Not small-town

Dear Editor:

Centre Wellington’s first January council meeting took place on Jan. 21 and the turnout of citizens filled most seats in the gallery.

Congratulations to the Fergus residents who attended and made presentations to the new council voicing opposition to a zoning by-law amendment that would permit the development of a six-storey (yes, six) retirement residence containing 80 units. The owner of the land and builder of the project was not named at the public meeting.

If approved by council, this residence would place a building about the same size as a typical Marriott Courtyard Hotel on the  corner of Strathallan and St. David Streets. This building, topped with the utilities for elevators, etc. will dwarf the steeple of the St. Joseph’s Church across from it and is hardly a good fit for a community trying to retain a “small-town feel.”

Council has a lot of priorities to contend with now. They appear to be listening to citizens while they learn to work from the same playbook.

Let’s hope they learn quickly so developers don’t take advantage of Centre Wellington’s out-of-date official plan, which does not reflect the content of the 2017 Growth Management Strategy and Strategic Planning since 2015.

Eugene Kraemer,

Elora