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LETTER: Resident calls on county to reduce growth allocated to Collingwood

Resident urges county to reduce growth targets and create better plan around growth impacts on infrastructure
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Editor, 

I am writing again as a concerned resident of the lower-tier town of Collingwood about a presentation to the County of Simcoe that included a breakdown of future growth in population and employment for each community in the county. 

What a surprise! Collingwood has been assigned the highest growth targets of all communities in Simcoe County. 

Despite only having six per cent of the total population of the county, 26 per cent of future growth in population and 27 per cent of future growth in employment is assigned to Collingwood. 

This is higher than any other community in Simcoe County.

Clearview’s share of future growth is a mere five per cent. 

This is an absurd allocation. 

Collingwood is under an interim control bylaw preventing new development because of previous targets that were too aggressive, and which resulted in a lack of supporting infrastructure. 

How is it possible to plan future growth and set targets without – first and foremost  – evaluating the current and future infrastructure required to support more growth? 

You put the cart before the horse when you avoid looking at what’s beneath the surface; in particular the cumulative impact of setting such outrageously high growth targets. 

If you push a town too hard to meet outrageous targets, older neighbourhoods and mature communties suffer. 

I urge the County of Simcoe to significantly reduce the growth targets for Collingwood until the town has produced a new water capacity plan approved by the electorate of Collingwood, and after the county has presented a sound study of the cumulative impact of infrastructure to justify assigning Collingwood the highest growth (and intensification) targets in Simcoe County. 

Ulli Rath 
Collingwood, ON