Much of the opposition is to the sudden appearance of a massive development proposal for about 1,200 units of housing, commercial and business spaces on land adjacent to Pfennings Organic Farm, one of the most successful organic farms in the region.
The opponents want the proposal to go through the normal planning process, not under an MZO which could fast-track development and bypass a number of stages of local studies and opportunities for comment.
Mark Reusser, vice-president of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture and also of the Waterloo Federation of Agriculture, made an impassioned plea during a Jan.3 council meeting to keep the municipal councillors from applying for the MZO Cachet Developments Inc. wants.
“The agricultural community is concerned that MZO’s, that are neither consistent with the Provincial Policy Statement nor the Regional Official Plan, are short sighted, threaten farmland, and deny people a true housing choice," Reusser said.
“Furthermore, MZO’s weaken the local planning process by providing developers with a ‘work around’ that circumvents good planning and fosters an environment where we and future generations are saddled with the ongoing and permanent costs associated with decisions made in haste in the absence of proper adherence to a plan.
“Good planning and official plans that intensify development save farmland, save the natural landscape and promote sustainability.
“If the towns and cities in Waterloo Region had not experienced 40 years of good planning and instead had the same urban densities as cities such as Atlanta, Dallas, Denver or Orlando, our urban footprint here in Waterloo Region would cover all of North Dumfries Township, all of Wilmot, all of Woolwich, all of Wellesley and an additional two townships,” Reusser said.
“There would have been no land left in Waterloo Region for agriculture. That would have been a tragedy.”
He reminded the councillors that the decision how to proceed rests with them.
