Get out and vote

by Shawn Lackie

We live in a democratic society, fought for by generations past. People gave their lives to ensure we could express ourselves, both in word and in how we vote.

I know, what does THIS have to do with Real Estate. Well, it could be significant. Over the past few years, Scugog has been exposed to one proposal for development after another. None of these addressed what the area really needs. That would be, affordable housing for young families, seniors and all those in between.

Developers tout, they have the best plan and want to push it through planning. The plan usually includes low income or affordable housing, in the form of townhouses and semi-detached units. So my question is, “Where are they?”

More homes have been built in town in the last five years, but I have yet to see any which could be considered affordable, and almost none which would appeal to seniors, or first time buyers. Again, where are they? There was talk, townhouses and the like would be included in the new builds, by the Legion, but they mysteriously did not appear.

It’s too bad the former head of planning is no longer here. He had the resolve to question some of these proposals, and I guess it didn’t sit well with either the Township or the current council. Too bad really, because he had a really good handle on both the short term and long term visions for the area, as well as some kind of idea what was going on with King’s Landing. That site has become an enigma, all on its own. We are well over ten years, and the site has become a monumental eye sore.

So, instead of avoiding the issues surrounding new builds in the area, it should be incumbent on the candidates to give voters an idea of what they have in mind. To date, that has been sadly missing. Careful planning takes time and insight and shouldn’t be looked at as an easy cash grab.

Sorry, but I also don’t buy the excuse, it creates more tax dollars for the Region. What DOES create increased revenue, would be, having more businesses and industries relocate here. That creates a whole different scenario and, at the same time, should ease some of the burden on home owners. Also, it would be good if, when they do approve these new plans of development, the builder is held to actually doing what they said they would. I get it, once they see the return on their investment as being more lucrative, with a 3,000 square foot monstrosity on an 80 foot lot, instead of a semi or a townhouse, you can see why they change course. Except that’s not what was promised. There's an obvious breakdown between the two.

So, we, as voters, have to ask ourselves AND the candidates, just what does your plan look like for the coming years. Too many people just look the other way and hope the problem will solve itself. It rarely does. Just take a long look at where we have been heading the last four years. Enough said, on that.

Feel free to check out this story and more on my blog site, at https://slackie14.wixsite.com/buy-sell-and-more.