Dear editor:

With regards to Rainer Hummel's opinion piece addressing Bill 108, (“Provincial changes mean town must allow secondary dwellings on properties,” May 5), our local official plan debacle and the regional role in all of this.

The most telling piece in Mr. Hummel's comments is the reference to the “as of right option” with Bill 108, which means that in reality an additional dwelling request cannot be denied.

As we do not have “property rights” in this country, this is our next best option to ensuring our property is respected as such.

It is the role and responsibility of municipal governments to ensure they follow provincial guidelines and legislation – that is why we have an official plan.

This is the document staff follow to ensure “all rights” are protected and that the municipality has a plan in place to ensure the infrastructure is compatible and meets requirements of the demands of growth.

In essence, can the sewers handle additional toilets, can the roads handle additional traffic, is there a plan to ensure there are no brownouts because of the additional housing demands on our hydro?

 As our community grows, we can no longer live in a dream world of trying to control that growth – it is inevitable.

The only thing we do is plan for it – hence the need for a viable official plan, that the region is required to approve, that meets provincial legislation or we will have uncontrolled growth with drastic ramifications on the demands of our infrastructure.

Derek Insley

NOTL