Dear Editor:
An open letter to Centre Wellington council.
Thanks to the wonders of technology I was able to attend the public meeting to consider the two rental projects being considered in Fergus and Elora from Vancouver Island. Thanks to Pierre Chauvin for explaining the scope of the projects and to the concerned citizens taking part.
I was extremely upset, angry and hurt following the meeting that my community was not ready to embrace housing for people versus the worship of the gas fired engine and the heritage of the past. One of the presenters referred to “the magic of Elora.” Sadly there are several pressing realities in 2023. Our community has been designated to grow and there is urgency around planning for the costs of climate change. We need rental housing stock in our communities.
This spring, due to aging issues, we have made the decision to leave our beloved home of 50 years for a move to Fergus or Elora. This was also prompted by a medical reality that I am at risk of impaired sight which has the potential to affect my driver’s license.
All of a sudden my reality has changed dramatically. I need a walkable, safe community where I am able to access services, medical care, pharmacy, food, social amenities, library, spiritual community and, maybe most importantly, a place to connect to the natural world by walking, biking or inexpensive taxi service.
To my dismay there is virtually no housing stock to match that criteria. Then I attend a public meeting and two projects would check many of these boxes. But what I heard was largely opposition, with the exception of two speakers.
The opponents to these projects are concerned about height of buildings in heritage districts, and parking. The request for four storeys is to make provision of elevators economically feasible to provide accessible living spaces. Folks, I can not carry groceries up three flights of stairs now and there may be a day in the not-too-distant future that leaving a wheelchair or scooter at the bottom of a stairwell will not be an option. Two speakers insisted that there are spaces to build these rental units where they could effectively “put me away” from the heritage district. Really?
We have young people losing hope about their uncertain future with the climate crisis that we as elders are refusing to address. These two projects do address this issue in a small but very significant way by demonstrating that life without a vehicle is a viable alternative to the worship of the car and the protection of heritage districts.
I am supporting these projects 100% and sincerely hope that our council will support them before MPP Ted Arnott and Doug Ford legislate 23 storeys instead of four in these locations, as they have done contrary to the Guelph Official Plan. Let us give due consideration to those who need this rental accommodation now, not 20 years from now.
Burna Wilton,
Centre Wellington