Editorial was inaccurate

Your editorial Is it really Places to Grow or just places to stagnate? (May 30) contains a number of errors and strange leaps of logic. For starters, the Greenbelt Act (2004) did not freeze "development on what has become known as the Oak Ridges Moraine." The moraine is protected under legislation enacted in 2001 that established the Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Plan, which does not freeze, but limits growth to existing urban areas on the moraine. The Greenbelt Act recognizes both the Oak Ridges Moraine and the Niagara Escarpment Plans while further protecting additional lands from urban development.

Secondly, the Oak Ridges Moraine is hardly a man-made fancy that has recently "become known." It was formed more than 10,000 years ago during the last ice age and mapped in the 1920s. It is a geological and hydrological wonder that is the headwaters for more than 65 river and stream systems that flow south into Lake Ontario and north into Georgian Bay, Lakes Simcoe and Scugog and Rice Lake. Aside from the aesthetic beauty of its rolling hills, numerous rivers, small springs, wetlands, kettle lakes, forests and wildlife habitat, its protection is essential because it is the source of clean cold fresh water to hundreds of thousands of people who live on the moraine and beyond.

Your assertion that protection of the moraine "sacrificed some of the province's best remaining farmland rather than see any development in moraine areas where agriculture has been at best marginal" is disturbing. Just because land is not viable for agriculture does not mean that it is ripe for development. There are many factors that warrant an area's preservation. Further, protection of the moraine does not have to be at the expense of prime agricultural land. It is not an "either or" situation. Obviously, we must protect both through designating where and how growth can occur. Development should occur in places where the natural resources and existing infrastructure can support it. Interbasin transfers and long distance piping of water and sewerage are not acceptable, and are a recipe for both more sprawl, and environmental disaster.

The alarming rate at which prime agriculture land is being gobbled up by sprawl is testimony to the need for legislated restrictions. Growth and development must take place in concert; it cannot be left entirely to each town and city. It is up to the province to envision the big picture and provide the guidelines necessary to ensure the good health and vibrancy of every community in Ontario.

Debbe Crandall Executive Director, STORM