Town, media have it wrong on Innisfil Heights

There seems to be a lot of misinformation being circulated about the proposed Innisfil Heights development. Your recent comment column, Investing in Innisfil Heights (Feb. 6) is a prime example.

You wrote, "For all the millions of dollars spent on studies ... the three levels of government have failed to link this significant project to its plans".

This is for the simple reason that the Innisfil Heights proposal does not conform at all with the Smart Growth planning principles established by the province.

Calling some fields a "settlement" does not make it one. With gasoline at $1 per litre we should not be contemplating creating a whole new car-dependent town of 27,000 adjacent to a major highway. Nor should we be destroying what little agricultural land we have left and reinforcing our dependence on imported food supplies. Likewise, we should not be extending Barrie's unbroken urban sprawl even further south. And let's not get too carried away about some starry notions of an 'industrial park' solving our problems.

I suggest reading the recently published article 'Our idea of cities needs a rethink' by Glen Murray.

"Now ... the majority of new jobs are not manufacturing but creative jobs in science, technology, design, culture, and financial and professional services," he said.

You ask, "how was this development missed by every level of government except the town?"

In fact, it wasn't missed by anyone. Innisfil was criticized by the province for its attempts to undermine the Smart Growth planning process. Both Barrie and Innisfil councils just don't get it when it comes to planning for Smart Growth. Council members and planning staff in Barrie and Innisfil should be required by the province to attend Smart Growth training sessions before any further planning takes place.

We urgently need a Citizen's Smart Growth Committee to audit the actions of council and developers. Innisfil residents need to be much better informed about the issues surrounding Smart Growth. So far the press, council members, and planners have failed them. We should applaud the town when it get things right but we also need to loudly and vigorously advocate for better alternatives to prevent a repetition of the kind of terrible mistakes that have been made in Barrie. For anyone interested in learning more about Smart Growth, I suggest visiting the Ontario government website and I also recommend the Smart Growth Toolkit. It is free at www.smartgrowthtoolkit.net.
Mike Richard,
Alcona