hawthorne villager

Major Changes Coming to Campbellville

Mike Cluett

The last full council meeting a couple of weeks ago went long…very long by some standards.  It was close to midnight by the time councillors, staff and some candidates made their way back home.

There was a public meeting on the Derry Green Corporate Business Park (James Snow Parkway, north to the 401, east to roughly Trafalgar and then down to the creek) but the last part of the discussion came from a motion by Councillor Cindy Lunau to expand the hamlet known as Campbellville.

As Tim Foran of the Milton Canadian Champion outines in his article, there are a few more changes coming to the quiet area of Campbellville.

Changes could be coming to Campbellville

The quiet hamlet of Campbellville could become a little noisier in future due to some changes made by Milton’s town council last week.

An existing no heavy truck prohibition along Campbellville Road, between Milburough and Guelph lines, will be removed, council decided without discussion.

The change is part of the Town’s handover of responsibility for maintaining the roadway to Halton Region, an uploading that will save Milton taxpayers some money.

The Region has indicated it plans to invest millions of dollars to improve the roadway to major arterial conditions in future years.

Council also decided that, subject to necessary studies, it will try to expand Campbellville’s urban boundaries westward.

If the expansion receives approval from Halton Region and the Province, which Town staff indicated is actually unlikely, it would allow for new development in some of the area bounded by Campbellville Road to the south, Twiss Road to the west, Hwy. 401 to the north and the hamlet’s existing boundary to the east.

The last major addition to the hamlet was Bridlewood Estates, a subdivision of million-dollar homes currently under construction.

The motion made by Nassagaweya Councillor Cindy Lunau to expand the hamlet came on the day council was approving its updated official plan following four years of planning for future growth by Halton Region and the Town. The motion passed 5-4. Lunau’s ward colleague, Jan Mowbray, supported the motion while the regional councillor for the area, Barry Lee, didn’t.

“I’m of the opinion there’s a certain critical mass (of people needed) to make a hamlet sustainable,” Lunau explained for her motion.

Mississauga-based investment company TSI International, which uses land banking as part of its real estate investment strategy, owns most of the property included in Lunau’s motion and has been the only developer that has asked for the hamlet to be expanded, Town staff confirmed.

Supporters of the expansion, including Lunau, Regional Councillor Colin Best and Mowbray, expressed concern the motion’s wording was obviously in support of TSI’s request as they didn’t want to be seen to be favouring one developer’s land over another.

Lunau had originally put forth a motion suggesting the Town support minor expansions to hamlets, in general. However, the Town’s lawyer advised council a motion indicating the Town has some idea where it wants to grow would have a greater chance of getting approval from the Region and Province.

TSI’s request was shot down by Halton Regional staff in December, when it completed an update to its own official plan. In a response document released at that time, Halton staff said they didn’t believe including TSI’s 100-acre property in the urban area was a “minor rounding out of the hamlet,” something allowable under Provincial legislation during the official plan update process.

Last week, the Town of Milton’s lawyer told council it was still unclear how many acres would actually constitute “minor” to the Province.

Town planning staff had also recommended against expanding the hamlet. In a June 10 document, staff explained the Province’s Greenbelt Plan only allows rounding out of hamlets if the proposal has been supported by appropriate studies assessing the need for the expansion as well as the availability of water to service the development. Those studies haven’t been done, according to staff.

Prior to council’s vote, Town Senior Manager of Planning Policy Barb Koopmans told council that Halton Region has “clearly advised” it won’t approve the expansion to the hamlet in the absence of such evidence.

That news upset Colin Chung, the planning consultant for TSI. He said after the council session the company has offered for years to do whatever studies are necessary, but never got confirmation from municipal planners.

TSI’s property is approximately 100 acres. The majority are forested and designated natural heritage system, but about 15 acres are rural, including some along the Twiss Road frontage.

Lunau suggested much of the land could be donated to the town for use as trails by local residents.

Local Food Bank Needs Help

Mike Cluett

UPDATE:  3:30 PM

As I hit the doors canvassing this weekend I will be asking everyone I speak to please make a donation to the Salvation Army Food Bank.  You can go to many grocery outlets and drop off a donation in the red boxes located near the exits or you can go to their HQ on Nippissing Road and donate.

I am also willing to pick up any donations for the Food Bank this weekend and it will be dropped off at their location with the names of those who donate.  If you can, please spend a few more dollars this week and help out some local families in need.

Email me mike@mikecluett.ca or call (647) 888-9032 if you’d like me to come by and pick it up for you.

Thanks everyone!

Here is an article in yesterdays Champion regarding the drastic shortage of food at the Salvation Army Food Bank.  They are running very low on food supply to help local families in need.  Summers are usually very slow months for donations and they are looking to the community to help out.

On the Hawthorne Village Forum, local resident Kim (freemantrailfamily) has issued a challenge to area residents to go to their local grocery store and buy some food and make a donation.  I would hope that everyone in Milton can do something to help out.

This coming weekend is Father’s day and lets show Milton’s generosity once again and help out the Salvation Army and the local food bank.  All it takes is a little to help a lot.

Local food bank in desperate situation

Local food bank in desperate situation.

With just three packages of rice left on shelves — and some other essential groceries nowhere to be found — the Salvation Army’s food bank is heading into the summer months in rough shape.

Combine those bare shelves with the fact summertime is when the fewest donations come in, and the situation is looking desperate, said Angela Hunt, administrative assistant with Milton’s Salvation Army Food Bank, which is looking to the public for help.

“I’m nervous we won’t have enough of some absolute staples to get us through to the next major drive at Thanksgiving,” Hunt said.

The difficult financial times and Milton’s ever-increasing population are adding up to place a big strain on the food bank, she said.

In the first five months of this year compared with the first five months of last year, there has been an almost 25 per cent increase in the usage of the food bank, with 541 residents using it this year (January to May) and 435 last year.

Of those 106 additional users, 57 are kids.

Over the past three weeks, the amount of food given out has been reduced, and further reductions seem likely, Hunt said.

She’s hoping residents will take the matter to heart, pick up an item or two each week when they go shopping and leave them at the pantry drop-off boxes located inside most grocery stores in town. Food can also be dropped off at the Salvation Army’s office, 100 Nipissing Rd., unit 3.

“People seem to think they have to do big things — but one can once a week would make a difference,” Hunt said.

If just a quarter of Milton’s population picked up one item each, that would mean more than 20,000 food items, which would go a long way toward filling shelves and meeting the needs of those who’ve fallen on hard times, she said.

Items particularly needed include peanut butter, tuna, rice, cereal, juice and kids’ snacks (juice boxes, granola-type bars and pudding). One item not needed is soup.

Donations tend to die down in the summer months, Hunt said, because schools — which often do fundraisers — are closed, churches go into summer mode and people who regularly contribute leave for vacation.

Although we hear in the news the economy is recovering from the recession, the people who use the food bank — ranging from single-parent families to two-parent families to singles — are still struggling, Hunt said. For more information on the food bank, call (905) 875-1022.

Town Council Approves MAJOR Growth Plans

Mike Cluett

Here is an article written by Tim Foran of the Milton Canadian Champion outlining details on the changes to Milton’s Official Plan.

In his article he mentions a local resident Michael Fox that I referred to in my Communication post recently.  Also he refers to comments that resident Steve Camilerri made regarding the benefit of Milton Transit, the new route for his area in September and how council should focus on its growth.

Town council approves significant growth plans

The future is written but the book may need some revisions.

Milton council Monday night signed off on two secondary plans that will guide the last phases of residential and employment growth originally designated in the Town’s 1997 Official Plan.

It also endorsed an update to that same official plan. The document now includes new ‘smart growth’ policies that will govern areas of future growth from 2015 to 2031.

By that time, Milton is projected to be a community of almost 240,000 and its urban fabric will stretch to Hwy. 407 in the east and Lower Base Line in the south.

Council unanimously approved all three plans. However, planning staff indicated Monday there’s a long list of future studies that still have to be completed including assessing the price tag for the infrastructure necessary to accommodate future growth. Those studies will likely result in tweaks to all three plans before Halton Region, the municipal planning authority, gives its stamp of approval.

While much planning is left undone, it was still imperative council approve the three plans Monday, according to staff.

The Province had set a deadline of June 16 for lower tier municipalities such as Milton to update their official plans to conform to legislation enacted earlier in the decade, such as the Greenbelt Plan and the Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe.

Milton’s new official plan also had to be brought into conformity with Halton Region’s December update to its own official plan, ROPA 38, the result of the Sustainable Halton planning process.

But there was no such such deadline for Milton to approve the two secondary plans, one for the Boyne Survey residential area to be built south of Louis St. Laurent Boulevard and another for the Derry Green Corporate Business Park destined for the area east of James Snow Parkway.

However, staff reports said the two plans must be completed by June 16 so that developments in the Boyne and Derry Green areas would be “grandfathered” and governed by the policies in the 1997 Official Plan rather than new less development-friendly ones contained in the updated official plan.

Those new policies, first outlined in Halton’s ROPA 38, could “potentially impact (the) feasability” of development in the Boyne and Derry Green areas due to their requirement for higher densities and the application of an enhanced natural heritage system that includes links between key natural features, stated staff reports reviewed by council.

The new policies also require all players at the table — the local municipalities, school boards, developers and the provincial and federal governments — to agree on what infrastructure is necessary to support “complete communities” and provide evidence the money is in place to build it, so that taxpayers don’t take the hit.

Municipal planners have said they expect these ‘growth must pay for itself’ policies to be challenged at the Ontario Municipal Board as soon as the Province signs off on ROPA 38.

Council didn’t discuss the decision to grandfather the two secondary plans. However, the Town’s consultant said after council it’s common practice for developments to be governed by the policies in place when they first began.

“Is it fair to change those (rules) in midstream?” asked consultant Elizabeth Howson rhetorically.

The policies in the updated official plan were applauded by local resident Steve Camilleri, who said he appreciated the focus on intensification and smarter development.

Camilleri, who lives near Derry and Holly roads, said he has lived in his community for four years but will only be getting a bus route this September.

Though he said he’s thankful to get it, he supported the municipality’s efforts to get transit on track quicker in the future.

“The answer is public transit and it needs to be looked at as an asset,” said Camilleri.

ROPA 38 policies require municipalities to have a plan in place to provide public transit to new subdivisions as they come on stream.

Another delegate to council took a dimmer view of intensification. Michael Fox, a resident of Frobisher Boulevard, petitioned council to reduce the heights allowed in the official plan for the section of Main Street in front of the GO Train station.

The plan allows the north side of Main Street across the street from the GO station, between Ontario Street and Thompson Road, currently occupied by low-rise commercial and industrial units, to be redeveloped into four-storey buildings, with potential for a maximum of three more storeys through typical bonusing provisions. Immediately adjacent to the GO Station, the plan allows for 10- to 14- storey buildings.

Fox said 72 of his neighbours, more than half of whom have pools, could be affected by shadows of buildings of that height.

However, Town staff responded the four-storey limit and the bonusing provisions haven’t changed since the 1997 Official Plan.

“To take away what is currently permitted without justification would be problematic,” Barb Koopmans, Milton’s senior manager of policy planning, told council.

She added developers are required to do a shadow impact study when filing their development application.

Through the site plan approval process, staff can mitigate any potential impact by buildings higher along the edge of Main Street but “step down” at the rear of the lot, she added.

Ward 4 Councillor Paul Scherer pointed out to Fox the original heights proposed the Town’s intesification background study called for buildings of six to eight storeys opposite the GO Station, which was ultimately dismissed in favour of keeping the status quo.

“I think we’ve done a reasonable job of protecting the neighbourhood,” said Scherer.

Ward 1 Councillor Rick Day was absent for the four-hour session as he was away on business, Mayor Gord Krantz said.

Communication

Mike Cluett

Last night during the council meeting … that almost broke the midnight barrier … there was an interesting discussion that came up.

 One of the delegations Michael Fox who lives in an area just north of Main Street and east of Thompson brought up some concerns about intensification and the heights of buildings to be constructed along Main.

 The main concern he brought up was the fact the residents in the area that will be affected by these changes haven’t been informed of public meetings and left in the dark.

 Town staff brought up the fact they advertise in the Champion extensively about these meetings and signs are erected as well informing residents of the potential changes.  They also advertise on the Town website as well.

 What can be done to help this?

I don’t think there is one solution to this problem but one thing that comes to mind is the 11 people surrounding the council table.  If there is something that is going on, changes to zoning, new development etc that will affect a certain area, councillors have a responsibility to get out and do what they can to inform residents and gather public opinion.

Over the past couple of months, on weekends and some week nights I have been able to knock on many doors and drop flyers for my campaign.  I don’t say it to impress people but I want to impress upon councillors that it doesn’t take a lot of effort to reach people.  Flyers can be relatively cheap to produce and possibly can be expensed and in an afternoon or over a weekend you can quickly drop these flyers to households.

You don’t even need to have flyers made, just an effort to contact people. 

“Hi my name is _______ and I’m the councillor for this area.  I don’t know if you know this but there will be a public meeting on _______ about possible changes to zoning”  or whatever it might be…

If they can’t make the meeting, ask for an email address (as most people have at least one) and say I’m setting up an email list to let everyone know what’s going on.

Using other tools like social media is just as effective.  When I ran back in 2006 there were very few candidates with websites and even fewer with blogs.  Thankfully now, the number of candidates in this election with websites and blogs has increased dramatically.  Some don’t use them as effectively as they should.  Twitter is another way of getting short messages out to the public.  I’ve found recently that “tweeting” during council meetings helps people understand the process and keeps them informed.  It’s such a good idea that even other candidates are doing it now.

The beauty of this “new” technology (it’s not really new anymore but new to some people) is that most of its free.  It’s free to get a Facebook account…its free to get a Twitter account and so on.

The town has its limitations to what they can do to inform people of upcoming meetings.  Not everyone reads the Champion from cover to cover and the local media doesn’t really do an effective job being proactive when it comes to these things.  They normally report on them after the fact and when people read it, they say “why didn’t I know about it”

I don’t want to over simplify this and I’m sure I’ll have some incumbent councillors email me and say “that’s nice to say but wait until you’re elected and you have to do it.”

To them I say “bring it on” I’ve had a lot of comments from people in Ward 6 saying “why are you out so early?”  I tell them this is something they can come to expect of me as their councillor.  I plan on direct contact throughout the term of council, not just during the election campaigns.  I can’t count the number of people who don’t know who the councillors are or who they voted for last time.

If councillors really want to represent people they have to think outside the box when it comes to how they can stay in touch.  Corporations over the last couple of years have really taken to social media as a way of advertising.  How many people who are on Facebook are “fans” of something whether it is the Milton DBIA or Chamber of Commerce or COKE or Pepsi? 

For instance, I got regular messages from the Milton DBIA about the Street Festival, how I could volunteer, when things are happening, schedule updates and everything else going on that day.  They used the tools effectively and got the message out.  In fact many candidates (including myself) have a “FAN” page on Facebook (go to www.mikecluett.ca and click on the Facebook logo on the right to join 😉 ) and this means those who are on that list get campaign updates, and comments from other fans about that particular campaign.

These things can be used as effective communication tools and combined with old fashioned “feet on the street” door knocking, websites, blogs, Twitter, Facebook you can help enhance interactivity between local government and the taxpayers.

It takes a little effort to get things going and it won’t be an overnight solution.  But at least it’s a bit more than an ad in the Champion, and something posted on the Towns website.

Speaking of direct communication, I’ll see you at the doors.

New Magnets On The Way

Mike Cluett

In my last election campaign in 2006, these fridge magnets proved to be quite useful for many residents in the ward.  In fact, there were a few people who continued to email me over the last 4 years with questions and concerns about municipal issues. 

I would always ask, how did you get my name and number?  From the magnet I received…its still on my fridge!

Keeping with what was successful, I made a few changes and modifications and they’ll be ready to go this week.  Email me mike@mikecluett.ca if you would like one. 

Until then, I’ll see you at the doors.

Honking and flag waving

Mike Cluett

The sun is setting pretty late in the night these days with some sunlight lasting until well after 9pm.  Coupled with the extra sunlight and the end to the NHL playoffs, this gives me an opportunity to hit a few more doors than I normally would.  I’ve also noticed that while door knocking the last few days, I have been followed by a number of wild bunny rabbits.  I’m pretty sure thats a good thing so I am now known as the “Pied Piper of Rabbits” in Milton.  Lucky rabbits feet following me.

You can tell its World Cup time by the sheer number of flags that are on peoples cars and hanging from porches around the ward.  It goes to show that Milton has become, and will continue to become very diverse in the backgrounds of its residents.  Having all these flags flying around is challenging my knowledge of the countries involved but I’m sure I’ll get it as time goes on.

As I walk down the streets in our ward, I get a chance to speak with many of you about issues that are important.  Between stop signs and crosswalks at intersections, speeding down our streets and concerns of a tax levy for hospital  funding, Miltonians are trying to get informed.  I’ve even had a few people honk and wave from their cars screaming “HEY MIKE” (Rick, you’re not the only one!)

Many of the people I speak with visit the highly popular Hawthorne Villager website to try to get as much information as possible.  The hospital is of a big concern seeing how it has been in the local papers recently and there’s some confusion as to what Milton as a town can do to move that process forward.  If our hospital is to expand, it relies solely on the whim of the provincial government.

Recently, due to increased budget constraints (ie an almost $30 BILLION  deficit) the Province of Ontario has frozen any further capital projects until 2011.  At a recent council meeting, John Oliver from Halton Healthcare Services made a presentation in which he stated that even if the province gave the project its blessing THAT DAY, we are several years away from shovels in the ground.

With this coming election, you are going to want to elect someone who understands the issues we face in Milton; one who is ready to speak out for Miltonians and put even more pressure on the provincial government to get them to realize that Milton, Canada’s fastest growing municipality for a few years running, is in dire need to access required medical procedures.

The Town of Oakville just has a new hospital approved and work will be beginning soon on that project.  Having another hospital so close to Milton will definitely help improve access to health care services for Miltonians but more is needed.

This will not be resolved overnight.  Milton Town Council as well as Halton Regional Council have to put pressure on the province of Ontario to get this project started.  There are many factors involved as well with possible changes to the LHIN (Local Health Integration Networks) and how they are organized.

I was speaking with Stuart and Carrie on Clark Blvd last night and they also brought up their concerns on when Milton District will get its much needed expansion.

I’m sure the daylight will get shorter in the days and weeks to come, so I’ll be doing my best to get my flyers to everyone in the ward.  I’m just over half way done the first round and my goal is to hit every door at least twice before October 25th.

Many thanks goes out to everyone who has pledged their support and vote in October.  As the campaign rolls along, I will be getting lawn signs ready for you.  If you would like to donate to my campaign, please visit my DONATE page.  Any donation is helpful and will go towards the printing of my flyers, lawn signs and other campaign related items.

Most importantly I hope that you come out and vote on October 25th.  Last election there was roughly 25% of residents in the area that voted, which is quite low.  I’m hoping it improves this year for sure.

Until then, I’ll see you at the doors.