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<TITLE>Letter by GREN member in Record today - well done Deb</TITLE>
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Re: <B>Planning battle heads to court — April 4<BR>
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It is disturbing to read about a local planning consultant who represents a number of area developers request that the Region of Waterloo drop its defence of the regional official plan and give into the developers’ demands to destroy thousands of acres of our remaining farmlands and natural green space for old-fashioned, unsustainable urban sprawl.<BR>
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The regional official plan is a progressive one. It has been developed over many years by local citizens, community organizations, municipal/regional staff, and politicians to accommodate growth and ensure that Waterloo Region prospers over the next 20 years. It is designed to revitalize our core areas, improve public transit, and use Smart Growth principles to create balanced, accessible communities that provide a variety of housing and transportation choices, including improved walking and cycling alternatives.<BR>
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Defending the official plan will be a much less expensive and wiser use of taxpayer dollars than spending the millions and millions of dollars required for the inefficient and unnecessary infrastructure that would be required for the servicing of greenfield, car-dependent subdivisions these developers are clamouring to profit from — not to mention the cost to our community with the loss of these farms and greenfield areas forever.<BR>
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The official plan they are contesting provides the Smart Growth solutions necessary for the highest quality of life for everyone in Waterloo Region. <BR>
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It is worth the investment to ensure that our future is determined by our innovative official plans and local citizens — not quasi-judicial courts and developers forcing old-school, unsustainable urban sprawl that we can no longer afford, either in the short- or the long-term.<BR>
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And who pays later? Not them.<BR>
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Deb Swidrovich<BR>
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Waterloo<BR>
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John Jackson<BR>
17 Major Street<BR>
Kitchener, Ontario N2H 4R1<BR>
519-744-7503<BR>
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