PelhamToday received the following letter to the editor from a reader regarding the speed at which development is taking place in Fonthill:
Wake up, Pelham, your town is going to be overrun with mismanaged and wasted with hasty developments. If you are like me, you may have been following the latest letters in Pelham Today between a developer named Rainer Hummel and a concerned citizen named Andrew Watts. Nice letters by the way, Andrew.
There seems to be much conversation these days as to too fast of growth in our communities. I personally am in favour of spread-out spacious communities, where they can be developed. However, development has to be appropriate. And with the latest hastily enacted backtracking “build houses way too fast and wherever you want” act, its going to get worse.
Many of us understand the need for housing, especially affordable housing, and with the way the first home for any average citizen is spiralling skyward out of reach. By the way, Pelham does not have the ability to provide affordable housing. Make no mistake, developers are not in the average category. For most any citizen in our community and others like it your house is your castle.
According to developer Steven Kaiser, most of us have been detractors since 1986, and I guess that makes us NIMBYs as well, according to others. Why is that? Because we love our community and want to have growth that fits. If you want to build a six-storey condo tower, build it in the so-called planned community area of the new Meridian Community Centre. Our Town planners did not plan that community—developers, and the past administration is responsible for that.
It looked okay until the latest drop in the parking lot of the MCC happened with some crammed townhouses. Kaiser and his co-developer Mike Colaneri of Niagara Innovative Living don't care about you—only the bottom line and the legacy they leave.
Also, one of the recent columns by Mayor Marvin Junkin noted that residents can expect a 5.9 percent increase in taxes due to higher expenses and other factors. Yup, nothing new there.
If you drive a car or a tractor, you have been paying quite a bit for fuel. And then there is that pound of butter at about twice the price it use to be. I am happy to pay 5.9 percent more to keep highrises out of my town. Next time you go buy an eight-foot 2x4 or a new kitchen sink take a look at the price and compare it to what you paid not more than two years ago for the same products. With the province's new quick-build act and rampant increase in development you may have to wash the dishes in the bathtub until the kitchen sink is back on the shelf in the hardware store.
Speaking of haste and waste, I just read an article about a luxury condo under construction that partially collapsed. Haste makes waste maybe?
Wake up Fonthill, we are soon going to be called Fontronto. Get involved in those boring council meetings if you can. Help us start an association to challenge and steer Town administration and developers in the appropriate direction. It should be a collaborative effort, not a cattle drive.
Georgio Panici
Fonthill
