Residents treed off
By Chris Simon

Alcona resident Karen Scaife stands in front of her neighbourhood's town-owned forest Saturday. The town is attempting to sell the land. However, homeowners worry the property may be sold to developers.

About 20 residents from a small Alcona neighbourhood worry a nearby patch of forest currently owned by the Town of Innisfil could be sold to developers.

The property, a 200 by 300 foot stretch of land, is up for sale, and will likely be purchased soon. The town has deemed the property surplus land, and too costly to maintain.

Eight residential properties along Alderslea Crescent and Park, Florence and Merret roads back directly onto the forested area. However, several other homes in the neighbourhood would be affected if the property were sold. Neighbourhood residents worry the forested area would be purchased and developed into several homes, ruining the beauty and tranquility of the area, says resident Karen Scaife.

"We don't want cookie cutter homes there, it would affect the look and peacefulness of the neighbourhood. With the growth that has erupted in the Alcona area, the ambiances of such uniquely individual neighbourhoods such as this are slowly dying," she said. "We can't stand in the way of progress, we understand that. But how we progress is important.

"We really have to sit down and come up with a plan, because we're running out of time. We have to come up with a plan that will give us some degree of comfort."

The group met to coordinate a bid for the purchase of the forested area Saturday. The town wants a minimum total of $61,000 for the property, which is divided into six seperate parcels of land and a 10 foot stretch of easement.

Groups have until Friday to bid on the property. Town staff will then prepare a report on the land bids for council, and a decision on the sale of the property will be made sometime after that, said the area's councillor Rod Boynton.

"The town is saying there's a minimum bid, but it could be more," he said, addressing the group.

Innisfil mayor Brian Jackson said council will take several factors into consideration, including resident concerns, when selling the property.

"The process started because the land's been declared surplus, we don't need it anymore. It's a maintenance issue, we can't get in there to maintain it," he said. "This is the normal process in our municipality. The bids will come in, council will look at the report and evaluate it.

"We'll take into consideration the public interest when making a decision, we've done it before."

The property is currently zoned as protected land, meaning a developer would have to apply for rezoning through the town, before anything could be built, said Boynton.

"The land is currently zoned for open space, and the uses are very limited. Nothing can be done to those trees without a proper study and survey done first," he said. "It's a gorgeous piece of property, gorgeous trees in that area. It's an asset of the town, and they're looking at turning it into revenue."

However, residents worry they will be outbid.

"It's in an old part of town, it's been there for I don't know how long, and the town is making plenty of money from other developments," said resident Robert Marini. "I don't see why that parcel of land can't be left as is.

"It's just a bunch of trees. I'm afraid a developer's going to snatch up that property."

Residents also say they were not given enough time and information about the sale to make a large bid.

"A lot of people here felt they were not given the chance to properly put together a bid," said resident Joel Garcia. "Not too many of us can even afford to bid (several thousand dollars)."

But the sale was advertised in several local newspapers, and residents were given information packages through the mail. The town gave the legally required amount of time for the bid process to take place, said Boynton.

"All the legal notices were done, the landowners received their packages," he said.