In new business at the December 12 Council meeting I received support from Council members, including Councillor Eek as a seconder, to table a resolution expressing the Township’s position on the proposed boundary changes to the Greenbelt The motion received unanimous approval. Tabling a motion in this manner is not usual but I decided to do so as I believed it was important to confirm that the King Council does not approve of the proposed changes; I felt that it had to be done with urgency as I had come to realize that our support for a hospital, as voiced in a resolution on December 5, could be interpreted as approval for housing to be built on the rest of the lands owned by the property owner who had offered to donate land for the hospital at a nominal price. I think my sense of urgency is well justified as the regulations for the boundary changes were changed December 15 less than 6 weeks after such was proposed. Its curious that such is still not posted on the Ministry website; the only press release I have been able to find, at time of writing, is this one from Environmental Defence.

A word about process for resolutions:  the normal process is that I would have tabled a motion at the December 12 meeting and would have said it was a motion regarding the Council position on the proposed boundary changes to the GB and the proposed redesignation of some Oak Ridges Moraine land; providing I got a seconder the Council would have voted whether to  include it in the agenda for the next Council meeting which is January 9, 2023.  The disadvantage of not following the normal process is that the public does not have the chance to read it and can only listen; given that this particular motion is lengthy that is challenging.

A further variation on process which I want to explain is that the resolution is available for reading now by looking at the agenda for the December 12 meeting as Staff has added it; scroll down and near the bottom you will find the resolution.