Dear Editor:

Now don’t it always seem to go
That you don’t know what you got ‘til it’s gone
They paved paradise and put up a parking lot

The lyrics of Joni Mitchell’s iconic “Big Yellow Taxi” have been reverberating through my mind this week — not only because of the brilliant performance at the recent Juno Awards, but because of the unfortunate decision of our NOTL council to favour the construction of a parking lot at the iconic 176 Wellington St. site.

Indeed, the vision so thoughtfully researched and presented by the James A. Burton & Family Foundation, offers a modern-day version of paradise for a small town that values community vitality, arts and culture, education, and young people. The proposed performance space, alone, offers a delightful vision for our community.

Set against that vision, the statement by one of our councillors, that “NOTL is … a town in the parking business” is a sad reflection on our times. I have no doubt that our hard-working councillors are concerned about raising revenues. But really — a parking lot at a historic gateway site, where caring and community have always been at the heart?

I urge our no-doubt well-meaning town council to take another look at the generous provisions of the Burton Foundation proposal, and put their collective energy behind a landmark idea that could be a source of pride for this community, for generations to come.

Why, we might even be able to persuade Joni Mitchell to attend the ribbon-cutting of NOTL’s visionary new community-and-arts hub.

Robin Cardozo
NOTL