The Honourable Rick Bartolucci, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing 17th floor, 777 Bay St., Toronto, ON M5G 2E5 Fax: 416-585-6470 Re: Declaring a provincial interest in Westhill's OMB hearings Dear Minister Bartolucci, Oak Ridges Moraine protection is vital to ensuring livable, sustainable communities for proceeding generations. Cornerstone to the protection of the Moraine is the preservation of watersheds. The Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Act (ORMCA) is one of the most important pieces of environmental legislation in Ontario, and its legislated Plan (ORMCP) is critical for guiding land use decisions. However, due to a large number of permits to take water on the Oak Ridges Moraine, alongside unparalleled levels of growth in the Greater Golden Horseshoe, there is now more than ever considerable strain being placed on this vital landform. The proposed Westhill development in Aurora is a critical case that needs the government's immediate attention. The application, which would include an eighteen-hole golf course (the eighteenth in an eight kilometer radius) and seventy-five large residential units, has been on the table for almost twenty years. While the development application pre-dates the ORMCA, this proposal never received approval. The responsibility for monitoring these types of outstanding 'transitional' development applications rests with individual municipalities. Alarmingly, no body of government is monitoring the total number of transitional and grandfathered applications on the Moraine, the status of these applications, or the cumulative impacts these developments will have on the Moraine's sensitive ecological and hydrological features. There is a large degree of ambiguity surrounding transitional applications on the Moraine, as it is unclear to what extent municipal governments and the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) will require these developments to comply with the ORMCP. Your ministry needs to play an active role in land use planning on the Moraine, and ensure that transitional developments are not allowed to by-pass key aspects of the protection we have all fought so hard for. The Westhill development in Aurora is a perfect example of an inappropriate development being proposed in an allegedly protected, sensitive region that is already under considerable pressure from a large population and other inappropriate land uses. Aurora Town Council has made the decision to oppose Westhill. Unfortunately, the developer has appealed the town's decision to the OMB, which ultimately has the power (and tendency) to overrule municipal decisions in favor of development. As the first transitional development to go to the OMB, Westhill is the litmus test for the highly praised ORMCP. If it is allowed to by-pass our Moraine protection, this will set a dangerous precedent and will open the doors to more detrimental development in other areas across the Moraine and Ontario's Greenbelt. The ORMCP received widespread recognition for the strong levels of protection afforded to ecologically important areas and threatened watersheds. But if the OMB over-rules Aurora's decision regarding Westhill, this legislation will be severely compromised. It is of utmost importance that the Ontario Provincial Government formally declare an interest in this case. Having the presence of the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing as a party at the OMB hearings would help to ensure proper interpretation of the ORMCP, giving extra clout to the arguments being made by the town of Aurora and its citizens that this development is inappropriate and in violation of the ORMCP. In order to ensure the long-term health of our remaining greenspaces in Southern Ontario, and in order to keep our watersheds intact, we need our elected officials to stand up for the important ideals defined in existing legislation, and declare a provincial interest in Westhill's OMB hearings. Sincerely,