Developer's Paradise

It's bad enough that the Town Council in Paradise claims that it's "hands are tied" when it comes to the development along Neil's Pond. The trees around the pond are cut to the edge of the trail and it's a complete eyesore. The same is scheduled to happen along parts of the trail around Octagon Pond. But how can the town council say one thing and turn around and do another, especially when it comes to developments that adversely affect its residents? Here's a copy of a story from the VOCM website that details - for the umpteen time - how the council and townhall has reneged on a promise.

Some residents in Paradise are upset with the way a subdivision expansion is going at Karwood Estates. The Bennett family live on nearby Goldfinch Drive, and say that when they built their home in 2003, the Paradise Town Council told them they could only fill their land a limited distance, to protect a wetland.

Today, Bill Bennett says, there is a wall of fill at the edge of his backyard that's about 15 feet high, and he's worried about the height and steep angle of the fill, as well as contamination, mud slides and wildlife habitat. He says they seem to change their mind on a whim in Paradise without consultation. He believes the town council is bowing to the developer.

Rodney Cumby is the chief administrative officer of the town. Cumby says from what he can gather, the wall is not 15 feet high, and that as far as he knows the expansion has happened within approved regulations. Cumby says council always works with the developer and the residents.

"Works with the residents" my ass. You know it's time to turn this up a notch. As residents, we have rights. And in the next municipal election we should exercise these rights and vote out the entire group. They have shown nothing but contempt for residents with the "It's all we can do" defence and bowing to the whim of developments - all in search of the tax dollar. Enough is enough.

A new slate of councillors may at least have the decency to show some respect and work with the town residents.

The A Word

There was an article on municipal politics buried on page 9 of The Weekend Telegram about the possible amalgamation of St. John’s, Mt. Pearl and Paradise (not available online). St. John’s Mayor Dennis O’Keefe says it is “inevitable” that amalgamation will occur although he offers no timeline. He even submitted a map that “clearly shows” the geographical quagmire of Mt. Pearl being almost totally “surrounded” by St. John’s. Mt. Pearl Mayor Randy Simms and Paradise Mayor Ralph Wiseman claim that it’s a dead issue and amalgamation will never occur. For it’s part, the provincial government is taking a hands off approach and has no plans to order any type of amalgamation or annexation as it has done in other jurisdictions across the province.

As it stands now, the idea of amalgamation is – as Simms and Wiseman state – a dead issue for residents of Mt. Pearl and Paradise. Neither municipality wants to give up its autonomy and join a city that has its fair share of budget problems and where amalgamation does not have a great track record. Just ask any resident of the Goulds. O’Keefe, and other residents of the capital, will argue that both Mt. Pearl and Paradise avail of services offered by St. John’s and although they pay for the services, having a centralized seat of government will not only save money but improve service such as snow clearing. Then there’s the argument used by city residents that both Paradise and Mt. Pearl don’t pay as much tax as their city counterparts and are unjustly using town services and facilities without paying their fair share. Some also argue that the brown baggers simply add more wear and tear to city roads. There’s even talk of a tollgate.

I’m against any form of amalgamation – it didn’t work in the greater Halifax region in 1996 – people are still complaining  about the Halifax Regional Municipality – and it’s not likely to work here. And for several reasons. The main one being the perceived deterioration of basic services such as garbage collection and snow clearing. Where would a street in the far reaches of Paradise be on the hierarchy of priorities? If you ask the residents of Southlands, somewhere near the bottom. Residents of Mt. Pearl will argue that their snow clearing is second to none so why chance losing a good thing. Add the fact, that property taxes would likely increase, and you see why the idea of joining the capital is not particularly appealing.

However, while the anti-amalgamation sentiment plays well on the home front, both Simms and Wiseman should have a closer look at own problems – particularly fiscal and infrastructure needs – before pointing fingers at the city. The town budget for the town of Paradise for this year is $21.5 million. It’s what Wiseman called a “good news” budget. Yet, one in five tax dollars goes to pay down town debt. Spread that out over ten or fifteen years, and that’s one hell of an arena, pool and fireball that could have been built. In the article, Wiseman claims that ‘ “It’s time for Mayor O’Keefe to move on and deal with his real problems.” ‘ Sound advice. Perhaps Wiseman should heed his own words. And Simms’ refusal to pay for the upkeep and snow clearing to the extension of the Team Gushue highway, a road that will greatly benefit Mt. Pearl, regardless of what he claims, doesn’t play well with the folks in the bunker on Gower or residents of St. John’s. I suspect, it doesn’t play well with the provincial government either who, up to now, have been strangely silent of the issue.

But let’s face some facts. St. John’s is home to many provincial services, particularly education and health services – all major hospitals are located there. It’s home to cultural facilities such as the Rooms and The Arts and Culture Centre. Neither Mt. Pearl nor Paradise are cultural hubs. They are suburban bedroom communities, which offer, too varying degrees, some government services and basic recreational facilities. But that’s what residents signed on for when they moved there. Although, Paradise is lacking in the latter. Quick: Where’s the cultural centre in Paradise? Down behind the fire hall next to the arena across the street from the pool.

While the appetite for amalgamation doesn’t exist outside of St. John’s, things change over time. When the economic bubble bursts – and it will – the provincial government will face some difficult fiscal decisions. For one, the government cannot continue to spend like drunken sailors. Auditor General John Noseworthy said as much in his report last week. The oil royalties can only last so long and then what? The fiscal belt tightening will begin and monies to municipalities are bound to be cut. If that’s the case, amalgamation may indeed not be a question of if, but a question of when.

Dropping The Ball

Yesterday’s snowfall, our first major storm for the winter, caught many officials off guard. Those who will likely hear - or have heard the biggest complaints - are school board officials of the Eastern School District. It includes the Avalon Peninsula, which bore the brunt of the storm with some places receiving over 30 centimetres of snow. Yet schools were not closed. Adding to that mistake was the fact that many school parking lots were not cleared. Many cars got stuck on school property. Combine these two mistakes and you have a recipe for disaster – and some irate parents. Me included.

Other officials bound to hear a litany of complaints are town and city officials, specifically here in Paradise, but I suspect elsewhere. Roads in town were not cleared. For example, the road leading to the school was not plowed and many cars couldn’t make in up the slightest grades. It was a dangerous situation really.

To be honest, this is par for the course since the town started contracting out snow clearing services several years ago in an attempt to save money. Council likes to take about fiscal responsibility, but at what cost? And just where does all the tax revenue go that is generated by all the houses crammed onto 50 by 100 lots you may ask? To service debt. One in five tax dollars goes to pay down debt. In his Christmas newsletter, the mayor proudly proclaimed that the town spend $525,000 on street lighting last year. He neglected to mention the millions spend on debt reduction. But hey, if they can get away with decisions that may endanger people’s lives, what’s a few bucks? Incompetence knows no bound.

Urban Sprawl

Yesterday, I went for a walk around Neil’s Pond, which is part of the East Coast Trail Grand Concourse Authority. It was sunny and about 3 degrees with very little wind – a nice day to get outdoors. The pond is located close to Topsail Road but has a wonderful trail that cuts through the woods and winds along the water. It has a couple of boardwalks, picnic tables, a boathouse and is home to scores of ducks. It’s a nice, peaceful trek – good for the body and the soul.

However, I was shocked to see that a new housing development has encroached on one side of the trail to the point that one area has been clear cut leaving rocks and boulders bordering sections of the trail. There’s no buffer of woods – just ugly, grey rocks. These will soon be replaced with houses of course, but the houses will back directly onto the trail, almost to the pond really.

I have spoken out against this kind of development in Paradise for many years and have and written about it publicly. I was particularly vocal and critical during the last municipal election and was promised by candidates that things would change and the pace of development would slow down. So much for promises.

I fear that Neil’s Pond will become another Adam’s Pond or Brazil’s Pond, both of which are located in town and both of which are completely surrounded by high-density subdivisions. Both complete eyesores.

Today I will be contacting members of council and the mayor to ask why such a development was allowed to take place. I am willing to bet that this is the only section along the hundreds of miles of the East Coast Trail where trees are being clear cut for new housing developments. What our council won’t do for the almighty tax dollar.

I’ll keep you posted as to which councillors respond and what they say. I’ll also post some photos of the area.

Update #1 Councillor Dan Bobbett has contacted me regarding the trail. He said the it was put on land that the developer owned so there was little council could do. He says he’s as upset about it as other residents. I neglected to ask him if council could have rejected the developer’s proposal or failing that, expropriate that section of the land. It’s been done before in Paradise, just not to developers with deep pockets.

Also, one of our councillors must be vacationing in Edmonton. The hits from there are through the roof. More later.

Update #2 Councillors English, Laurie and Mayor Wiseman have also kindly responded. All state what Councillor Bobbett did, that the developer owns the land and the trail had to be moved. However, I still had some questions and posed them in my reply as stated below:

(via email)
Thanks for the update. Councillor Bobbett stated the same. One question I had however is why the development was allowed in the first place. Also, I understand that it's his land, but doesn’t council have a say in how it's classified e.g. low density, commercial, etc? Could they have rejected the application? Could expropriation of that parcel been an option?

I'm not familiar with the legal ins and outs, but were any of these options considered? Just thinking out loud here.

Update #3 Councillor Willis and the mayor replied (no word from Councillors Burton or Quilty) and it seems that expropriation was not an option due to cost. The mayor stated that the land couldn’t be rezoned and, if council were to try, public hearings would have to be held. Still unsure why this can’t happen for the land that is due to be destroyed for the new developments. As well, the town has a 30 metre buffer between houses and any ponds and streams. I’m fairly certain that the land has been cleared to less than 30 metres of the pond. (If not, it's very close.)

One thing that is apparent is that no matter who I talk to on council, it appears their collective hands are tied and many are frustrated. But with all due respect to those on council, it’s not very reassuring when it appears that landowners and developers can do as they please. This was a contentious issue during the last election campaign and changes were promised. Less development and more green space. And if members of council are frustrated, imagine how frustrated town residents are when they see green space disappearing and are powerless to stop it. If council can’t do anything, what chance does an ordinary citizen have? From what I’m gathering about this situation and the many others facing our town, people are fed up. I suspect, to enact any changes, residents will have to resort to the ballot box come next election.

Teabaggers

Or should that read Teebagers. Last Thursday was the final day to file taxes south of the border. The Teabaggers organized rallies to protest increased taxes under “socialist” President Obama. This, despite the fact that taxes have fallen for 95% of Americans since he became President.

The ultra-conservative, Fox News worshipping, Saran Palin idolizing, Obama hating, fear-mongering dregs of society's primary goal is to force Obama, Congress and anyone who disagrees with them - through increasing threats of intimidation - into lowering taxes. (And it seems, increase the number of armed Americans.) They appear to be having an effect on mainstream Americans – many who viewed them as a lunatic fringe just a few months ago. But like your in-laws, this cast from Deliverance won’t be going away anytime soon.

And they should realize if they are “superior”, they should first learn how to spell it. But some of these people are down right scary.

More scary shit here.