[getsmart-l] getsmart-l Digest, Vol 37, Issue 25

[John Newell]

I hope you Smart Growth people have noticed that East Gwillembury - the next
Growth Hotspot is on the BEST farmland in Canada aside from the actual
Holland Marsh itself. And the Marsh is directly downhill (runoff) from the
developments. How smart is that?


----- Original Message ----- 
From: <getsmart-l-request at list.web.net>
To: <getsmart-l at list.web.net>
Sent: Wednesday, November 28, 2007 11:00 AM
Subject: getsmart-l Digest, Vol 37, Issue 25


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> Today's Topics:
>
>    1. Aurora entrepreneur finds you green products (Janet May)
>    2. East Gwillimbury poised to be next growth hot spot in GTA
>       (Janet May)
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Message: 1
> Date: Tue, 27 Nov 2007 14:18:50 -0500
> From: "Janet May" <janet at smartgrowth.on.ca>
> Subject: [getsmart-l] Aurora entrepreneur finds you green products
> To: <getsmart-l at list.web.net>
> Message-ID: <200711271917.lARJGo2s067907 at smtp0.beanfield.net>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
>
> From:  http://www.yorkregion.com/
>
> Supplier finds you green products
>
>
>
> Aurora
>
> Nov 27, 2007 12:46 AM
>
>
> By: Joan Ransberry, Staff Writer
>
> Colour Kevin Royce green.
>
> To do his bit for the planet, the Aurora entrepreneur tracks down
> environmentally friendly and health-conscious building products and offers
> them to customers at Eco Building Resources Ltd. at 38 Wellington St.,
East.
>
> "The future of the building industry is in going green," Mr. Royce
stressed.
>
>
> When Mr. Royce found out logs sitting on the bottom of Georgian Bay for
> hundreds of years have been recovered and turned into flooring, he checked
> it out.
>
> It's a form of recycling, Mr. Royce said.
>
> One of the important factors to remember is these pieces of wood, unlinke
> other types of wood, will not be stained or treated with harmful
chemicals,
> he added.
>
> Mr. Royce has been in the building and supply business for the past 22
years
> and is aware of the many harmful chemicals used in the production of
> interior and exterior building supplies.
>
> Environmental threats can be found even in kitchen cabinets and paint
fumes,
> he said.
>
> While green building products are available, they're not always easy to
> track down.
>
> "If I don't have it, I'll find it," Mr. Royce said.
>
> As well as logs harvested from the bottom of waterways, there are paints
> made with zero and low volatile organic compounds, all natural cleaning
> products, LED lighting and home-insulation manufactured from
post-industrial
> formaldehyde-free denim.
>
> As a parent, Mr. Royce is mindful of the need to protect the environment
> today to make sure there is a healthy tomorrow, he said.
>
> His wife, Anna, and sons, Mitchel, 12, and Spencer, 8, share his need to
> clean up the environment.
>
> The Royce family is not alone.,
>
> "People want to go green," Mr. Royce said. "People are very sincere.
>
> "They want to protect the environment, but often they don't know where to
> get suitable materials. As the public and government becomes more aware of
> the importance of environmental sustainability, the demand for products
that
> decrease or eliminate harmful effects will rise.
>
> "I look forward to contributing to the community and the environment by
> promoting products that decrease harmful effect in the world around us,"
he
> said.
>
> For more information email info at eco-building.ca
> <mailto:info at eco-building.ca?subject=Question%20via%20YorkRegion.com>  or
> call 905-841-3535.
>
>
>
>
>
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> Message: 2
> Date: Tue, 27 Nov 2007 14:24:21 -0500
> From: "Janet May" <janet at smartgrowth.on.ca>
> Subject: [getsmart-l] East Gwillimbury poised to be next growth hot
> spot in GTA
> To: <getsmart-l at list.web.net>
> Message-ID: <200711271922.lARJMM1A068696 at smtp0.beanfield.net>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
>
> From:  http://www.yorkregion.com
>
>
>
> East Gwillimbury
>
> Nov 24, 2007 07:15 AM
>
> Planning word of the day as East Gwillimbury in line to be next hot growth
> spot in GTA
> By: David Fleischer, Staff Writer
>
> Location may be the most important factor in choosing a new home, but the
> fact is, few buyers go so far as to look at a town's strategic plan when
> deciding where to live.
>
> But that is exactly what Roberta Fox and Stephen Lawson did before moving
to
> East Gwillimbury two years ago.
>
> "I do strategic planning for a living so it's a very big factor,
personally
> and professionally," Ms Fox said.
>
> Planning is the word of the day in East Gwillimbury as the town seeks
public
> input for its new official plan.
>
> Ms Fox and her husband run a telecom consultancy, Fox Group, and were
happy
> to find a rural community with high-tech infrastructure. If a strong
> cellular network and high-speed Internet weren't enough to seal the deal,
> the 20-year vision laid out in the strategic plan did the trick.
>
> "I think it's controlled growth," Ms Fox said, praising the town's efforts
> to preserve communities such as Mount Albert, Sharon and Queensville
rather
> than seeing them dissolve into each other.
>
> "It's the smart way to do it," said Mr. Lawson.
>
> The couple had been living and working in Markham and looked at nearly a
> dozen areas across the GTA before deciding where to settle.
>
> They are not alone and with the town in line to be the next hot growth
spot
> in the GTA, figuring out how to direct growth is a crucial task.
>
> The town now houses 22,000 residents and almost 7,500 jobs and those
numbers
> are expected to grow to as much as 150,000 and 75,000, respectively, by
> 2051.
>
> The explicitly-stated goal of the new official plan is to make East
> Gwillimbury the community of choice in Canada, with the help of its
> residents.
>
> Town staff are putting a draft together, laying out master plans for
> everything from sustainability and recreation to infrastructure.
>
> "The idea is to try to tie together as much information as we can before
> going back to the public," said Dan Stone, director of planning.
>
> The town sought public input to create a multi-faceted and broad vision.
In
> addition to holding public open houses, there is a section of the town's
> website dedicated to the plan. It includes a form for asking questions and
> being added to a mailing list.
>
> There has been a good response so far, Mr. Stone said, and they have heard
> many voices on many issues.
>
> Among the biggest concerns, he said, is infrastructure continues to lag
> behind growth. Transportation and the environment are also frequent
topics.
>
> He pointed out 75 per cent of the town's land is protected from
development
> as part of the Oak Ridges Moraine and the greenbelt. So the town's rural
> heritage will be preserved, but it also means there is pressure to ensure
> that where development does happen, it happens properly.
>
> "There's always a worry that you are going to unduly influence the
character
> of a village by tripling the population," said James Sullivan, chairperson
> of the heritage committee.
>
> Mr. Sullivan's 151-year-old house, across from the Sharon Temple, is one
of
> at least 300 heritage structures in East Gwillimbury.
>
> There are few protected properties, however, and he said providing
resources
> and building-in new protections will be an important part of the new plan.
>
> "It's going to be a challenge for us," he said.
>
> "We want resources enough to protect the town's heritage ... not just the
> homes, but whole areas," Mr. Sullivan added.
>
> In 2005, the Ontario Heritage Act was strengthened, allowing more than
just
> single buildings to be designated. Mr. Sullivan hopes to see that
> designation applied to areas such as Queensville's main strip.
>
> Designating neighbourhoods as heritage districts is another possibility,
but
> Mr. Sullivan said it is expensive.
>
> The heritage committee met with the town Tuesday and Mr. Sullivan said
> discussions will be ongoing.
>
> He said the town has been supportive of the effort and he hopes more local
> residents will help.
>
> If all goes according to plan, the document will go to council in early
> spring or late summer 2008.
>
> As for Ms Fox and Mr. Lawson, they are now living on 3.5 acres in a 1901
> grist mill they have dubbed "Fox Run" and could not be happier.
>
> "We've got the absolute best of everything," Mr. Lawson said.
>
> While Ms Fox grew up on a farm, the move has still required adaptations to
> the presence of deer and cougars, as well as the challenges of being
> stewards of their local environment.
>
> She has taken a larger interest in the community and serves as treasurer
on
> the chamber of commerce.
>
> She knows not everyone takes the steps she did before choosing a new home,
> but thinks a good plan is a key to a good future and East Gwillimbury is
off
> to a good start.
>
> "I think more and more people are starting to look at strategic plans," Ms
> Fox said.
>
> "People are starting to take a broader view."
>
> For more information about the heritage committee, call 905-478-4282.
>
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> End of getsmart-l Digest, Vol 37, Issue 25
> ******************************************