Raise the Hammer

Grassroots:

I personally don't believe there is such a thing as a perfect set of rules/ policies/ procedures etc. that can accomodate every circumstance. There has to be enough flexibility that allows some variance as long as the changes follow the overall original intent for the creation of the "rules". The administration of the "rules" is somewhat dependent on the integrity of the individuals who adopted the "rules" in the first place to faithfully administer them for the intended purpose. I can imagine there are many who will say therein lies the problem.

With respect to the planned conversion of the Centennial and Winona lands there are numerous violations of the PPS and P2G which are both provincially mandated policies. I think on that basis alone one could argue that this council did not create those "rules" so why should we be forced to follow them? For starters - the word chaos comes to mind. Equally significant is the fact that the conversions violate or circumvent numerous principles of Vision 2020, GRIDS, the old Hamilton Official Plan and yes, believe it or not, the just recently adopted NEW Official Plan. The ink is not dry and developers are already finding ways to essentially break the "rules".

The Centennial issue is particularly nasty because there are NO sidewalks and is only transit supported during the summer months. If you choose to attempt to ride a bicycle to this area you are essentially risking serious injury due to the drastic narrowing of Centennial to go under the rail tracks. The list goes on for nearly 11 pages in the OMB submission.

Whether it is these two instances or the planned Aerotropolis, HPD will continue to ask the questions publicly that most of council does not want to address but as residents and taxpayers we should be demanding answers to.

M. Desnoyers
Chair
HPD