Please reconsider this…

Please reconsider this proposal. There are several issues here.

For one, this is sensitive land that brings tremendous benefit to the community. In terms of biodiversity, in terms of fertile soil which cannot be replaced, in terms of natural beauty- this land contributes substantially to quality of life in Pickering, and sustainability of our way of life here.

For another, many people have made our home here and invested our savings to raise our families here because of this land is protected. It is wildly unfair to then rip away these protections for subdivision housing, which is what would be built here.

Finally this land is irreplaceable. The biodiversity and fertile soil, if eliminated here, will not migrate to some other protected area. It will simply be destroyed, irrevocably and totally. This community will lose one of its defining features forever.

Any housing built here will be high-priced homes. I've been working with builder-developers in this area for coming up on twenty years. From a business perspective it will not make sense to build a single low cost unit in this area. This will be purely expensive homes for high-earners with lots of premium upgrades. Building housing here will do absolutely nothing to bring housing costs down, and will not benefit a single family that has to choose between home ownership and vehicle ownership. Anything built up here will be for high-earner families with at least two cars.

Unprotecting these lands means the community pays a huge cost, and we will not gain the supply of affordable housing we have asked for. This is a
lose-lose proposition for the people of Pickering.

I moved here because of these protections, so that my child and future generations can enjoy, appreciate, respect, and steward this legacy. This unique and irreplaceable land was promised to my child, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. How could I explain to my son the breaking of this promise, by the people who know enough not to?

Please find a way to gain the housing units you're looking for in the developed and densifying areas by accelerating the efforts already underway, and please keep your promise to the kids.