You’re driving down a back road when you spot a notice. Maybe it’s a whiteboard with the words ZONING, OFFICIAL PLAN, APPLICATION. Maybe it’s a bright yellow sign that reads AMENDMENT or COMMITEE OF ADJUSTMENT. It looks official but what does it mean? You make a mental note to follow up but the next time you see the notice you find that the deadline has passed and a decision made. Soon enough, the notification you first saw is replaced by billboards for a new subdivision, bulldozers, and survey stakes. You’re left wondering how this could have happened within the Oak Ridges Moraine protection area.
We are currently witnessing an unprecedented level of development across the entire Oak Ridges Moraine –farm fields destroyed for subdivisions and warehouse space, forests that are clear-cut for highways and other infrastructure projects that no one wants or needs, trucks dumping dirt shipped in from downtown Toronto, and mega quarries that divert the groundwater that rural hamlets depend on. Are these activities legal or is this another instance where the Province has rigged the process to benefit developers? Is this the red tape being cut to ‘build it faster’ and ‘get it done?’
It’s extremely difficult to tell when a development meets the criteria of the Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Plan or when the protection plan has been manipulated or even disregarded. Every one of the ORM’s 32 municipalities are continuously making planning decisions that affect the moraine, but there isn’t a single body to inform, direct, and provide oversight on those decisions. There isn’t even a way of tracking the cumulative effects these decisions are having on the health of the moraine. It’s the Wild West. Decisions are being made based on power, influence, and money, rather than community consent and ecological integrity.
A new kind of advocacy is needed. We’re launching Moraine Watch as a way for people who live, work and play on the ORM to be the “eyes of the moraine”. Guided by the words of Jane Jacobs, we are one of the moraine’s proprietors, we cannot turn our backs or blank sides on it; we cannot leave it blind. We are asking you, to become our eyes, ears, and if you have the capacity, our voice as we work to protect our common future.
In its first stages, Moraine Watch is an interactive mapping and reporting tool where concerned citizens can report developments occurring on the ORM that are outside town lines (in technical jargon, outside urban boundaries). By using the mapping tool in conjunction with our reporting form, you will be able to identify the area of concern and various other pertinent aspects of the site. After your form is completed and submitted, our staff will review your submission. If your submission appears to violate the ORMCP policies, your submission will be added to our map where we will link all associated documentation. We will then respond directly to your submission with an overview of the issue and present potential next steps.
While we do not have the resources to directly challenge every development on the ORM, the aim of the Moraine Watch program is to document changes in development patterns, share and publicize developments of concern, and support and empower community members to uphold the Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Plan (ORMCP) when and where potential violations arise.
In the coming week, we invite you to join us as we introduce you to the Moraine Watch program. We have invited a series of experts to address the state of the ORM, and field questions, while also serving as a forum to introduce the program and hear your concerns.
For registration details, please click the images below:
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