The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

THE NEW TANNERWEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2009 15 Ballinafad General Store wishes everyone a very Merry Christmas and Best Wishes for a Prosperous New Year. Thank you for your patronage this past year. Staff and Management of Giant Tiger wish everyone a safe and Happy Christmas and a prosperous New Year. 12 Main Street North, Acton FREE LOCAL DELIVERY 264 MAIN ST. N ACTON 519-853-1970 HOURS Mon-Fri. 7:00am to 6:00pm Sat - 8:00am to 4:00pm FAX LINE: (519) 853-2542 TORONTO LINE: (416) 601-1259 Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from all of us at Leathertown Lumber ROCKWOOD (Just South of the Rockmosa Centre and Library) 108 Station St. 519-856-1531 T&A Automotive wishes everyone a Merry Christmas & A Happy New Year. We will be closed from December 24 to January 4 Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays from your Furry Friends & Staff at the Acton Veterinary Clinic and The Groomin Room! Compromise on Official plan pleases most local councillors By Frances Niblock A compromise offered by Halton Hills resulted in unanimous approval of the Regional Official Plan Amendment No. 38, also known as ROPA 38, last Wednesday at Hal- ton Council. The updated Official Plan will be the blueprint for growth and development until 2031, when Halton will grow to 780,000 people, a two-thirds increase. In response to the provinces Places to Grown and Green - belt legislation, ROPA 38 integrates sustain- able growth in Haltons blueprint for the future by planning for healthy and complete commun- ities, creating a natural heritage system and sup- porting agriculture while limiting urban sprawl and making growth pay for itself. The concept of the natural heritage system caused a lot of angry debate and frustration among Halton Hills pol- iticians and some rural landowners. The natural heritage system was in- itially proposed as an overlay on a map, but at the committee level the move was to desig- nate the natural heritage system putting restric- tions on 36 per cent of Haltons land that was not part of the protected green belt of the Niagara Escarpment Area. Local farmers were worried the natural herit- age designation would add another layer of un- necessary bureaucracy on their land and developers who have bought prime agricultural land were worried their plans to build would have to be scrapped. T h e c omp r om i s e accepted by Halton Council was one offered two weeks ago by Halton Hills Mayor Rick Bon- nette who was glad that the Town was able to get its point across to other Halton councillors. We had three votes going into the meet- ing and the vote ended up 21-0. We went in as underdogs, so we are very pleased with the outcome, Bonnette said on Saturday. He said the opposition to the Towns position on the natural heritage stemmed from bad past history in Oakville. Quite frankly, when Oakville developed in the 1990s they never had a natural heritage system so they lost it all. They thought that we were trying to abol- ish the natural heritage system, but when they really understood what we were trying to do, they could support it, Bonnette said. Following acrimoni- ous debate at the Halton committee level where Bonnette said their com- mon sense resolutions were laughed at and then a press release from Burlingtons mayor ac- cusing Halton Hills of not wanting to protect the environment followed by a blast of e-mails stating the same information, Bonnette was left won- dering what the Towns role in the Region is. He said that issue has been resolved in his mind. Weve come together and they (Halton Coun- cil) listened. The rift is settled and the environ- ment is protected. During Council de- bate last Wednesday, Bonnette said that it had been a long journey and an emotional one. It was almost like a great divide between the north and the south (of Halton). Maybe not everybody got every- thing but at least were a lot closer than we were two weeks ago, Bon- nette said. Regional Acton Coun- cillor Clark Somerville was a little more re- strained. Im not going to be the one to say, Lets hold hands and sing Kum- baya, because I dont think were there yet, Somerville said asking if they could have dialogue and stop the schoolyard bullying. It is anticipated that ROPA 38 will be chal- lenged at the Ontario Municpal Board by de- velopers worried that greenfield development on land zoned agricul- tural and rural in Milton and Georgetown and will be stalled by intensifica- tion guidelines and by environmentalists who are worried about urban sprawl in greenfield de- velopment. Under Haltons pre- ferred growth options, Halton Hills is to be home to an additional 20,000 people by 2031, and lo- cal environmentalists are worried they wont be able to be serviced by well water, opening the door to the so-called big pipe, or water from Lake Ontario. MUSICAL TREAT: Thats the Acton Citizens Band (On the Run), led by George Elliott, filling the Sobeys air with resounding joy, in second stop of last Wednesday nights Acton tour. Charles Tysoe photo