories (residential, employment and commercial)

Consider the widest possible scope for future development without restriction

Untie commercial and employment development from residential growth

Provide clear and non-prejudicial way of assessing all business plans regardless of desired location

Where more commercial development is desirable the City should encourage or provide incentives for such development to occur

Do not prohibit or restrict business development by the virtue of the Official Plan

Welcome future development that makes business sense, not only planning sense.

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The chamber says I’m misrepresenting their position. Let me get this straight

How else could you interpret the line

‘Consider the widest possible scope for future development without restriction”

or the line;   “Untie commercial and employment development from residential growth”

My position is that just like they want the planning department to write down their true intentions specifically, the Chamber of Commerce should do the same or be found hypocritical. As long as they have that policy posted then I don’t trust their true motivations as to why they want the planning department to make wording changes.

Well its off to Jan 25th

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THe following is my rough presentation to WECEC about the environmental impact of unrestricted commercial development that the chamber’s policy recommends

I am here today to speak to you about what should have been the routine adoption of supporting documentation to Windsor’s Official Plan Review

The two documents concerned are the Land Needs Analysis report and the Commercial Land Use Policy. These documents contain recommendations based on a significant amount of work and research by Urban Metrics and Dillon

I would hope the City would have simply adopted these reports as is but there are groups of people who want changes made to them. Lawyers for developers P.A.C. requesting changes to this document in a manner so outspoken that apologized were required conduct on CBC the next day. The documents I show you are being called “Anti Business” and “Anti Development”. The Windsor Essex County Chamber of Commerce has adopted a policy opposing these documents as written and made the following recommendations

Chamber Recommendations:

- Include single long-term planning horizon for all development categories (residential, employment and commercial)

- Consider the widest possible scope for future development without restriction

- Untie commercial and employment development from residential growth

- Provide clear and non-prejudicial way of assessing all business plans regardless of desired location

- Where more commercial development is desirable the City should encourage or provide incentives for such development to occur

- Do not prohibit or restrict business development by the virtue of the Official Plan

- Welcome future development that makes business sense, not only planning sense.

Lets be very clear about the consequences of what the chamber is asking for, with no population growth and no employment growth, any new commercial development on the fringe of our city must take business away from current commercial bldgs. Windsor currently has the highest commercial vacancy rate in Canada.  We will create further decline in our current main streets (BIA’s) and commercial corridors. This will cause

1. decimating the best potential we have for walkable sustainable communities. “Big Box” stores threaten our landscape, our communities and the environment by building on the fringe of town, paving vast areas for stores and parking lots, and undermining the economic health of existing downtown shopping areas.
2. Big Box retailers typically develop stores at the fringes of towns, which are accessible mainly by driving and often result in increased traffic. The huge service area for a supercenter draws customers from long distances, and places significant stress on regional road and freeway systems. More traffic on the road contributes to air pollution, water contamination, and the demand for more roads and development. The biggest effect we have on Climate change is Vehicle miles Travelled VMT. (basically cafe standards and other environmental gains have been nullified by increases in VMT). Contrary to stereotypes an owner of a Hummer who lives in a walkable neighborhood near work is MORE virtuous than a prius owner who drives all day long. (Not that I recommend Hummer ownership.)
3. In addition to the number of stores that exist today, Big Box has blighted our national landscape with hundreds of empty store shells and thousands of acres of unused parking lots across the country. [The surest way to create a Ghost Box or vacant big box is to allow a building permit for a newer larger one]

Look its bad enough that these reports are based on population increases that we now already know are absurd. The few years since the studies were releases have shown population stagnation and even reduction rather than the bizarre and outrageous projections that see Windsor’s population growing 250,000 by 2030.

THE ASK
Based on this I am asking WECEC to advise city council to adopt the two planning reports worded as of September 2009 with no changes

I also believe WECEC should advise the city to adopt policies based on the recommendations contained in these reports as quickly as possible and to ensure all tools available to restrict poorly planned growth are used.