I have several issues with this that I’ll summarize here quickly:

First, this option 2c will be presented to the Council that has some changes (that may not be minor to everyone).  The Staff is recommending endorsement of this plan.  However, there has not been any public input for this plan.  They presented options 2a and 2b, on which they only received 9 comments (for a population of 80,000, that is kind of sad … but I’ll leave that for another post).  I feel that the staff should have presented this plan to the public first.

Second, it is the first time they proposed an employment area West of Tremaine (see circle-1).  I am troubled by that.  Prior plans show that area to be part of the education village.  I’ve seen other employment areas in Milton (Steeles Ave for instance) and frankly, they are an eyesore.  Previous plans recommended employment areas South of Britannia, and I feel that the town should just stick with that.  At least the town should ask residents South of Derry and closer to Tremaine for input.

I would like more information on this zone.  What type of employment land would this be?  Is this general employment land or will this be dedicated to employers that need to be close to a university.  I would also like to know why this is being changed.  Other large campuses I’ve seen all typically increase demand for high-density housing (for students and otherwise) and retail space.  I cannot think of good reasons why this is getting changed to employment zone.  

Third, see circle-2 and circle-4.  Circle-4 will put people in “Milton” closer to Oakville and Mississauga than they are to Milton.  Remember Milton’s downtown urban core is North of Derry.  Moving those residential areas in circle-2 makes more sense to me because first: it will keep them closer to the employment land south of Britannia and second: it will keep them closer to existing urban Milton.  People who live so far from the city-core often lose the sense of belonging to the city, which causes other issues in the future (they do not participate in the city as much).  It also makes transit services harder since people suddenly get too far from the proposed education village site, downtown, central library, arts & entertainment centre, Sports clubs and other activities the “core” of the city provides.  Circle-2 will also put this people in the middle of two employment areas (one on Tremaine and one on Trafalgar).   

[Aside: I am intentionally using “city” for Milton instead of “town” because that’s likely what Milton will be by then]

Also, I am also troubled by the amount of traffic on Trafalgar (also because of circle-3), which is another reason why circle-4 should be somewhere else.  This area is surrounded by Natural Heritage System (the green around circle-4) which will likely be impacted by all the construction and traffic. Not to mention that residential area will be high-density, which will likely make things worse.

It’s tempting to get excited about all the construction in town using developer fees.  It’s free money, right?

Wrong!

It’s a tax on new residents, or existing residents who choose to buy a new home in Milton again.  These residents pay for tax by paying a much higher price on a house than they otherwise would have to.  Developer fees levied on commercial construction also discourages businesses from moving into Milton, which is bad for all residents.

Notice I am not passing any judgement on whether Milton / Halton charge too much or too little.  I am merely pointing out that the expansion of roads, Milton Sports Club, Library, Townhall etc. are done using a tax levied on people buying a new home in the town.  It’s certainly not free money, and shouldn’t be spent as such.

My letter to the MiltonCanadianChampion, published on Jun 12, 2009:

DEAR EDITOR:

I work from home and therefore have the full flexibility of living anywhere.

I picked Milton as my home, largely due to its small-town character. Unfortunately, I’m afraid that the town is losing that charm very quickly because of taller buildings popping up all over the place.

Currently there are more than a dozen four-to-10-storey condominium apartments being planned or under construction in Milton. Heck, two 10-storey buildings are planned all the way out on Costigan Road, an otherwise low-rise area with an almost rural feel to it.

One only has to drive through Mississauga or Brampton to see what taller buildings in low-rise neighbourhoods do to the make-up of the area.

I have lived in several cities that handled high population density gracefully, without impacting the area’s appeal. While each city took a different approach, what was common in each case was each city planned its character up front and then implemented its vision well. I hope Milton will do the same.

I would like the Town to immediately pass a bylaw restricting building heights to only four stories in certain areas. The condominiums at the north-west corner of James Snow Parkway and Main Street show how condos can achieve good density while fitting well in the neighbourhood.

Thereafter, the Town should conduct proper planning to determine where taller buildings should go. These buildings should be concentrated in a small urban core and placed in a way that’s not only environmentally friendly, but is also aesthetically pleasing.

I feel that the Town has a good financial incentive to enhancing its charm. A more appealing town will attract more future residents, which is good for property values in the area and therefore good for the town’s tax-base.

I would like to see the town transform itself into a community that people pay a premium to move to, rather than a sprawl people pick temporarily because they can’t afford to live any other place in the GTA.

Milton is on the verge of transformation due to its explosive growth. We can handle it gracefully, turning Milton into a vibrant town that further enhances its current charm, or we can let the builders call all the shots, essentially making Milton indistinguishable from other communities in the GTA region.

I hope we choose the former, as the latter would destroy the town’s character forever.

ZEESHAN HAMID, MILTON

People often have same questions.  What is a good dentist?  Which doctors are taking patients?  What are good upgrades?  Who should I hire to build a deck?

I’ve set up a wiki site for answers.  For those who do not know wikis, they are collaborative websites where anyone can edit the information.  Check it out. If you don’t find something you were looking for then please be sure to add the information for the next person.

The URL is: http://zhamid.ca/wiki.

Hope you find it useful. 

Milton.ca has several concepts of Coates Neighbourhood Park and Harrison Neighbourhood Park.  The designs are also at display at the Milton Leisure Centre Lobby (1100 Main St. East) from June 15th to 19th.  Please take a look and give them  your comments.  More details are here. 

The Harrison park will go in HVE, between Scott and Savoline south of Derry (between public and catholic elementary schools). Coates Neighbourhood Park is an expansion of the existing park. 

I will go to the Leisure Centre tonight since the drawings of Harrison park are hard to read online (the font type makes it hard to see).  If you live at the escarpment and would like me to pick up some comment sheets for you then please let me know.  

An update on the previous post (Re: Milton gets some stimulus money).  There was some confusion about the total amount of the money.  Turned out that the nearly $15 million cheque was from the federal government.  There’s an equivalent amount from the Provincial government.  That’s nearly $30 million. Yay!  Of course Milton needs to put up a third … but all-in-all it’s $45 million worth of work that will get done over the next few months on Milton Sports Centre expansion and the Arts & Entertainment Complex / Central Library. 

I was honestly jealous that Mississauga got close to $100 million in Federal and Provincial stimulus money.  Fortunately, my jealousy did not have to last too long.  Milton today got almost $15 million for the Arts & Entertainment Centre, and for the expansion of the Milton Sports Club. 

Lisa Raitt, Halton’s MP, mentioned that $6.7 million was for the Sports Club expansion. It’s not clear to me whether that’s from the $15 million or in addition to the $15 million.  Rumour is that this is just the first instalment.  Of course Milton will have to fork out money itself too (this represents at most two-third of the cost, likely less).  But these projects would have happened regardless of the stimulus.  This way Milton gets some help.

I am really excited about these.  Milton does need an Arts & Entertainment Centre.  Desperately.  As for the sports club, I’ve blogged about it in the past and would really like to see some diverse offerings.  However, even if the sports club does not offer any new activity, this would still be exciting.  Regardless of what the expansion offers, Milton is a diverse enough town that plenty of residents will benefit from the expansion. And that is good enough for this Miltonian. 

Miltonions have access to a lot of indoor skating rinks, which is truly great.  Milton Sports Centre itself has two rinks.  My children use them and I am glad we have such a great facility so close to us.

Milton Sports Centre is planning a future phase which will add two more ice rinks and an indoor swimming pool, among other amenities.

Here’s the thing: Milton already has a lot of ice rinks.  Growing population will need more, but what about other sports?  Indoor basketball or volleyball courts?  Squash Courts?  Racquet ball?  Public tennis courts?  This expansion will millions upon millions of dollars, shouldn’t that add a diversity of activities? 

Unfortunately the deadline for sending comments on the expansion is gone (I did manage to get mine in on time), but if you agree that Milton needs more diversity of physical activities then you should write to recreation by clicking here.  I would love to have access to Squash courts, there are none in Milton. Multiple studies have found squash to be among the best workouts.  I hope they build a few squash courts as part of the expansion.

Correction: I am told that Milton certainly doesn’t have enough ice rinks.  I stand corrected.  However, my point remains the same.  Click the link above and write to the planners so they can take your input into account.  Also, I would very much like to see a diversity of options offered to residents in the town.