The Over Development of Paradise

Sometimes – many times in fact – I tire of this town. Not of the people who live here, my friends and neighbours, but by the people who run the town. This includes most members on council and some senior staff at the town hall. Many times, residents are left scratching their collective heads at some of the decisions the mayor, council and town planner make. Many ask themselves whose interests the council is actually serving.

Take the development around Neil’s Pond, a once pristine setting, part on the Grand Concourse trail that is now bordered by – you guessed – high residential housing developments. On land that, you may have guessed again, was rezoned. Rezoning – a strategic part of the town’s five-year strategic plan, the one which the mayor proudly boosts. However, it is clearly flawed and the sad part about it, Mayor Wiseman and most councillors are too naïve to see the flaws in the plan.

2800 new housing developments around Octagon Pond? Seriously. This is a pristine, wooded area, ideal for a hike or jog, which many residents enjoy on a daily basis. But it’s going to change. And what’s with all the development? Some people are becoming rich off this with little or no regard for the environment. It’s build at all costs, where the council routinely rezones land, usually to high density residential – seemingly bowing to the developers – for the almighty tax dollar.

And this is its greatest failing. And ultimately will leave to the downfall of many on council today. People are tired of excuses and being forced to have wooded areas in their back yards cut down to make way for 50-lot subdivision on 50 by 100 foot lots. These people have lived here for generations, yet the lives are changed by a vote in council that appeases the councillors and developers.

Take the recent plan to rezone land in the Three Island Pond area that was supposed to be rezoned from rural to rural-high density residential. The backlash from area residents was swift and vocal. And rightly so. The vote to rezone was planned to be held earlier this week. I don’t know what the decision was, but I can hazard a guess. Hopefully, the area residents won this battle.

And why is it that many on council who campaigned to slow development have seemingly turned their backs on the concerns of residents?

With the numerous new developments, and more to come, we are starting to see a housing glut in Paradise. I counted ten for sale signs on my drive home yesterday, and eight had “Reduced Price” on the signs. If council doesn’t see that as a red flag, they are blind.

But what I really fail to understand is how council and the town planner are reactive as opposed to proactive when it comes to actually planning the town’s infrastructure needs. How many times do roads have to be changed after the fact? Take Karwood Drive, which is an extremely busy two-lane road connecting Topsail and Kenmouth Roads. It now has to be expanded to four lanes at a cost of 5-7 million of our tax dollars. Why not do this initially, especially given the fact that so many subdivisions are given the green light. And the present infrastructure cannot handle the increased traffic volume.

The planning is short sighted and embarrassing. It appears - and in politics optics is everything - that developers can do as the please and council will rubber-stamp anything developers want. One thing is certain, if the attitude of councillors does not change soon, many councillors will after the next election