Springwater Secondary Residential units – Approved!
I congratulate Council on the approval of secondary
residential units on most properties. With the high cost of housing today, this
is an opportunity for new or retiring families to remain on properties that
have been owned by families for many years. Each lot, assuming it can meet the
conditions, such as servicing and setbacks, can have two additional residential
units. One has to be part of the main residential unit and the other in an
accessory building. In either case the secondary units cannot be more than 40%
of floor space of the primary residential unit. If you have a larger home on a
large lot, you can effectively have two units if I stayed under the 1200 square
foot limit in each. However, before getting too excited, if you live in one of
the new subdivisions, there is a 90% chance this new bylaw won’t apply as many new
residential units, being larger in size in new developments, are at the lot
coverage limit. For those that can accommodate these units, remember, down the
road you cannot sever the extra unit at some time and cash in. I have fully
supported this concept and it will provide some much needed housing.
Extreme Off-Road Vehicles on Roads?
Just over a year ago Council approved a pilot program
to allow Side by Side UTV’s and ATV’s on Township Roads. When I was on Council
there was a request to do that and we had a number of open houses on the
subject as it is both a blessing for the riders and a curse for those that live
close by well travelled roads near trail heads. I had suggested a “toe in the
water” approach which was to allow riders to travel from their homes to the
closest trail head, travel to restaurants and gas stations close to trails, but
this Council decided to open it up. I am not sure how it has worked out but I
know there are a lot more ATV’s and dirt bikes on my road than ever before and
most have no plates, travel well over the speed limit and are definitely not
sporting stock muffler systems. What complicated the matter more is there are
very few police patrols in the Township as Policing, except for some speed
monitoring from time to time, is non existence. I know the bylaw amendment is
meant to grant dirt bikes and 6 and 8 wheel Argo type vehicles with the same
privileges as ATV’s, UTV’s and Side by Sides. I think the definition opens a
can of worms. (“Extreme terrain vehicle” means an
off-road vehicle, that, (a) Has six or eight wheels, the tires of which are all
in contact with the ground, (b) Has no tracks that are in contact with the
ground, (c) Has seats that are not designed to be straddled, and (d) Has a
minimum cargo capacity of 159 kilograms). Is
not a dually pickup or an old army vehicle with 6 or more wheels an extreme
vehicle by the bylaw’s definition? This bylaw needs a maximum weight,
width and length definition or it will be a nightmare. The local clubs do a
great job at monitoring and policing their members, but the influx of GTA
riders is becoming its own pandemic when it comes to riding these vehicles on
our roads and trails. I guess we will see what happens.
Federal Budget-Where is the Budget Fairy?
As I predicted a year ago, by the end of this year we
will have in fact almost doubled the National Debt in a short time period to
just shy of $1.5 Trillion dollars. We have also went from a “Debt to GDP” ratio
of around 45% in a slow growing economy to over 100% in a recessed economy. Canada
now rivals the USA in debt ratios. Discussing concern about debts seems to fall
on deaf ears regardless of political stripes. In two years we will have
accumulated what took us 154 years to create in the past. In modern terms we
are taking on roughly 100 years of a typical annual operating deficit in two
fiscal years. I have found no one to explain how this will all work out in the
end and how we can recover. I am shocked at the short sightedness of all of us
in these times of COVID-19. It appears that we are all waiting for the budget
fairy to solve our monetary crisis, because our Federal and Provincial Leaders
seem to have no idea how to do it. I have an idea that stems from the good old
days, before the budget fairy, when you ran out of money. Tighten your belt,
cut your spending, don’t commit to any new spending you can’t afford (paid sick
days, paid babysitting and environmental programs such as a carbon tax), and
then see what happens. I guess that is too complicated!
I have a lot more to say with the changing status of
COVID-19, but will save it for another article. However, I have a question. Why
has New Zealand and Australia been able to control COVID-19 so well? Do some
reading and you will be shocked at the simple approach they took from the
beginning. In the meantime, lets do what we can by Wearing a Mask, Keeping
Physical Distance and Sanitizing and consider seriously taking the vaccine if
you are able. I have followed the Barrie
Meridian Place lockdown protests. I fully support their right to protest and
the peaceful nature in which they have conducted themselves so far. However, if
you want to be credible, at least follow the three aforementioned COVID health
safety practices and more people will support you. By not doing so you become
part of a problem rather than part of a solution.
