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EDITORIAL with Hartley Coles 'Use it or lose it' We're certainly 100 per cent behind those councillors who suggest Halton Hills should take a "use it or lose it" approach to planning approvals, and water and sewer capacity. Weagree with Councillor Elliott that developers can't sit on their approvals forever without putting a shovel in the ground, while others are ready to build. The subject was broached because local politicos have been frustrated by the lack of both residential and commercial devel- opment in Acton. Developers have tied up sewage and water capacity for years while others, eager to build, have had to sit back and fume at the Town for lack of foresight. Criticism directed at the developers for their action is an- swered by reasons such as waiting for market conditions to improve. Well, they won't bet much better market conditions than they have had in the last couple of years. Interest rates are about as low as they can go and that works for both the buyer and seller. What more do they want? We don't like this dog-in-the-manger attitude of tying up land so no one else can develop it. In fact, Ho Wong, the Region's manager of planning services, said staff at the Region would like to develop a "use it of lose it" policy so developers could not get developmnet approval and then sit on it. One way might well be by putting a codicil in an agreement with a limit on the time it takes for development to start. The fly in the ointment, of course, are the legal implications which has made town staff cautious. The last time a developer lost sewage capacity because of lack of development, the devel- oper appealed to the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) and won the decision. Glenn Wellings, manager of development review in Halton Hills, said staff wouldn't recommend stripping a developer's planning approvals because the development has sat idle. But if it isn't happening immediately, does that mean we abandon our planning? he asked, noting we can't make development happen. Ofcourse, he's right, they can't make development happen. However, when a developer signs up for sewage capacity he also' indicates a desire to develop, not a licence to tie up development. Somewhere between the two extremes of fast and no develop- ment, there has to be middle ground which would penalize if there's no action on the proposal. Otherwise they should be stripped of their allotment. There's just no excuse under the present market conditions to plead for better interest and loan rates. It's a phoney excuse and needs a "use it or lose it" approach immediately in Acton's case. Society's hard stance An agreement with the Town of Halton Hills signed 23 years ago permitting Acton Agricultural Society unrestricted use of Prospect Park and the building there during the annual fall fair for as long as the Society exists, may be the ammunition needed to spur the Town to find a better solution to the dilemma than tearing the old arena down. The Town now wants to demolish the arena claiming inability to get insurance for the building, which it is also claimed, is "structurally unsound." Council has asked Town staff to prepare demolition tenders but has declared it is willing to work with the Agricultural Society and a sub committee of Heritage Acton, which wants to save the building. The Society is taking its hard stance to ensure they are not left without a building in the park once this year's fair is over. And they have a right, in perpetuity it seems, for the park and arena Heritage Acton, meanwhile, is juggling several strategies for saving the building, which is not 70 years old as some press reports claim. A small part of it is but the arena, which has been refurbished ever since 1961, is really only 37 years young. Hardly broken in, you might say. Some parts are even more youthful. The trick is to turn it back into a usable facility able to support itself without being a taxing burden. THE NEW TANNER HALTON HILLS SAILING CAMP: This camp caters to kids as -- THURSDAY, AUGUST 20, 1998 aged seven to 13 years. The partici- pants are: Chloe Salt, Mitchell Peragine, Laurie Klarner, Katie Frost, Rachael Murden, Cassandra LeClair, Janine Klarner, Nicholas LeClair, Eric Brading, Cam Noble, Brent Emigh, Keith Grant, Cameron Gee, Jazmin Salt, Justin Lim, Brian Albers, Kalyn Murray, Devon Murray, Karen Klarner, Cheri Anne Paisley (staffer), Chris Poirier (staffer), Jasmine Stofast (volunteer), and Laura Anne Sheehan (volunteer). -- Ellen Piehl photo. Acton, land of a thousand names By ANGELA TYLER The New Tanner The voice on the other end of the phone was asking to confirm the company's mailing address. They asked, "So, that's in Halton Hills, Ontario, correct?" I could feel my toes curl and my stomach muscles tighten. "No, that is Acton, Ontario", I replied firmly. "Oh, what's the dif- ference?" the unknown person wanted to know. Long time Acton residents know that this answer had the potential of being lengthy, as many Actonites don't like being clumped in with Georgetown. I later started thinking about all the com- munities, intown and rural that make up Acton. There are many rural communi- ties and individual villages that, al- though may not be in the bounda- ties of Acton, many residents con- sider themselves part of Acton. As well as distinctive country areas, intown Acton has sections, unique individually, as a whole they help make up the town. Some of the names may not be familiar to some. Some areas are new, estate-like sub- divisions. Intown Acton, in my opinion is a combination of at least 11 distinct areas. They are Glenlea, Bovis, War- ten Grove (the wartime), the Cres- cent, the new West Meadows, Danville, Lakeview, Birchway, Cobblehill, Kingham, cemetery hill, The Bower and the downtown core. Although there are two other new developments, the houses beside the high school and behind the curling club, I see them as part of Bovis. Glenlea is the area south of High- way 7, behind Tim Hortons. Bovis is the area around McKenzie-Smith Bennett School. The wartime is the houses on McDonald between Wallace and Division and on McDonald Blvd. The crescent is southwest of the olde Hide House where some of the homes were origi- nally built reasonably priced for workers at Beardmore. Some of the other houses in the area were im- ported from Camp Borden where they were originally military quar- ters. Some of the houses on Cameron Street and on the East Side of High- way 25, which was known as cem- etery hill, are also from Cam West Meadows and ille are to the west of the industrial area. Lakeview is north of Prospect Park and Fairy Lake. Birchway is the new subdivision built by the Legion apart- ments. The Bower is Bower Street (or Bower Avenue) and runs paral- lel to Mill Street, to the south. Cobblehill and Kingham are west of Highway 25 at the south end of town. Some may clump them together, however they are each distinct in their own way. These areas are all connected by many streets, which are interesting communities in there own way. If 11 areas sound like a lot for intown, there are still more in the RRQ Item seen on the bulletin board: "Iliterate? Write today for help." country. The ones I can think of are: Bannockburn, Churchill, Coles Court, Wordenview, Silvercreek, Wildwood, Shorthill, Southwinds, Kiltie Springs, Blue Springs, Ennisclaire, Darbyville, Scotch Block, Sayer's Mills, Haltonville, Moffat, Pineridge, and Crewson's comers. It seems with many fami- ies migrating westward and the need for more utaPeubais : areas are increasing each year. There are also larger rural com- munities individual in their own sense, yet some consider part of Acton. These include Limehouse, Ballinafad, Speyside and Brookville. Some developments are named for the developer or have historical significance. Once again, Acton logic can be applied to some names of areas. Let's use Churchill as an example. Churchill is at the north end of Churchill Road. At Church- ill Road and the Townline is a church, Churchill Church, hence the name Churchill. There's a church on the top of the hill. Warren Grove or the wartime is named after the Warren family who owned the land. They had a grove of trees. Looking where Crewson's Cor- ners is now you have to think back to the logic of naming this area. The area was named after Morgan Crewson, Esqueasing's first pioneer settler. However, if you take a drive out Highway 7 towards Rockwood, you may notice there is a lack of a corner on along the highway. Think back to the time before highways. North of the highway, above the rail- way line there is a two-way stop where Townline and Townline meet. Here you would find Crewson's Cor- ners. The local area is rich with inter- esting names, some as interesting as their residents are. These areas are linked together not to create a town, but a community...Acton. be Tanner 59 Willow Street North Acton, Ontario L7J 1Z8 (519) 853-0051 Fax: 853-0052 Editorial Frances Niblock Advertising Sales Circulation Composing Publisher Ted Tyler Hartley Coles Ellen Piehl Mike O'Leary Angela Tyler Maggie Petrushevsky Marie Shadbolt Christine O'Leary Karen Wetmore Distributed to every home in Acton and area as well as adjoining communities. ADVERTISING POLICY Every effort will be made to see advertising copy, neatly presented, is correctly printed. The publisher assumes no financial responsibility for typographical errors or omissions in advertising, but will gladly reprint without charge that part of an advertisement in which an error may occur provided a claim is made within five days of publication.