By Pepper Parr
November 13th, 2024
ALDERSHOT, ON
In Aldershot, the western part of the city people call ward 1 – they get noisy sometimes.
A community made up of older people who live on streets with no sidewalks – and they like it that way. Homes in the northern part of the ward have winding streets and large houses with good-sized back yards.
The ward has one of the largest pieces of undeveloped land in the northern part – Eagle Heights – that will, when it gets developed, be a prime high-end housing location. That is decades away – the land is not serviced. Waterdown Road, the eastern boundary of the property, is currently being widened.
Aldershot is still looking for a supermarket in the western end of the city. It was the ward in which our current Mayor first ran for public office – the then Councillor Rick Craven beat her soundly and they became fast “enemies” from that day forward. Both Liberals so they get their pictures taken together from time to time.
A street level rendering of the proposed deveopment.
Muira, a development company had an application before the city to change the Official Plan and the upgrade the zoning. At a very controversial community meeting took place on October 30th at which the developer set out what he wanted to do
Public art at the intersection of Plains Road and Waterdown Road.
Muira, a development company had an application before the city to change the Official Plan and upgrade the zoning. At a very controversial community meeting took place on October 30th, at which the developer set out what he wanted to do at the 84-104 Plains Road East: a proposed 11-storey mixed-use residential & commercial development on the southwest corner of Plain Road East and Glenwood Avenue, east of Birchwood Avenue in Burlington’s Aldershot neighbourhood. The plan is to build 255 housing units.
In Aldershot, when there is an issue, a group of people form an organization and work on behalf of the community and look for community support.
That resulted in Preserve Aldershot.
They set out what the issues were but before the ink could dry on their documents Tom Muir issued a comment:
Muir said” That So-called Preserve Aldershot taskforce – Read very carefully as it is a con job trying to undo and remake the resident take on the October 30 meeting on the big building – 100 Plains.
Muir sent his comments to everyone who could read without moving their lips.
There is a document the Preserve Aldershot people were asking residents to sign. Muir, who knows a conspiracy when he sees one, told people that signing the document amounted to giving the developer “written ammo rounds of support” to say you voted for them and your support, by your signature is something the developer will use. www.preservealdershot.ca.
Rendering of the development seen from the east.
Muir went on to say: “The group is supported by the 100 Plains developer. I suspect that Galbraith (the ward Councillor) is involved; he has a conflict of interest and a pecuniary interest with his business properties and his residence in the Clearview area right across Plains on Orchard Rd.
“Beware that there are two main narrative overviews. One from the developer slant, and another from the consultant who writes another narrative that is supposed to tell the reader what the residents said and suggested solutions, including not acceptable.
“ I see a lot of deception which is why I tell you to read very closely. Why is this being done? Who are the Preserve Aldershot Taskforce? There is no way to learn this is exactly. It’s a con in my view. To get a fabricated remake of the October 30 meeting where residents were very clear and emphatic that the proposal was totally out of line. The developer did not get what they wanted. So they will try to make up their own version to give them something to say – that they consulted residents (this is crap) with a questionnaire designed to produce answers they want. Namely – intensification and condos are coming.
“This is the most scheming deceptive action I pretty much have ever experienced in this Burlington development chicanery. Most of all, it is designed to confuse and complicate, as if it is not enough so right now. This is frankly trying to skip the assembly of the planning step to get to the “complete application” step, so staff can review and write a recommendation report and we can get to a statutory meeting at Committee, ensure all of this is done in the mandated time limit so that the city does not trigger an OLT appeal, and citizens get an opportunity to tell Council what they think. We want no stupid excuses that loses our democratic rights to determine developments in our neighborhood and City.
Tom Muir is a resident of Aldershot – lives on Townsend Road south of the development.
“We don’t even have a complete application and here we have work ahead scheming with a fake group name trying to con us into giving them some advantage to get what they want. We don’t even know who they are really – what are their names? They want us to sign up, using a social media petition, so they can say they consulted you, and you agree with them, and are a member of their task force.
“I hate it when some folks treat us like we are stupid and cannot see through their motives, and what they are after – this is a great deal money involved. It’s even more when the development forces get so large that they get in each other’s way.
It didn’t take Scot Busch very long to refute what Muir was saying:
“I am a member of the PreserveAldershot Group and was forwarded a copy of the Muir message. I wanted to reach out personally on behalf of the Group to assure you that this is NOT a fraud. This is a grassroots campaign by residents of LaSalle Rd., Fairwood Place and Birchwood St, who are severely impacted by the Muira development on the south side of Plains (and the previously approved Infinity Development).
“We are the same group that brought Kelvin (Galbraith – ward Councillor) in a few weeks back and walked him through our neighbourhood outlining our concerns. Many of us were at the pre-application session, I by phone, to hear their pitch and to present our immediate concerns. As a resident of Fairwood Place, I am facing a future where I look out my front door at an 11 storey wall that runs for 2 city blocks and I will live on the main bypass to access these units. This is not what I envisioned when I moved here a decade ago and it’s a feeling shared by many other long-term residents.
A graphic on the development taking place east of Waterdown Road.
“To be clear, we are not supported, funded or in any way connected to any developers. In no way will our content be used to endorse the developers – quite the contrary. That said, we are fully aware that, due to planning regulation imposed on the localities by the province combined with the ever-present bias at the OLT, the city cannot stop this development but we can lobby to influence the way that the development will impact our community. Through the petition, we hope to collect the voices of other citizen like yourself who are frustrated by the developers and want to pushback, while also taking advantage of the fact that that pushing back collectively is more powerful than doing so individually.
“We encourage you to come to the community drop-in session at the Aldershot Arena on Thursday, November 14th starting at 5:30pm through to 8:30 PM to meet the individuals spearheading this campaign, learn about the ideas were pushing and why, share your thoughts, and hopefully to join with us as we work together to find the best way to persevere our community.
The group will be meeting at the Aldershot Arena on Thursday evening to answer questions and ensure people that they are both real and legitimate.
Will Tom Muir be there to make amends?
The Gazette has reached out to both Scot Busch and Tom Muir – nothing from them yet.
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Hold on Pepper, you have it wrong. You printed things about me that you did not editor fact check with me for the why, and basis and evidence of what I wrote. Other than you said that the group is very very alive, you know not much about who they are and how many, what they are doing and why, and what are the consequences. City Council is an alive group too, so what? There are many motives and interests in what such groups are formed for.
This group made me wonder because of things they said and implied in their communication to my website search and in conversation. Given what you wrote, please provide me an opportunity to reflect on some of what I learned from their website, and my personal conversation with a group member, motivated me to write.
I had a long personal conversation yesterday with one lead of the small group who live on Fairwood and Birchwood, that are seeking their own interest first, that in a manner, if implemented, will be at the expense of all their neighbours in their area of Aldershot. This self-interest action is what got me involved, and that it made no sense. Conversation confirmed my problems and the member in the end agreed and we finished with agreement.
This conversation was after I wrote the story that I sent to Pepper, and he published it after the Busch email was sent. So I never had the opportunity to hear his message before my writing. Your statement Pepper, that he rebutted me goes way beyond anything based on evidence that you provide, except that they are an unnumbered and unidentified number of alive people, that have an agenda in this 100 Plains development matter, and you don’t really know whose underlying interest they are representing in their agenda and actions.
That’s the only thing that Busch added – it indicates they are alive. But so what? Tell us what your top of mind interests and what is your priority action and what are you going to do about it and why?
He also repeated another first thing stated in the information provided on the website. (This sounds like giving up and encourages and benefits developers. We all know that development will happen, but the timeline is 50 years, things are way behind in Ontario, and residents should never give up all issue avenues of participation in argument)
He said:
“We believe that development of Aldershot and the subsequent
condominiums will happen whether we like it or not, because
there is already a precedent set with pending (but as yet un-built)
developments in the immediate area. “Intensification” of
population density is in the Official Provincial Plan for the area
surrounding Aldershot GO station.”
“The entrances to 100 Plains E. via Birchwood Ave. and Glenwood Ave. will
only cause spillover traffic to Townsend Ave. and Fairwood Pl. E toward
LaSalle Park Rd. due to the inability to turn left from these streets onto Plains
Rd. E.
The solution would be to place the vehicle entrance at a 4-way, light-
controlled intersection at Clearview Ave. and convert both Birchwood Ave.
and Glenwood Ave. into cul-de-sacs at Plains Rd. E. with no access to or from
Plains Rd. This would prevent most of the traffic on Plains Rd. E. from using
our residential streets as overflow arteries to access Waterdown Rd./LaSalle
Park Rd. and Townsend Ave.”
This is what I found to be the primary objective of this group, and I told them I would not support this. This is just an assumption.
After the fact of my story, I learned that The Preserve Aldershot is not a fake group, but it was only a week old, with about 5 neighbours members at the time. And the only ideas and information they put forth, and sent to me in their website, suggested common interests and overlapping common purpose , with the developers. This common interest does not even have to be intentional, although they didn’t understand that it was/is an unintended consequence.
However, they professed ignorance of that, and how that worked, dismissing it once as living in a capitalist world. Myself, and many friends are a “group” that has been doing this activity for more than 30 years, and came loosely together over that time, and we know things about the process I have not seen in this group. This troubled me because this visible inexperience leads to mistaken thinking.
They also show limited knowledge of the planning process, and their narrative reflected that. It was their limited knowledge about what they were doing and the consequences, that put me in the suspicious state of mind, and prompted my writing what I did, and using the words I did. Make no mistake that what Pepper says I did got it all wrong, I actually did it based on the information I was provided, and how the emphasis of the group was expressed in how they presented it. The developer of 100 Plains is named on page 1 of what they sent, and other narrative often of their intentions seemed to also serve the developers interests.
I quickly learned that they were limiting their focus for action on their own self interest first, focused on traffic and parking, overflow street parking and other matters impacting themselves, that at the same time would shift to residents, that live to the South Plains, all of the impacts and many more, that they claim are impacting them. For example, Townsend Ave would be closed to access in and out, from Plains, from LaSalle Park Rd. to Shadeland.
They were totally ignorant that the only solution they claim as the “only” workable solution, would also benefit the 100 Plains developer, and Solid Gold and Infinity Developments, and possibly other developers at the same time to manage their parking and traffic problems, issues, costs, and approvals. At the same time, they did not accept the feasibility of the general development planning process and options, and their participation in that to solve any of the problems, that they said were out of reach of residents solving by planning regulations and OLT. I have to ask who seeded these ideas into the consultation process
They emphasized height, and density, mass, hundreds of cars in need of parking, traffic, safety, noise, and problems with access into the proposal 100 Plains. I don’t know who assembled the list of resident concerns from the October 30 consultant Pre-app meeting.They used exaggerated photos of heavier traffic that usually never occurs except for accidents, on the QEW and 403, and other, which we knew had happened. These were fakes of normal times on nearby streets, but my conversation member thought that was justifiable and funny. There was one nearby accident on 403 recently that backed up traffic on Townsend, Plains and Lakeshore and all the nearby streets. They used photo of these events.
A prominent development problem with the developer proposal is getting vehicles in and out of the project, by the existing situation.
“Neighbourhood residents affected will want to know that the claim the group made that the only solution they say will work to manage traffic for the proposal is to make Glenwood and Birchwood cul-de-sacs with a 4 way stoplight at Clearview, with walk and bikes only. I objected to this and the reasoning and motive behind the group formation and their ask for signatures and singular support for signatures.
They didn’t say this, but this would also mitigate traffic matters from the Solid Gold OLT approved project exiting Clearview, and Infinity Development on the West side of Birchwood. And Galbraith, who is indicated as involved on the City side, will be able to get in and out no problem, and recall his pecuniary interest.
This “only solution” doesn’t fix anything, all it does is shift the mobility and traffic problem somewhere else, to the south of Plains.’
Their statement that there was one”only” solution, was just not credible to me. The idea of closing the two roads from two-way accessing Plains Road and installing a new 4 way traffic light, was extreme and made me question who benefits. This solution was not the least thought out except from their own self interest, and everyone else in Aldershot was ignored. This became clear in our conversation and the person we spoke to came to understand this. He didn’t consider or understand the extent of the effects and the unforeseen consequences.
This solution will close traffic on Townsend Ave. in/out of Plains, from LaSalle Park Rd to Shadeland Ave, and only benefit themselves and the developers at 100 Plains and Solid Gold, at least, and possibly Infinity Development with their parking and traffic matters implementation at build. People can all see that we are getting swamped with possible condos and that cars must go with them and they need to park, like it or not.
Namely, they say;
SIGN THE PETITION AND LET OUR MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT & THE DEVELOPERS HEAR YOUR VOICE!
Development of Aldershot and the subsequent condos will happen.
Intensification is the Official Provincial Plan.
We can make a difference in HOW these developments affect the safety of our residents, sustainability of the developments themselves and the conservation of our beloved trees.
To learn more about what we are fighting for please visit http://www.preservealdershot.ca.
Unfortunately Pepper, you omitted this part of my message from your story.
Tom Muir
It is interesting that the beginning paragraphs highlight that “there are no sidewalks and people like it this way.” A drive through the area south of Plains Road reveals properties with ditches and drainpipes along the streets to manage the stormwater coming from the escarpment. The larger lots north of the QEW allow for absorption of the stormwater as it cascades down from the escarpment.
All have an important purpose and should not be overlooked.