Why don't Newmarket politicians focus on Newmarket's priorities?

York Region Council is deciding between adopting a 40% or 45% population density rate. Regardless of whichever rate the politicians accept, Newmarket has already exceeded the established target.

Our town could stop intensifying right now and tell the developers who want to build high rise apartment buildings and high density quad town homes to look elsewhere.

But at least one Newmarket politician, Deputy Mayor John Taylor is calling for more and more intensification of our town, saying we should target for 100% intensification. He doesn't tell us about the various landholdings he and other council members may own in areas of town slated for "intensification." You'll have to judge for yourself if our Newmarket council members are motivated by personal profit. It certainly seems that way, when members of Council repeatedly "forget" to declare pecuniary interests, or go as far as denying they own property along the Yonge Davis corridor, when in fact they do.

Instead, at the recent Council meeting, Mr. Taylor droned on about "white belt" farmland in places like Whitchurch Stouffville and East Gwillimbury that could be developed if we don't allow mega developments like Slessor Square, Hollingsworth Arena, and the Clock Tower to proceed.

A February 29th Town of Newmarket staff report even calls for rolling back designated green belt land, formally protected by Ontario Legislation, in Whitchurch Stouffville and East Gwillimbury. It seems that our Council is fine with using up farm land for that purpose, saying nothing of course of the acres of light manufacturing and warehouse lands sitting empty along Harry Walker Parkway.

As a resident of Newmarket, is it too much to ask for our politicians to concern themselves with the needs of our own municipality before they worry about what's going to happen to Whitchurch Stouffville and East Gwillimbury?

Our town's economic plan is centered around creating public sector jobs at the hospital and with a post secondary institution. That's fine, but keep in mind that these institutions don't pay property taxes.

Private sector employers, like those who have set up shop Aurora, King, Markham, Richmond Hill and Vaughan, not only create good, well paying jobs, but they also contribute to their host municipality's coffers.

When Newmarket Council sends private sector jobs elsewhere and instead focuses only on residential growth, then government services associated with growth are borne mostly by the residential tax base. That means higher taxes for homeowners.

Wouldn't it be better to slow the high rise development that this Council seems too keen to promote and instead look to host the next area's next big head office or light manufacturer?

That makes sense -- except of course, if you are a council member who owns a property located within the official plan's intensification zone.