CollingwoodToday welcomes letters to the editor at [email protected] or via the website. Please include your full name, daytime phone number and address (for verification of authorship, not publication). The following letter was sent by the former mayor of The Blue Mountains in response to another letter responding to an article about council pausing the servicing for the future site of the "Campus of Care," which includes long-term care beds, retirement living, staff housing, and family housing.
Editor,
You published a letter from Paul Reale titled “Thornbury Campus of Care 'threatens' charm of neighbouring community.” What was not pointed out was that Mr. Reale lives right adjacent to the project.
His home is the only residence on a lot that directly adjoins the project, with his home being only 20 metres (70 feet from the project boundary. He is perhaps the only person who would realistically suffer any real direct negative impacts from this project, which brings immense benefits to the community at-large.
I can understand his self-interest in wishing to delay the project, which in reality will kill it, as the provisional bed allocation requires the project be completed by 2026. This plain and simple is NIMBYism at its worst.
The Campus of Care is a badly needed project and we have strong partners in the province of Ontario, Skyline Development Acquisitions Inc., a very reputable developer, and peopleCare Communities Inc, the operator of the Meaford Long Term Care Home. The Campus of Care goes a long way to addressing many of the core issues facing the Blue Mountains which include:
- Long-term care
- Seniors residences
- Affordable workforce housing
- Daycare spaces
- Rental accommodation for young families
As for the use of the Community Infrastructure and Housing Accelerator (CIHA), this is exactly the kind of blatant NIMBYism the CIHA was designed to address.
Alar Soever
The Blue Mountains, Ont.
