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HomeMy WebLinkAboutP-101-80 r CORPORATION OF THE TOWN OF NEWCASTLE PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT D.N.SMITH,M.C.I.P.,Director HAMPTON,ONTARIO LOB 1.10 TEL. (416)263-2231 REPORT TO THE PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE MEETING OF JUNE 9, 1980. REPORT NO. : P-101-80 SUBJECT: Newtonville Hamlet Development Plan Correspondence Received File: 3.10 BACKGROUND: On May 16, 1980, staff received the attached letter from Mrs. V. Shead. The subject letter expresses a number of valid con- cerns about the recently revised hamlet development plan for Newton- ville. COMMENTS: Staff have replied to Mrs. Shead's letter, outlining the pre- sent status of the hamlet development plan; and respectfully request that the Committee take these concerns into consideration when the Newtonville Hamlet Plan again comes before the committee for discussion. RECOMMENDATION: That the Planning and Development Committee recommend to Council that Report P-101-80 be received for information. Respectfully submitted, TTE:lb D. N. Smith, M.C.I.P. May 20, 1980 Director of Planning Mrs. Val Shead R.R. #1 rFyy 0 NEWTONVILLE, Ont. h LI-fliT FP 1 A May 15, 1980 Mr. Don Smith Planning Director Town of Newcastle Dear Sir: This letter is in reference to the article about growth for the Newtonville area in the "Newcastle Independent" of Apr. 3oth. I had heard about this development scheme some time ago but did not think it would even reach Council, let alone the Province. One would have thought that building of over 200 housing units in a village the size of Newtonville might have been feasible had Wesleyville been developed. I don ' t know whether our reps at the Durham Region have -noticed that this project has been scrapped , therefore there is no real need for more housing in our area . We have houses for sale at present, some of them for as long as two years. So what makes the powers that be think that people will move into those extra houses. Sure, it is nice to live in the country, but has anybody worked out the cost? I have heard the argument that we are living very "cheaply" in the country so often that I just ignore it now. When the Region talks about the Town of Newcastle, I wonder whether they know the boundaries of the area. Seems to me they always talk about east of Newcastle village. I doubt they know that it goes to east of Newtonville. Apart from being one of the areas with the highest tax rate, we have to pay more for fire insurance, automobile insurance, hydro and telephone. Who would want to pay more for all those services and live on a lot equal to or just a little bigger than city lots with all the extra services provided . And why would the people in the community who have had to put in their own water and waste disposal want to pay for storm sewers and comnunal water systems? Most of the residents of the Newtonville area are so wide-spread over the country-side such a system would not reach them anyway, but the Town would ask them to pay for some of the installation. I have been trying to find out what the original residents of Newtonville think of all these schemes the "townies" are trying to get them into. I still have -not made up my mind as to whether they agree or disagree as it is very hard to make them state an opinion, probably not wanting to offend anybody. Councillor Clarke wants to "get something moving" in the village. Maybe they would like to get him moving! The village of Newtonville has always been on the map and I for one would like to see the plac_e enlarge slowly: in time, with natural growth. For the life of me I do not see why we -need another bed-room community. If you want to make things move, let ' s bring in some industry to the Newcastle area first, then think of building houses. - 2 - One minute we are not allowed to build on less than 40 acres in our township, the next minute we are told about this hare- brained scheme. When we built in 1969 we had to build on a minimum of 10 acres. We did not want 10 acres, but had no choice. But, seeing that we like the country, we had to conform. I doubt that you will find anybody in our area who built fron choice, who would not willingly do without all the extras that seem to be demanded in towns. All we would like the Council to do is look at our area realist- ically and keep our taxes to a bearable minimum. Our forefathers lived on well-water (which, incidentally, we prefer to town-water) and had fewer amenities, but it did not hurt them. I would also like to point out that it would be a good idea to look into the building requirements as to size of houses. A 1, 200 suare foot house is not a hovel and most People would be very happy to be in a smaller house. Yours truly, (Mrs. ) Val Shead i I