Covering the Cost of Growth: an Environmental Assessment in Innisfil

photo credit: istock

This means the Town can apply for an approval to build pipes to far flung places in the municipality, like Big Bay Point, and to neighbouring municipalities. I am sure homeowners and taxpayers would like to know what it will cost to run a pipe to Big Bay Point, to service a resort that may never be built. True, at one time the developer agreed to pay the upfront costs of the pipe, but we want to know how this, and other planned pipes, would affect tax rates now, and in the future. How does it affect homeowners who need to hook up to the pipe? If the pipes are built, but the development fails, then who pays?

Let us not forget the experience of the municipality of Georgina, on the east side of Cook’s Bay on Lake Simcoe, where a similar development failed. The appealing Crates Landing resort sat on the books for seven years, while the developer, Brightstar, told the town they had the money to pay for the development, but that it was “tied up at the border”. They didn’t. The resort was not built. According to a York Region.com article from November 2010, investors looked to the Town to get money back. Innisfil would be wise to make sure financing for the project is in place before they spend one cent on laying pipes to Big Bay Point.

Environmental Defence has always been concerned that the Ministry of the Environment’s Class Environmental Assessment (EA) process is too narrow, and does not consider the practicalities or costs of the pipes associated with the wastewater plant expansion. In our “bump up request” on the EA we asked the Province for closer review of the planned plant expansion, and its implications on the environment and taxpayers. The province’s response to our “bump up” said it was ok for the town to start planning the details of pipe infrastructure now. Environmental Defence also asked that water conservation and efficiency be improved in Innisfil. The Province agreed with this point, and placed water conservation conditions on Innisfil’s wastewater treatment plant expansion EA approval. 

For more information see a Simcoe.com article on the topic. http://www.simcoe.com/news/cityhall/article/1227467--approval-turns-on-d...