ELORA – Centre Wellington Mayor Shawn Watters held a town hall meeting in Elora on Oct. 6 so residents could voice their concerns – and boy, did he get an earful.
About 300 people filled the hall at the Jefferson Elora Community Centre, which is likely the biggest number to attend any of the 15 town halls the mayor has held since taking office.
Tourism was the hot topic but it spilled into other related topics such as parking, short-term rental policies, affordable housing and taxes.
Watters had back-up from CAO Dan Wilson, who weighed in at Watters’ request.
“It’s not an easy time here,” Watters said at the opening of the meeting, noting the province has mandated that Centre Wellington double in size.
“We’re also dealing with tourism – we get 750,000 people a year, just in Elora. There is a lot going on in this community. It’s hard to balance these things.”
Watters walked through the crowd with a microphone to take questions, which jumped from topic to topic through the two-hour session.
To questions on housing, Watters said despite approving numerous housing proposals in the township, “no building is going on.”
That’s on the developers, he said, who are cautious to build in this uncertain economy.
He said in his mind, affordable housing means homes in the $300,000 to $400,000 range, and that might be for a 700-square-foot house. Wilson clarified that according to the province, affordable housing is $430,000.
Watters said the township’s strategy is to contain urban sprawl and preserve farmland.
“We’re pushing for intensification. But more supply means more opportunity,” he said.
The township is working on a bylaw to regulate short-term accommodations, which is expected to come to council in January or February, Wilson said.
Many residents noted that long-term rentals are drying up in favour of Airbnbs, leaving the “working poor” with no place to live.
Watters said staff and council worked for a year and a half to determine the new urban boundary and where all the growth will be, but the province hasn’t yet approved the plan.
In the meantime, some developers want the boundary to stretch to include their land and are heading to the Ontario Land Tribunal to make their case.
One woman, noting the new provincial policy statement on housing has been released, asked, “When will we see a cap on growth in Centre Wellington?”
“The provincial policy statement doesn’t cap growth,” Wilson replied. “It encourages it.”
He noted the new township boundary also establishes employment lands, which are also critical for growth.
Some residents wanted to complain about what they called “the elephant in the room” – Kat Florence Canada, the company that has bought up several historic buildings in downtown Elora and restored them as hotels or venues to accommodate tourists.
The company has also run promotional campaigns to attract more tourists to town.
Watters shut down that line of questioning, saying it’s “not cool” to discuss particular people in the setting.
“If we can’t talk about the elephant in the room, there’s no point being in this room,” one man said.
Fergus resident John Mifsud talked about “the appearance of favouritism when the mayor is a stakeholder in the biggest music festival in town,” adding, “It doesn’t help when people try to speak out and the narrative gets policed.”
Mike Nagy retorted, “the real threat to the community is Doug Ford, Bill 5 and MZOs (ministerial zoning orders). But the biggest threat is Bill 5.”
Nagy said Ford thinks the solution to the housing crisis is single family homes.
“He’s killing all attainable housing. Ask our mayor and council to push harder,” Nagy said.
Residents seemed happier to hear the township is working on two initiatives that would see tourism pay for tourism: paid parking and a municipal accommodation tax (MAT).
Residents who register their licence plate numbers with the township will be able to park for free and the MAT tax will be paid by tourists who stay in local hotels or Airbnbs.
Those funds will be used to benefit the community, Watters said.
To a question about public transit, Wilson said the township received a grant from the province and has commenced a feasibility study to determine how to go about it.
The thinking is that a local transit service would connect with the county’s RideWell program and with services in Guelph and Waterloo.
The scope of questions and comments was wide-ranging. Some complained their driveways were blocked by tourists. Some asked for a senior’s centre in Elora.
Many also spoke about the qualities that make Elora so special – the people, the causes the community rallies behind, the natural beauty.
“There’s something very special about Elora. Hearts matter more than appearances,” one woman said.
“I moved here because it’s pretty and I love it,” said another woman.
“We have to solve the problems. We can’t just argue anymore.”
