By Pepper Parr
October 20, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON.
The ward runs from the QEW all the way up to Dundas – the municipal boundary. The votes are all clustered south of Dundas where there are constituents who need service.
The problems and the long range challenges for the ward are north of Dundas and in the term of council we are completing John Taylor has been a fierce advocate for protecting the Escarpment, ensuring we never see another quarry and doing everything he can to prevent a highway cutting into Burlington.
While Taylor fights hard to keep a new highway from cutting through his ward – he doesn’t offer an alternative or a fully researched argument on how we manage the traffic and get less of it.
The biggest commercial operation close to the ward is the city owned Burlington Hydro. There is some commercial concentration along the North Service Road between Guelph Line and Brant and some commercial development potential at the Upper Middle Road and Brant intersection plus the property at Havendale and Brant owned by the Catholic Church that backs onto the Tyandaga Golf course. While technically not in his ward – any development of that property would certainly impact ward 3.
Mountasinside Recreational Cdentre upgrade – it is projects like this that keep the voters hjappy – and Councillor TAylor delivered on this one.
In the four years we have observed John Taylor, his strongest position on the economic development file is to keep the Employment lands just as they are and not allow all that much in the way of conversion.
What does Taylor do to make his ward better? We’ve not heard all that much as to what he wants to do in the southern part of the ward other than get a major upgrade to the Mountainside Recreation Centre. It took a long time but Taylor did bring home the bacon on that one. .
The facilities at the Mountainside Recreational Centre and the grounds were totally revamped. Art work will be erected neatr the entrance.
His focus has been on the rural part of the ward where he wants to ensure that it is kept the way it is. Taylor has worked hard on the Mt. Nemo study that he hopes will result in a bylaw that prevents anything urban creeping into that rural preserve.
The Preliminary Study of the Heritage Character of the Mount Nemo Plateau had an upset limit of $200,000 – which was more than many in rural Burlington thought should be spent. For Taylor and the people in the planning department the objective was to determine if the plateau could be made a Heritage Conservation District.
The Preliminary Study of the Heritage Character of the Mount Nemo Plateau was completed by Heritage Consultant, Andre Scheinman and was presented to the Development and Infrastructure Committee on January 13, 2014.
Taylor wasn’t particularly enamored with Scheinman as a consultant but he wanted the study to go forward – which is did.
Councillor Taylor broke almost every rule there was related to Heritage properties – he wasn’t going to let this one get away. It was saved and the grateful owners are paying the piper with his sign.
The work of the consultant has identified that the Mount Nemo Plateau possesses heritage character worthy of recognition as a cultural heritage landscape through further study and possible designation as a Heritage Conservation District (HCD). Taylor was all for this – besides saving the historic Panton house in Kilbride – this was going to be the Taylor legacy. The Panton house was constructed circa 1855-1860 for William Panton, the founder of the village of Kilbride.
While the Air Park problems are not ward 3 matters – whatever happens on that 200 acres will impact all of rural Burlington. Taylor hasn’t been silent on the Air Park problems but he hasn’t been all that vocal about it either.
The votes are between Dundas and the QEW and Brant and Guelph line – is that where the Councillor’s heart is?
He took part in the Open House tour the Rural Burlington Greenbelt Coalition held recently and it didn’t take much to fully understand where Taylor stood on the “illegal” landfill. Many in rural Burlington had hoped that Taylor’s voice would be louder and stronger.
Ward 3 does not have a ward council. Taylor tends to prefer meeting with groups of people, particularly in the rural part of the ward. He meets with people in church halls and makes sure nothing happens in Lowville or Kilbride that doesn’t have his fingerprints all over it.
Link:
FYI ~
Link for Mount Nemo Heritage Conservation District study went ‘live’ just this afternoon: http://www.burlington.ca/mountnemo.
It will be the spot where the Mount Nemo Heritage Conservation District study information will be posted.
… Proof positive that City Hall actually reads the Burlington Gazette!
I have just received, finally, 4 months later, a response from Penny Young, Senior Heritage Planner at City Hall, informing me that the Contract for Phase 1 of the Mount Nemo Heritage District ‘Study’ was awarded to MMM Group (of Toronto), the Archeological Services Inc. (of Toronto & Burlington) and DHI Soil Services (of Kitchener).
This team will, according to Ms.Young, “begin shortly”.
I suggest that Burlington tax-paying residents, above and below Dundas Street, watch this proposed ‘top heavy’ City-led initiative very very carefully …
Good work “Rural Homesteader”. It will be interesting to see if they study/spend to the $200,000 limit.
Hey ~ any chance ‘the public’ can learn NOW who the ‘new’ Mt. Nemo consultant is? I’ve asked 3 times at City Hall and still no answer. Just another ‘passed buck’ to an unresponsive clerk. As far as I understood it, that ‘contract’ for the first part of ‘The Study ‘was to be awarded in the late summer. Yet, still no word.
At present, as it appears, the proposed ‘Mount Nemo Heritage District’ is an expansive high-powered ‘in-house’ City Hall initiative that is not very responsive to either public input, or justifable queries, regardless of a few so-called ‘public consultations’ … By John Taylor’s own admission, the ‘idea’ of the MNHD is to create a future, provincially binding, safeguard to counter aggressive developers rural incursions, and thus, ultimately, save on City’s legal fees when challenged at the OMB. … Please do correct me if this assessment is incorrect.
Open TRANSPARENCY would be very much appreciated.
Hey I haven’t lost my balance in 26 years. The rural issues that I have championed have City wide implications that would have permanent consequences and diminish our presence in the GTA. I have also championed many positive urban area actions to improve our quality of life in Ward 3, the City and the Region. A partial list would include Mountainside Park (Phase 3 opening in December),Brant Hills Community center and Library renewal, Angela Caughlan pool renewal,”shave & pave” road repair,Kerncliff Park,Creekway Village and Post Inn Village Regional long term care homes,SPLIT bus passes and the move to Regional Ambulance service. We’ll know for sure where the real balance is on October 27.
Ward 3 voters and their families deserve a Councillor that will represent both the north and south with the same energy.It is quite apparent from conversations with voters from all corners of the ward,it’s time for a change.Not my words but theirs!