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6- The Oakville Beaver, Friday January 18, 2008 www.oakvillebeaver.com OPINION & LETTERS The Oakville Beaver 467 Speers Rd., Oakville Ont. L6K 3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax: 337-5567 Classified Advertising: 845-3824, ext. 224 Circulation: 845-9742 Editorial and advertising content of the Oakville Beaver is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: The Oakville Beaver is a division of IAN OLIVER Group Publisher Media Group Ltd. NEIL OLIVER Publisher DAVID HARVEY General Manager JILL DAVIS Editor in Chief ROD JERRED Managing Editor DANIEL BAIRD Advertising Director RIZIERO VERTOLLI Photography Director SANDY PARE Business Manager MARK DILLS Director of Production MANUEL GARCIA Production Manager CHARLENE HALL Director of Distribution ALEXANDRIA ANCHOR Circ. Manager Paving the way for green A Natural Heritage System (NHS) ­ a linked system of green space and wildlife corridors that will be protected from development -- has been approved by the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) for Oakville, north of Dundas Street. What wraps up nearly a decade of hearings, debate, public input, legal wrangling and planning and planning and planning, has paved the way for green in north Oakville. Yet, some are wondering what the price tag will be, and who will pay it. New residents to north Oakville will not move into the same lifestyle as those in south Oakville or even Oakville north of the QEW. They will live in more dense, hopefully more pedestrian-friendly, transit-dependent neighbourhoods. They will do so in order that the green space be preserved. Residents who already live in Oakville, those south of the QEW and north of the QEW, are already beginning to feel the squeeze of a price tag. Their neighbourhoods and communities are being infilled, being made more dense as Oakville struggles to squeeze in jobs and population where it can to meet provincial standards, yet still maintain the green space in the north. Even developers, eager to get on with their business, have handed over either land or cash -- to the tune of millions -- so that Oakville could secure the Natural Heritage System. John Stillich, general manager of the Sustainable Urban Development Association (SUDA) dubbed Oakville's plan "urban sprawl" saying it failed to meet minimum provincial standards for development on greenfield lands. The approved plan has a density of about 42 persons and jobs per gross hectare, which SUDA says is below the the minimum of 50 residents plus jobs per gross hectare set by provincial legislation for greenfield development. Stillich said the implications of Oakville's plan will require other Halton municipalities to achieve higher densities to offset the Oakville shortfall -- leaving other Halton residents to feel the pinch. Still that's far greater than the typical residential densities of about 20 per hectare south of the QEW, and 25 per hectare north of the QEW. The challenge now will be to remember that there's far more to making a community livable than simply preserving greenspace. Now it's up to the town to invest in transit, stick to the plan, preserve the greenspace and get on with community building. The Oakville Beaver welcomes letters from its readers. Letters will be edited for clarity, length, legal considerations and grammar. In order to be published all letters must contain the name, address and phone number of the author. Letters should be addressed to The Editor, Oakville Beaver, 467 Speers Rd., Oakville, ON, L6K 3S4, or via e-mail to editor@oakvillebeaver.com. The Beaver reserves the right to refuse to publish a letter. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR There is more to a community than arbitrary borders Re: Tempers flare at Catholic boundary review meeting, Oakville Beaver, Jan. 11 I have been thinking quite a bit about what it would mean to change the boundaries of St. Thomas Aquinas. As a teacher at the school I would love to be able to teach in a new facility. But if a building is the defining factor that makes a school great, I would have already transferred elsewhere. The fact is that St. Thomas Aquinas has an exceptional community of teachers and students. Aquinas parents can't understand why their counterparts in the north would reject the idea of having their child welcomed in to the school. Meanwhile, a great number of "northern" parents at the boundary review meeting spoke of "community" and not wanting to lose a sense of community. While I accept disagreements to a boundary change based on logistics, this community aspect makes no sense to me. What community are we talking about? Sections of subdivisions that feel the need to be isolated? Certainly we should consider ourselves part of a greater community of Oakville, or Ontario, or Canada -- and even the radical idea as a part of a global community of Catholics. Instead there are parents that want to teach their children that "community" means the people you share a fence with. Is the arrogance of some of these parents so high that they can't bear to cross the QEW? They need to keep in mind that it is only a road. I think they need to relax, and consider that hopefully their pals at the country club will think they mean Appleby College when they tell them their son or daughter attends high school south of the QEW. JUSTIN YANTHO INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY TECHNICIAN ONTARIO YOUTH APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM ST. THOMAS AQUINAS CATHOLIC SECONDARY SCHOOL Pud BY STEVE NEASE snease@haltonsearch.com Thanks for the support The board of directors, staff and volunteers of the Sexual Assault & Violence Intervention Services of Halton (SAVIS) would like to express a heartfelt appreciation and gratitude to the churches, companies and community members who supported our Christmas Drive 2007. We were overwhelmed by the generous response from the donors. Thanks again for your generous support and spirit of giving. Have a Happy 2008 EUNICE QUASH, ADMINISTRATIVE/VOLUNTEER COORDINATOR SEXUAL ASSAULT & VIOLENCE INTERVENTION SERVICES OF HALTON The Oakville Beaver is a member of the Ontario Press Council. The council is located at 80 Gould St., Suite 206, Toronto, Ont., M5B 2M7. Phone 416-340-1981. 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