Dear Editor:
RE: Squeeze it through, Dec. 11.
Tom Szuba was spot on in his analysis of the Danby development. This massive industrial complex has been repackaged many times. It’s been called everything from the “Estill Innovation Centre” to a “prestige employment campus” (with no known affiliation to any educational institution).
A gym, daycare and walking trails do not make us overlook the massive 1,000,000 square-foot facility they wish to build here. That is the size of two Stone Road Malls! It includes a large distribution centre with 36 bays that will bring thousands of heavy trucks and vehicles to the area each day along our county roads. The developer is willing to pay to upgrade the roads but this does not remove the long-term maintenance costs to the taxpayers or address the serious safety concerns that come with all of this.
Szuba is correct: it’s all about the money. Danby is consolidating operations to this one location for cost savings. They paid a discounted price of $299,800 per acre when land already commercially zoned and available in the township and Guelph is selling for over $2 million per acre.
Puslinch residents know this is not for their benefit. The private wells, stormwater management and septic system about the size of a football field puts our water supply and the integrity of the Paris Galt Moraine at risk. We understand how this will negatively impact farmers, the environment and forever change the area.
Big business and sprawl are the antithesis of rural communities. However, both can exist harmoniously through responsible planning by placing industry in properly zoned areas and keeping livestock and residential areas separate.
Government has an obligation to ensure economic growth and prosperity for those they serve. They also have an equally important obligation to protect our drinking water, increase food security by preserving farmland and to protect us from pollution that intensifies the climate crisis.
It’s time for government to stop making decisions that only benefit the wealthy and connected and instead follow established planning strategies designed to support a thriving, desirable community.
Kristina Thompson,
Puslinch