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ia a Vol. 133 No. 17 -r Cracking down on vehicle emissions By Chris Hall Port Perry Star The provincial government's Drive Clean program has arrived in Port Perry just in time for the April 1 enforcement date, and that will keep at least one busi- ness in the area quite busy. The appointment book at Port Perry's local Canadian Tire store is filling up as a large number of people are bringing their vehicles in to be run through the Drive Clean program, a new law passed by the Ontario government last year which checks the emissions of all vehi- cles less than 20 years old. "We've been quite busy; a lot of peo- ple have been calling us to find out about it and we've done quite a few checks now," Dennis Bissette, service manager for the local store, said last Friday. Under the new law, owners must have their vehicles checked before their birth- day. A plate validation sticker cannot be issued until a check has been done at a certified Drive Clean business. The new program became law on Jan. 1, 1999, but will not become effective through vehicle registration and owner- Please turn to page 2 » By John B. McClelland Port Perry Star The population growth in Scugog Township will be modest over the next two decades, according to the Towsnhip's Official Plan which was given initial approval March 2. Any fears that Scugog will grow in leaps and bounds, that it will soon resemble Pickering or Markham with wall-to-wall subdivisions and shopping centres can be put to rest. The Official Plan given approval by the Durham Region Planning committee sets a population increase over the next 22 years of just 6,000 people. And the vast majority of those new people (4,750) will live in whdt is called the Port Perry Urban Area. In order to protect and enhance the Township's resource-based industries such as tourism, aggregates Fai I --_-- | a ; { 3 p NAPOLEON A - [4 ade for great spring skiing and boarding. en: set will be the slopes at d Dagmar. This s boarder was caught on the half- the weekend, where plenty of sun and lots of J. PETER HVIDSTEN / PORT PERRY STAR Official Plan prevents rapid growth in Scugog and agriculture, the population growth in the rural areas will be even mare severely limited--to about 1,250 people. And 800 of these, or more than half will live in the nine rural hamlets. As the preamble to the Official Plan notes, growth in the nine rural hamlets from now until the year 2021 will be only about one new house per hamlet per annum. This slow growth policy for Scugog Township reflects the wish of the current municipal council which has stip- ulated that the number of new homes built in Scugog per year be no more than 100 over the next two decades. Slow, orderly growth ahead If the policies of the Official Plan are followed, Scugog's total population in the year 2021 will be 24,500, an increase of about 6,000. The Port Perry Urban Area will increase by another 4,750 people (to a total of 11,500) with all but 1,500 of them living in residences on full (municipal sewer and water) services. This modest population growth in Scugog is governed by two major factors: the lack of a plant to treat large amounts of sewage, and the desire by the municipal coun- cil to retain as much as possible the small town appear- ance of Port Perry and the rural hamlets, and to contin- ue to recognize the importance and value of tourism and farming to the local economy. The treatment plant can be safely expanded for a pop- ulation increase of 3,000. And the deep wells which pro- Please turn to page 9 "PROPANE- NATURAL GAS-WOOD-OIL OVERRIDGE CTRL ETC TE 170 Casimir St, PORT PERRY (905) 985-0715 1-800-688-4751