Dear editor:
I am writing in response to Derek Insley’s Sept. 1 letter to the editor, “Mayor and would-be mayor both failed to deliver.”
That’s a pretty wide brush Mr. Insley used to paint our current municipal politicians as bungling and inept.
With respect to the new official plan promised by Betty Disero and the previous three lord mayors, it was actually created in the first year of Disero’s leadership, was passed by council in October 2019 and was submitted to the Region of Niagara early in 2020.
I was concerned enough to chase the staff and politicians at both levels for a year to find out what the hold up was.
The region had been working on its own official plan for years and the province changed the ground rules in August 2020 by extending the future scope from 2041 to 2051.
True, the region could have supplied all of the requirements in mid-2020 to negotiate with the town to bring our new official plan into conformity with the old regional plan and then go through exactly the same process once again this year – as will all municipalities in Niagara.
But at least we have a leg up because we’re not starting from scratch.
It appears Mr. Insley didn’t read the article on proposals for the hospital site (“Council rejects all 9 proposals for old hospital site“); none were found suitable enough to go further with the process and I noticed the Shaw Festival did not submit a proposal.
Maybe because the Shaw is not interested?
