Sebringville is threatened with a development that could double its size. What does that mean for Stratford?
The proposed Sebringville development could add over 300 apartments to this small hamlet, and many people aren’t happy about it. The big crowd at Sunday’s community meeting showed no support for the project. Two of the speakers at the meeting had objections that should concern the people of Stratford.
City planner Jeff Henry, of Arcadis, a sustainable design consultancy firm in Waterloo, stated bluntly that the groundwork has not been done to justify the project, which does not comply with the village’s Official Plan or the Provincial Planning Statement, and does not conform to the wishes and expectations of the residents of Sebringville. One of the problems he pointed out is similar to what we may see in Stratford: we need water to run our communities, and we also need it to take away waste. What happens if we don’t have enough water?
Many people would laugh idea of running out of water, but the Sebringville residents didn’t. An informal poll of the audience showed that many had seen dry wells and dry creeks in summer, and they listened closely to Kevin Thomason, who warned that our situation makes us particularly vulnerable:
“We’re not on a major body of water. we don’t have pipelines that a lot of other places have. Most of the GTA, Toronto and Hamilton, Niagara, all draw from the great lakes. Even London; it has one pipeline that goes down to Lake Erie, and another that goes up to Lake Huron. We only have the water that exists withinour boundaries here… the water we have for the future is the water we have today.”
Thomason didn’t talk about Stratford, but we’ve had watering bans. We are concerned about our water. One of the biggest arguments brought forward by residents against the proposed Xinyi glass plant in 2020 was the demand from Xinyi that their huge use of City water not be halted, even if restrictions were put on homes in the City itself. Stratford Council was OK with that. Should they have been?
We don’t want to go all “Mad Max” on you, but it is true that we will be facing increasing temperatures and other environmental problems that will bring increasing demand. We have a growing population and surging development, which will also put more pressure on the water table. We must be prudent with our water, and that means getting serious about development.
It’s just common sense that we should be sure our City is prepared for an uncertain future, and these days many people are less inclined to just “leave it to City Hall.”
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Learn more about the Sebringville issue:
Perth South approves first phases of EA for Sebringville development
https://www.stratfordbeaconherald.com/news/local-news/perth-south-approves-first-phases-of-ea-for-sebringville-development
Get Concerned Perth County hosts community meeeting in Sebringville
https://www.stratfordtoday.ca/local-news/get-concerned-perth-county-hosts-community-meeting-in-sebringville-10102479
Urban planner questions viability of Sebringville development at resident meeting
https://www.stratfordbeaconherald.com/news/local-news/urban-planner-questions-viability-of-sebringville-development-at-resident-meeting
Lather, rinse, repeat!!
The lack of research into long-term consequences is an all too familiar theme with the “powers that be” in this city AND province.
Remember how perilously close the city came to getting sucked in by money-grubbing politicians who thought that turning precious farmland into a glass factory ‘compound’ was a great idea.