We learned a lot on the campaign trail. What stood out was how few residents understood where the power lies in our municipal affairs. Many believe the big issue of the day is who will be Mayor. Will Smitherman be the man who will do what Miller promised or will Ford be the guy who finally gets the job done.
Who is Mayor is important but consider this. Regardless of who makes it to that position, and regardless of what happens to the functionality of Council, there will be many issues confronting Ward 16 constituents that will be decided by the councillor.
That's what happened on Orchard View and Duplex. It took from only May the 20th to July 18th for Karen Stintz to make up her mind and support a 20 storey building that will overwhelm the adjacent neighbourhoods. That wan't very long given all the deliberations communities deserve. The community met only once with the planner and that was only 5 days before he made his final decisions. All along, the local residents believed the councillor was opposed to a 17 storey plan and were taken completely by surprise when she supported a 20 storey plan!
Of course things had all been decided on long before that. That's how they get done under Karen Stintz. The same strategy was used on projects like the open space at Yonge and Eglinton and 1066 Avenue Road.
If you are comfortable in your lifestyle, the local councillor has all the power to change the view from where you live in a very short time. If the local councillor doesn't understand the Official Plan or the many policies designed to protect our neighbourhoods, matters can get a whole lot worse.
Look at what happened at 1249 Avenue Road.
No comments:
Post a Comment