Ed. Note - Normally we do not include material in the blog which is not directly connected to Cramahe Township. We are making an exception this time and are posting this letter by one of our readers as the issue is relevant to some of our readers in the east end of the township.
Dear Mayor Chris Herrington and Council Members and Mike LeBreton of CBM Aggregates, Lands Supervisor, Eastern Region/c/o "Customer Service, at St. Marys' Cement,
I am writing to voice my clear opposition to the zoning bylaw change that St. Marys Cement Inc.,(CBM) requires to start operations at its Codrington Pit - Application (Part Lots 32-34), Concession 6, Municipality of Brighton.
I am the third of four generations of my family that continue to live in Northumberland County. Ironically I chose to come back to Brighton after spending twenty of my adult years in Montreal, Quebec. I say "ironically", because I moved here for the green, the art, the food, the beauty, nature, the heart, the wine, the golf for my friends, the cycling, hiking and fishing, the sailing, snow-shoeing, and safe places to walk my dogs in nature. More ironically, I "chose" to move to Codrington to promote my own health and wellness. My plan is to share my skills and build a business in Codrington ultimately to become a part of the successful tourism industry Northumberland County promotes.
I am broken-hearted to discover that Brighton Council (which represents myself and my friends and neighbours living in the municipality of Brighton) has knowingly and most disappointingly, "quietly" for some years, been "paving" the way for CBM or St. Marys' Cement to destroy our hillsides, and quality of life. I never ever would have moved here. I never ever would have promoted this part of Northumberland county to Montrealers.
I am completely against this proposal to amend the zoning bylaw CBM is asking you to pass. I am completely against them destroying natural habitat, air, water, beauty, and my safety on the roads. It is undemocratic that CBM wrote a letter to landowners on July 3rd, 2009 with a legal requirement that all oppositions must be filed with CBM and the Ministry by August 24, 2009. That is undemocratic because they are giving us "weeks" and they have been buying up land "for years". It is also undemocratic and deceitful that CBM was only required to distribute its letter to landowners living within 120 metres of the site. It is undemocratic that CBM has been purchasing land from local landowners who didn't know that St. Mary's cement was the buyer.
It is unacceptable that my elected representatives would try to pass a zoning bylaw that intends to bombard our rural, agricultural, tourism and artisan-based community with a proposed 300 giant trucks a day. I would remind you that your constituents elected you to represent us, regardless of the huge, short-term sums of monies that may result for the township from such a venture. They "will" leave a huge hole here for years and years to come while simultaneously killing the rural nature of our community with their 300 trucks a day rumbling up and down our highways, barrelling in, around and through our small communities. This is truly unthinkable.
I'm sure our tourist friends coming to Oak Heights Winery or Timber Ridge Golf Course, or local boaters, campers, cyclists, shoppers, and travellers of all kinds won't be coming back to Northumberland County should this zoning bylaw pass. Good decisions are made when we consider "seven generations" ahead. If St. Marys Cement had nothing to hide, then why did they. Amalgamating seven pits into one? Not acceptable in our community. Ruining my water, the quiet, the beauty, the habit of safety walking with my friends or my dogs on the side of the road is unacceptable.
St. Marys Cement, or CBM has purchased land from Aranda Way in the heart of Codrington down to Old Wooler Road. Let them donate it to the Trent Conservation Authority. This part of Ontario is famous for migrating and rare birds and other species that bring photographers, bird watchers, all kinds of tourists, who eat at our restaurants, want to shop in our stores, stay at our B&B's, and retreats, play a little golf at one of our find golf courses. The state of Vermont was most successful in transforming from a Dairy based, agricultural economy to one based on Green tourism. I am hopeful we will be the Ontario example of such a thriving healthful economically thriving community.
I implore you, don't just think of so-called "dollars" you can mark on your very temporary resumes now. Be proud of where we live and what we intend to share through the generations in economically viable, thriving, creative ways.
I thank you in advance for being my elected representatives and taking the well being of all of your constituents into consideration now and forward through the next seven generations. I look very forward to hearing back from you.
C. C. Rider
Sunday, 19 July 2009
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I too am a resident of Codrington Community and have moved from Montreal for the very reasons you cited. I have been to the information session at Codrington Hall July 30 and at the Brighton Community Centre with a meeting of Council this past night August 10, 2009 at 8 pm.
ReplyDeleteThe information session on the part of CBM was poor and lacking answers to our questions of their "experts". It seemed as though the representatives from St. Mary's Cement and CBM felt that they would be able to run this through without hesitation.
Last night's meeting served to voice our dissent as residents not only of Codrington but of Northumberland County. And we certainly did so! This area is a jewel in Ontario's crown for scenery, wildlife, fishing, tourism, arts, both performing and otherwise.
What I do not think the members of CBM and St. Mary's realize is that most of the residents who currently live here do so because we CHOOSE to live here. We have mostly all come from other parts of the province, other provinces and from overseas to live in this pastoral and bountiful area of the province. Every one who comes here comments on its beauty and the fish and game as well as the birding resources that it holds and last but not least, the beauty of the quiet.
I am firmly against the scarring of this land and endangering its residents' health with dust, noise pollution,light pollution from the 24 processing plant proposed and careening gravel trucks down our roads that are ill equipped to handle the concentration of weight day in and day out.
Thank you,