[All] Letter to Editor & how to have YOUR ideas heard re: Strat. plan.

[Louisette Lanteigne]

Hi folks

Two topics covered here. Letter to be published and Strategic ideas: how to submit your OWN concepts.

First off I just got the confirmation that the following letter to the editor that I wrote last night will be published in the Waterloo Chronicle. Here is a sneak peak:

City strategy should focus on City policy

I attended the City of Waterloo's
strategic planning meeting. Group discussion was focused on five
criteria as outlined by the city's guide book followed with a list of
topics as selected by the consultants where the public gives
priority to various issues on a scale of 1 to 9.

People were
visibly frustrated by a couple of the questions due to the double
meanings or uncertain nature of the wording. For example, one
question asked if the city should be more pro active in regards to
the clearing of sidewalks. Some didn't know if that would mean being
more pro-active to ticket senior citizens for not clearing snow or if
that meant the city wanted to take the responsibility to clear city
sidewalks faster. Some of the topics were CLEARLY under regional
jurisdiction such as the mass transit issues but we were told that
the answers we give would help shape the city's views on those topics
which left me wondering why we were not actually prioritizing  policy
of the city's actual jurisdiction. It is the City of Waterloo's
planning strategy after all. Although they added several constraints
to limit public input, in my view consultants should have used those
same constraints to keep their process on topic and relevant to city
based policy formation.

Louisette Lanteigne
700 Star Flower
Ave.
Waterloo Ontario
N2V 2L2
Re: Strategic Plan - getting YOUR concepts heard.

Since the public form regarding the Strategic Plan was limited in scope 
(and at times relevance) I jotted down some  ideas and relayed concerns 
to Waterloo council members directly in the email as seen below. I was very happy to see that Council
 member Durrell responded quickly, saying there were  excellent points and she confirmed she will take the articles with her into the council strat. session. So technically it's not to late to have a say on issues, just be sure to contact your ward reps to share your ideas directly and best of luck! 

Below is the email I sent to Waterloo council and if you like feel free to relay these concerns to your ward reps regardless of where you live. The data is relevant to many communities. 

Have a good one everybody. 

Lulu :0)

--- On Thu, 2/24/11, Louisette Lanteigne <butterflybluelu at rogers.com> wrote:

From: Louisette Lanteigne <butterflybluelu at rogers.com>
Subject: Concepts for Strategic Plan
To: brenda.halloran at waterloo.ca, scott.witmer at waterloo.ca, karen.scian at waterloo.ca, angela.vieth at waterloo.ca, diane.freeman at waterloo.ca, mark.whaley at waterloo.ca, jeff.henry at waterloo.ca, melissa.durrell at waterloo.ca
Date: Thursday, February 24, 2011, 2:33 AM

Dear Council Members



I attended the Strategic Planning Meeting. It was structured with a 
limited scope so I'd like to relay these concepts to you via this email 
instead.



Designing resilient communities during Climate Change. We need to 
update policies to make sure planning processes have regard to the 
various risks we face including the doubling of flood zones and perhaps 
the expansion of well head protection areas to adequately mitigate 
risks. We need the ability to apply these strategies to all plans in 
order to mitigate risk to people and property. We need to make sure that
 projects won't go beyond the design constraints of existing storm sewer
 systems and SWM ponds. Climate change poses liability risks for municipalities. Can we craft policies to circumvent these risks? To view a report on this matter visit this link:

  
http://www.griffith.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0011/48566/urp-ip06-england-2007.pdf 



For a more recent article regarding this matter visit here:

http://www.lawyersweekly.ca/index.php?section=article&volume=30&number=34&article=3

We need policies in place to maintain the function of the natural aggregates. 
For example: Currently gravel permits are issued for pits, but there is 
no permit or studies needed for a developer to level hills on 
development sites even though this can have dramatic impacts on local 
hydrological features and adjacent natural areas. By securing that we 
maintain the function of on site aggregates we can better mitigate risks
 and maintain flow and flow rates to our surface and groundwater 
resources. Adopting city wide aggregate & soil conservation policies would help to mitigate water budget loss and mitigate flood risksWe must approach the province and explore how we can protect the 
ESL from aggregate extraction in order to protect the natural ecosystems
 and water supply.

  The establishment of polices to reduce waste, plastic bags, 
bottled water can be beneficial if applied locally and it can serve to 
raise revenues for the city if a fee is charged on such products and it 
could help to offset waste in landfills.

  Local policy threats posed by Comprehensive Economic and Trade 
Agreement (CETA) should be addressed. How can we secure that our 
policies won't be challenged by international industries who feel our 
policies threaten their business? Can we craft our policies to prevent 
such risks? 

  The University of Waterloo and the University of Guelph have the 
ability to merge tech with farming. Six Nations and the Mennonites have 
generations of sustainable farming practices. Mennonite wells are being 
installed in areas of Africa because they are cost effective, low tech 
and they work.  The U of W developed a solar tractor and have in depth 
knowledge on hydrology and ecology while Guelph is cutting edge on 
animal husbandry and farming issues. Why not encourage them to merge 
their knowledge to create a Canadian institute of Sustainable Farming 
Technologies? Merge wind power, solar, agricultural and environmental 
initiatives together and develop and showcase the solutions the world 
needs to see. We have the farms to test on. We have the talent and 
historical knowledge to work with. We have sustainability guidance for 
businesses in our area with Sustainable Waterloo but no programs to 
extend that knowledge base to agricultural sectors or food production 
yet. Let's make it happen. At this time we need to evolve from strictly 
tech industries for businesses and start thinking of applied tech in 
other sectors in order to secure corporate fiscal resilience in our 
community. Business tech has lots of competition but the world is in 
dire need of sustainable farming technologies right now, especially ones
 that conserve water. Let's look towards innovating in this direction 
instead. If we apply it locally, we'll be investing in the 
sustainability of our own water supply as well. It's a win-win.

  


Thanks kindly for your time



Louisette Lanteigne

700 Star Flower Ave.

Waterloo Ontario

N2V 2L2
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