Case for more growth in Bolton was taken to Regional councillors
By Bill Rea

Questions on the development future of Bolton went south last Thursday, before Peel Regional councillors.

Representatives of the Caledon Chamber of Commerce and the Coalition of Concerned Residents and Businesses of Bolton (CCRBB), made their cases, and seemed to come away believing they at least had attentive audiences.

"I think we were given a generous amount of time by council," observed Chamber President Kelly Darnley.

In her presentation, she repeated concerns about the the South Albion Study, which was begun in 2004, and how the residential component of the study had somehow disappeared.

"This is what has concerned the business community," she remarked.

"We believe that the boundary expansion in south Albion without the residential component is contrary to the complete compact community direction of the Places to Grow document, she added, stating the Region stands to benefit from prosperity created in the area municipalities.

"Is it reasonable for Caledon to create new employment lands with the intension of relying on Brampton for its labour?" she asked.

CCRBB representative Nick Acocella gave the Regional councillors an outline of what prompted the formation of the group, stating residents and businesses have been moved to action by current "no growth" policies that the Town has imposed for Bolton and south Albion.

He also said the coalition includes more than 1,000 members who are concerned about the future of their community, including hundreds of business people.

"Our coalition is greatly concerned that Bolton south Albion's needs have been left on the sidelines of Caledon's growth plans for the next 1years, leaving our residents with no hope for new arenas, soccer fields, community centres or libraries, and no new homes to upgrade to as families grow," he declared.

Acocella also pointed out the Town's approved growth plan will "virtually freeze all residential growth" until 2021.

"The Bolton community is the Town of Caledon's economic engine and main urban centre, providing well over 70 per cent of all employment in the Town of Caledon, and is responsible for the lion's share of residential and business taxes for the Town of Caledon," he said. "Our coalition is of the opinion that a 'no growth' policy for our community will cause unprecedented damage to local business and will no doubt hurt the future of our community, both socially and economically."

Acocella said they were asking the Region to instruct the Town to allocate another 10,000 people to the south Albion area, and not wait until 2021 to do it. As well, he called on the Region to get the Town to complete its residential needs study for the Bolton south Albion community.

CCRBB Chair Greg Pannia told councillors businesses in Mississauga and Brampton get full support from their municipalities. "This is the type of support we are looking for from the Town of Caledon," he remarked.

He also pointed out the Region has been investing heavily in the Bolton and south Albion area, including more than $20 million for the Bolton Arterial Route (BAR) and millions more for servicing infrastructure. "A boundary expansion for needed growth should be where the tax dollars are being spent," he argued.

Pannia also stated that Bolton has close to three million square feet of empty industrial and commercial building space. "The reason for this empty space is that new business investment has come to a halt since the Town of caledon has frozen residential growth in Bolton," he maintained.

"We're simple folk, going down to the Region," Pannia said later.

He was also impressed that they were told they would have 10 minutes, but were there about three hours.

"My objective was to put it out there, what's going on in our municipality," he added.

"It seemed to generate a lot of interest," Darnley said later, adding that as reassuring. "Truly the health and welfare of the businesses in Bolton is a reflection of Peel as a whole.

She also reported Regional staff was asked to respond to the presentations, which was also reassuring for her.

Darnley said the councillors have to understand how interconnected the economies of Peel are.

"I thought it was a very good presentation," Councillor Annette Groves commented later. "I thought it was received well."

Some of the councillors who spoke appeared to "understand where the group was coming from," she added.

But Councillor Richard Whitehead wasn't quite as impressed.

"There was no new information provided," he remarked. "We keep going over the same territory all the time on this issue."

He added Peel has already targeted its population growth to 2021, and is working on 2031, while CCRBB is looking for something sooner than that, and on the periphery of the village.

Whitehead said if the objective is to get more people in the area, they have to look at within the Bolton boundaries, and at intensification, rehabilitation (meaning reconstruction on certain properties) and infilling.

He pointed out there will be no options for more growth in south Albion before 2021 unless the province changes the population targets it has set for Peel.

And even if that were to happen, he said nothing could be built until around 2013 or 2015.

"We're not debating the numbers," Pannia maintained. "We're debating the allocation of the numbers."