<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;" class="">Hi GREN Executive,<div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">I want to keep you in the loop regarding the Regional Official Plan. As you saw in my update yesterday to GREN about the ROP, the final vote is Thursday afternoon and we are expecting that it will be approved with likely a similar vote of 12 to 2 that we saw at the Planning and Works Committee.</div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">Unfortunately, Ian McLean and the Chamber of Commerce has been very much against this plan - advocating for more sprawl and threatening to use their clout at Queens Park to get the Premier and Minister to intervene and override our local planning. This would be disastrous. Regional Staff and elected officials are very concerned and reached out behind the scenes asking for assistance. Once again the incredible Kevin Eby and Mark Reusser have stepped up to the plate and we have spent a considerable part of the past 48 hours drafting a letter to the Chamber of Commerce and the Board of Directors (since we don’t think that Ian has been informing his Board) hoping that we can dispel their arguments and get them to back off.</div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">Attached please find a copy of the letter that has just gone out to the Chambers, and all Regional Councillors as well as the Mayors. It has been a real scramble to get this written and sent but I want you to see it since my association to GREN is referred to in the letter. Please keep this letter confidential for now as we are hoping to keep this out of the media.</div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">Please let me know any questions or ideas and hopefully we will see the Regional Official Plan finally approved tomorrow without any requests for provincial intervention in the days ahead.</div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">Cheers,</div><div class="">Kevin.</div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""></div></body></html>