Several Oxford villages are also in a 'no-growth' pattern
By
Mark Schadenberg
Some
communities could blame the Koebel brothers (Stan and Frank) and the Walkerton
Water Inquiry, while others will point out that it just makes good sense.
Without
municipal services such as a water supply (metered or not), sewers, a
waste-water system, and citizens willing and ready to pay for all three, many
residential areas will not be permitted to grow in Ontario.
In
the Kitchener and Waterloo area, villages such as Baden and New Hamburg are
growing quickly like ‘bedroom’ suburbs, while a small hamlet like St Clements
can not expand due to a lack of services, plus also the province’s obvious
desire to preserve farmland in 2005 legislation known as the Places To Grow
Act. We must also recall the presence of the Provincial Policy Statement on
expansion of communities which preaches about ‘intensification’ of municipal
centres or building up instead of building out.
In
Oxford we have the same scenario as Innerkip, Embro, Thamesford and Mt. Elgin
have permission to expand their horizons somewhat with new subdivisions, while
Sweaburg, Salford, Curries and Burgessville are defined boundaries not likely
to be modified any time soon.
Read
the story published in the Waterloo Region Record about the St Clements
situation.
I
have always believed that within reason farm land with excellent yields as agricultural
property should continue in this highest-and-best use, but once an ‘official
plan’ for a county changes its zoning and assimilates the property inside the
community than the rules do change. The expansion of boundaries should only be
advanced when necessary, in my opinion. Best example on the border of Woodstock
in the past five years is the developer who thought he could create residential
lots in East-Zorra Tavistock township on the north side of County Road 17
(Tollgate Road) – essentially across from the Woodstock Meadows golf course. It
was always my quiet hope that no one had actually made a down payment on a
chunk of dirt there as they would be deemed a victim of fraud as Woodstock
still has more than 200 residential lots on the north shore of Pittock and I
wouldn’t guess that Woodstock will not expand its boundaries in that specific
area any time before 2025. If and only if there is an expansion, - in my honest
and educated opinion – it would be (could be) for a school for the
neighbourhoods (Sally Creek, Alder Grange, Havelock Corners, Pittock Park Road
etc) on the south side of Tollgate along with commercial uses such as a grocery
store for those folks.
Back
to St Clements, in the Record story it’s noted by village mayor Joe Nowak that
there is a frustration as many older residents re-locate out of St Clements to
move closer to amenities in Waterloo as they age. Also, St Clements has
difficulty attracting young families.
Ontario Law
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From
the Waterloo Region Record:
According to Statistics
Canada, nearly a third of the community's population packed up and left between
2006 and 2011.
The population dropped from
about 1,792 to 1,261.
During the same period, the
number of residents in the Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo census metropolitan
area and Ontario's population increased about six per cent each. . . .
While the village has a
church, school (St. Clement Catholic Elementary School), regional library, ball
diamonds, an arena and other amenities, it is missing one key service: a
grocery store.
The Foodland grocery store
closed in 2014, taking the LCBO with it.
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Ken Seiling
Regional
chair Ken Seiling (similar to our Oxford warden position currently held by
David Mayberry, mayor of South-West Oxford township) had a good quote in the
story, saying:
"The expense of dealing with some of these villages and
hamlets and allowing them to expand without proper services and sewer systems
is both expensive and problematic," regional chair Ken Seiling says.
"That's one of the major reasons why growth is constrained."
Returning
to Oxford, it’s easy to see that the cost of living in the GTA has made homes
more valuable in Guelph and the tri-cities of K-W and Cambridge. In turn,
residents of that area are now considering their options and Woodstock is often
their destination. The large new subdivision in Innerkip would be more
attractive if that community had more amenities such as a grocery store.
Mark Schadenberg, Sales Representative
Senior Real Estate Specialist (SRES designation)
Royal LePage Triland Realty Brokerage
Discussion . . . Direction . . . Determination . . .
Destination
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